Ontario’s Daniel Liang and Tiffany Zhan delivered an outstanding series of performances at the WTT Youth Contender Asunción II 2026, held September 27–30 in Asunción, Paraguay.

The two young athletes from Three10 Table Tennis Club, coached by Raymond Zhang, returned from Paraguay with five podium finishes between them: one gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

For both players, the tournament provided another important international test. For Tiffany, it also served as valuable preparation ahead of the ITTF World Hopes Week & Challenge in Sheffield, England, where she will compete later in October.

Daniel Liang Captures U13 Boys Gold

The biggest Ontario victory came in the U13 Boys Singles, where Daniel Liang captured the title.

Liang (no 62 U13 World Ranking List) entered the event as the No. 3 seed, but his path to gold included a particularly significant victory over Argentina’s Luca Marcial, No 11 U13 WRL.

Marcial came to Paraguay with an established record at WTT Youth events, including winning the U13 title at the first WTT Youth Contender Asunción earlier in 2026. Daniel’s victory over the top seed therefore represented an important breakthrough against one of the leading players in the draw.

Liang went on to complete the tournament by winning the U13 Boys Singles title.

The gold continues a strong international season for the Ontario athlete. Earlier this year, Liang reached the U13 Boys Singles final at the WTT Youth Contender Mississauga, where he earned silver. He has also been dominant provincially, winning both the U13 and U15 Boys Singles titles at the 2026 Ontario Summer Games.

His Paraguay result represents another step forward — moving from a WTT Youth silver medal in Mississauga to the top of the podium in Asunción.

Tiffany Zhan Takes U13 Silver

Tiffany Zhan entered the U13 Girls Singles as the No. 1 seed and advanced to the final.

There she met Paraguay’s Paula Benitez, the No. 3 seed.

Tiffany won the opening game 11–6, but Benitez responded strongly. The final remained close, particularly in the fourth game, before the Paraguayan prevailed 3–1, with scores of 6–11, 12–10, 11–7, 13–11.

The result gave Tiffany the U13 Girls silver medal.

The story between Zhan and Benitez, however, was not finished.

Tiffany Turns the Result Around in U15

Both players also entered the U15 Girls Singles, where Tiffany was competing above her primary age category.

They met again in the quarterfinal.

This time, Tiffany reversed the U13 result and defeated Benitez, advancing to the U15 semifinals and then all the way to the championship match.

The U15 final became an impressive all-Canadian encounter, featuring Tiffany against Manitoba’s Alexus Lee.

Neither player had been among the top two seeds — Tiffany and Alexus entered as the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds — yet both worked their way through the draw to reach the final.

Lee captured the title, with Tiffany finishing with her second silver medal of the tournament.

For Tiffany, reaching finals in both U13 and U15 at the same WTT Youth Contender was an especially encouraging result given that she is still eligible for ITTF’s U12 Hopes programme.

Daniel Adds U15 Bronze

Daniel also tested himself in the older age category.

Unlike in U13, he entered the U15 Boys Singles unseeded, yet advanced all the way to the semifinal.

His run finally ended against Brazil’s Felipe Santos, who went on to reach the final. The U15 title was ultimately won by fellow Brazilian Vitor Thiofilo.

Daniel therefore added a U15 Boys Singles bronze medal to his U13 gold — a strong result for a player competing above his principal age category.

Bronze Together in U15 Mixed Doubles

Liang and Zhan also teamed up in the U15 Mixed Doubles and reached another podium.

The Ontario pair won their first two knockout matches in straight games, defeating Paraguay’s Jesus Formigli and Ariane Coronel and then Argentina’s Federico Varela and Anita Romero.

In the semifinal they faced Argentina’s Luca Marcial and the United States’ Abigail Yu. All three games were competitive, but Liang and Zhan fell 11–9, 11–9, 11–8, finishing with the bronze medal.

That completed an exceptional tournament for the two Three10 athletes:

Daniel Liang

  • Gold — U13 Boys Singles

  • Bronze — U15 Boys Singles

  • Bronze — U15 Mixed Doubles

Tiffany Zhan

  • Silver — U13 Girls Singles

  • Silver — U15 Girls Singles

  • Bronze — U15 Mixed Doubles

World Ranking Gains Expected

The Paraguay results should also have an impact beyond the medals.

Both athletes collected significant results against strong international opposition and advanced deep into multiple WTT Youth events. With the next World Youth Ranking List scheduled to be published next week, a noticeable improvement in the rankings of both Ontario players is expected.

Daniel’s U13 title is particularly significant after entering as the No. 3 seed and defeating top-seeded Luca Marcial, while his unseeded semifinal appearance in U15 adds another valuable result.

Tiffany’s two singles finals should likewise generate important ranking points. She reached the U13 final as the top seed and then exceeded her U15 seeding by advancing from No. 3 to the championship match.

Paraguay as Preparation for World Hopes

For Tiffany, Asunción had another purpose.

The event was an important final competition before the ITTF World Hopes Week & Challenge, which will take place October 12–18 in Sheffield, England.

The ITTF Hopes Programme is specifically designed for the world’s leading U12 players and forms an important part of the ITTF talent-identification and High Performance pathway.

Tiffany earned her invitation to Sheffield by winning the ITTF Americas Hopes Week & Challenge in Guadalajara earlier this year. She finished first among the girls from the Americas, securing Canada’s place at World Hopes.

Interestingly, Paula Benitez — Tiffany’s opponent in the U13 final and U15 quarterfinal in Paraguay — also qualified for World Hopes, finishing third at the Americas Hopes Challenge. The two could therefore meet again in Sheffield.

Raymond Zhang, coach of both Liang and Zhan at Three10 Table Tennis Club, also served as an assistant coach during the Americas Hopes Week, working alongside Austrian Olympian Robert Gardos.

A Strong International Step for Two Ontario Prospects

The Asunción tournament showed progress in several different ways.

Daniel converted his No. 3 seeding into a WTT Youth U13 title, defeating the event’s No. 1 seed along the way, while also reaching an U15 semifinal despite being unseeded.

Tiffany reached two singles finals in two different age categories, reversed her U13 loss to Paula Benitez when they met again in U15, and reached the U15 final despite being seeded third.

Together, they also reached the podium in U15 Mixed Doubles.

For two young athletes developing together at Three10 under coach Raymond Zhang, Paraguay provided both results and valuable international experience — and another indication that Ontario’s youngest generation is increasingly competitive on the WTT Youth stage.

Congratulations to Daniel Liang, Tiffany Zhan, coach Raymond Zhang and Three10 Table Tennis Club on an outstanding tournament in Paraguay.