Table tennis: Kazakhstan’s Kurmangaliyev topples world champion to reach semifinals
12:55, 5 October 2025
Kazakh table tennis player Alan Kurmangaliyev delivered a major upset in the quarterfinals of the China Youth Smash tournament in Beijing, Kazinform News Agency cites the National Olympic Committee.
In a thrilling and tense match, Kurmangaliyev defeated local favorite Li Hechen (China), who holds the titles of World and Asian youth champion in both singles and doubles events.
The highly contested quarterfinal ended with a hard-fought 4-3 victory for the Kazakh player, securing his place in the semifinals.
Earlier, Zangar Nurlanuly, a Kazakh tennis player ranked 25th in the ITF Juniors World Ranking, advanced to the final of the J200 Chuncheon Tennis Tournament in South Korea.