Tomokazu Harimoto, the top-ranked player in the men's singles field, is safely through to the quarter-finals ©Getty Images

Top-ranked Japanese players Mima Ito and Tomokazu Harimoto are through to the quarter-finals of the first-ever World Table Tennis (WTT) tournament.

Ito defeated Germany's Nina Mittelham and will face Yang Ha-eun of South Korea - an Asian Games medallist in 2014 - in the next round in Qatar.

Sixteen-year-old Miyuu Kihara is also into the WTT Contender Doha quarter-finals after Romania's Bernadette Szőcs was unable to build on yesterday's win versus Chinese Taipei's Cheng I-Ching - the world number eight.

Kihara, who won 8-11, 11-8, 11-1, 11-9, joins Ito and Hina Hayata as one of three Japanese players in the last eight.

Over in the men's singles, top-10 players Harimoto, Mattias Falck, Lin Yun-Ju and Hugo Calderano all advanced to the quarter-finals.

Singles quarter-finals and semi-finals are due to be contested tomorrow in Doha ©Getty Images
Singles quarter-finals and semi-finals are due to be contested tomorrow in Doha ©Getty Images

Harimoto, 17, overcame Lee Sang-su of South Korea 11-9, 10-12, 11-4, 11-9 and will face Lee's compatriot Cho Dae-seong next.

Swede Falk and Taiwanese teenager Lin won in straight games, while Brazil's Calderano fought back to overcome South Korean An Jae-hyun 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-4.

WTT Contender Doha - the first full tournament being staged by the International Table Tennis Federation's new commercial vehicle - lacks Chinese and Hong Konger players after the two national teams pulled out for pandemic-related reasons. 

Quarter-finals and semi-finals are due to be contested tomorrow.