Dang Qiu: Germany's penholder and European champion

Dang Qiu is Germany's best-known penholder and one of the few elite European players who use this grip. The son of Chinese parents, he grew up in German table tennis and won the European singles title on his first attempt.

This page sums up Dang Qiu's career, his titles and his playing style.

Who is Dang Qiu

Dang Qiu was born on October 29, 1996, in Nürtingen, Germany. His parents, both table tennis players trained in Jiangsu, China, emigrated in the 1990s. He is right-handed and plays the modern penhold grip, using the reverse side of the paddle for his backhand. He is described as the first German-born national team player to use this grip.

Dang Qiu's titles

Career highlights

The big moment came at the 2022 European Championships in Munich, where Qiu won the singles title on his first attempt, beating Darko Jorgic 4-1 in the final. The same year he was world team runner-up with Germany. In 2023 he added two European Games golds, in the men's team and in mixed doubles.

2025 and 2026: two Star Contenders

In October 2025 Qiu won WTT Star Contender London, beating Tomokazu Harimoto 4-2 in the final. In September 2026 he did it again at Star Contender Astana, beating France's Alexis Lebrun 4-2. In the October 26, 2026 update he was 11th in the world. See how it works in table tennis world ranking.

Playing style

Qiu represents the modern penhold school, offensive and fast:

• Reverse penhold backhand, with topspin and good table coverage.
• Close-to-the-table play, taking the ball early.
• A powerful forehand to finish the point.

To understand this grip and why it is rare in Europe, see penhold grip. Another top European penholder is Félix Lebrun.

Recent results on the tour

Year	Wins	Losses
2026	21	16
Total	21	16

L	WTT Champions Montpellier 2026 2026-10-27	Men's singles Round of 32	Matsushima Sora JPN vs Dang Qiu GER 3-2 11-8, 11-8, 3-11, 10-12, 11-2
L	China Smash 2026 2026-10-07	Men's doubles Round of 16	Benedikt Duda / Dang Qiu GER vs Anton Kallberg / Kristian Karlsson SWE 2-3 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 5-11, 5-11
L	China Smash 2026 2026-10-06	Mixed doubles Round of 16	Anders Lind / Anna Hursey DEN/WAL vs Dang Qiu / Sabine Winter GER 3-2 10-12, 11-7, 12-14, 14-12, 11-7
L	China Smash 2026 2026-10-05	Men's singles Round of 64	Dang Qiu GER vs Feng Yi-Hsin TPE 0-3 6-11, 9-11, 8-11
W	WTT Star Contender Astana 2026 - President’s Cup 2026-09-20	Men's singles Semifinals	Li Tianyang CHN vs Dang Qiu GER 1-3 11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 7-11
W	WTT Star Contender Astana 2026 - President’s Cup 2026-09-19	Men's singles Quarterfinals	Kanak Jha USA vs Dang Qiu GER 2-3 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 3-11, 3-11
W	WTT Star Contender Astana 2026 - President’s Cup 2026-09-19	Men's singles Round of 16	Oikawa Mizuki JPN vs Dang Qiu GER 1-3 12-10, 4-11, 4-11, 4-11
W	WTT Star Contender Astana 2026 - President’s Cup 2026-09-18	Men's singles Round of 32	Alvaro Robles ESP vs Dang Qiu GER 0-3 6-11, 5-11, 10-12

Dang Qiu's results

Source: WTT official results. Updated October 31, 2026. worldtabletennis.com

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