Encounters on the second evening of the Table Tennis Team competition at the Peking University Gymnasium on Sunday were decidedly fiercer than those in the morning.
Women's Team - Class 4/5
China, Germany, Serbia and Jordan went through to the semifinals. Ren Guixiang and Gu Gai of China and Andrea Zimmerer of Germany emerged as the most successful players. They remained unbeaten to guide their teams to victory.
The closest encounter was the duel between Chinese Taipei and Jordan, with Fatmeh Al-Azzam of Jordan being the heroine. In the decisive fifth match, she beat Tsai Hui-chu of Chinese Taipei 3-0 to secure victory for her team.
Men's Team - Class 3
France and Brazil managed to advance to the final, while Great Britain and China were sent to the bronze medal contest.
The closest duel was between Brazil and China. With Brazilian hero Welder Knaf beating Zhao Ping 3-1 in the fifth match, China suffered their only defeat in any class today.
Women's Team - Class 6-10
China and Poland will meet in the final after respectively beating France and Russia in 3-0 contests. It sets up a repeat of the final at the Athens 2004 Women's Team Classes 6-10 event when China won the gold medal.
Natalia Partyka of Poland remained unbeaten to guide the Polish team to victory.
Women's Team - Class 1-3
Italy beat Great Britain 3-0, with Michela Brunelli, Clara Podda and Pamela Pezzutto of Italy emerging as the unbeaten players.
China beat France 3-1 in a hard fought encounter and will play Italy for the gold medal.
Men's Team - Class 1/2
France beat Austria in a close 3-1 contest, but even closer was the duel between Slovakia and the Republic of Korea.
Slovakia beat the ROK in a nail-biting five-match fixture when hero Rastislav Revucky of Slovakia saved his team by beating Kim Kong-yong 3-1 in the decisive match.
Men's Team - Class 4/5
The Chinese team ended Norway's hopes of a gold medal. No. 1 seed Tommy Urhaug of Norway, the bronze medalist in Men's Singles Class 4/5, and his colleague Rolf Erik Paulsen, suffered defeat at the hands of Zhang Yan, Guo Xingyuan and Bai Gang of China.
Men's Team - Class 6-8
China and Slovakia advanced to the final after respectively beating Israel 3-0 and France 3-1.
The closer encounter was seen between Slovakia and France, with three of the four matches extended the full five game distance.
(BOCOG September 15, 2008)