Doha: While brash words and psychological tactics are common in many professional sports, "tough talk" has no place at the World Table Tennis Championships. In a sport known for its discipline and mutual respect, players in Doha have been seen praising opponents rather than provoking them. Olympic champions are offering encouragement to rising stars, while young debutants are showing deference to seasoned veterans.

According to Namibia Press Agency, World No. 2 Wang Manyu rated Japan's teenager Miwa Harimoto as a top player. "I put her on a higher level and saw myself as an underdog who had to fight to succeed," said the 26-year-old Chinese. "I never thought she was merely 16 years old." Harimoto, despite her 4-0 loss to the 2021 world champion in both women's singles and doubles, expressed admiration for her opponent, noting, "I played my best game, but it was still not enough. She was just too strong."

Saturday's women's singles quarterfinals pitted China against Japan on four fronts, with China winning three out of four. "Japanese are really close to Chinese in table tennis," said Chen Xingtong after she defeated sixth-seeded Hina Hayata 4-0. "You don't have to be surprised about who beat whom." China's world No. 1 Sun Yingsha regarded her semifinal rival Mima Ito as an equal match, stating, "I have kept a close watch on her and she has consistently played well."

A modest Ito remarked after her quarterfinal victory over Chinese Wang Yidi that she would be content with the bronze medal she had already secured. On Wednesday, 42-year-old Han Ying from Germany expressed appreciation for Wang Manyu, saying, "I played the best table tennis of my life because of Wang Manyu," after losing a 66-minute seven-set thriller.

Wang responded with respect for Han Ying, stating, "This is a match of mentality in which I just had a longer breath," and added, "I just hang in there, believing I would win the game at last." Meanwhile, France's Simon Gauzy, who challenged Wang Chuqin on Thursday, offered commendation for the second-ranked Chinese, who came back from a 2-0 deficit to win 4-2. "Wang was not at his best at the beginning, while I was," said the 30-year-old. "It's hard to handle his power and speed."