Wolfgang Scheidel had his first success in the doubles winning the 1965 World Championships together with non-Olympian Michael Köhler. One year later he moved to ASK Oberhof and started in the singles, winning the gold medal at the 1972 Sapporo Olympics. Scheidel placed third in singles at the 1969 and 1970 World Championships, and was runner-up at the 1970 and 1971 European Championships. After his retirement he worked as a youth coach at ASK Oberhof until 1977 and became a sports instructor in a recreation home of the Nationale Volksarmee (NVA) of East Germany. After German re-unification he has owned an oxygen station in his home town of Ilmenau.