Chinese players swept away opposition at the ongoing 48th World
Team Table Tennis Championships with the men's team beating Sweden
3-0 and the women overcoming India 3-0 Thursday in Bremen,
Germany.
In the men's division, Wang Liqin, Ma Lin and Wang Hao wiped out
their Swedish opponents Thursday in the fourth round. China
defeated Romania, the Netherlands, and Denmark in the other three
rounds.
In the women's division, Chinese players beat their last group
opponent India 3-0 Thursday and booked a berth in the
quarterfinals.
Novices Li Xiaoxia and Guo Yan, as well as veteran Wang Nan, all
crushed their Indian opponents without conceding a single game.
Defending champion China finished top in Group A after beating
all other teams in the group, namely the Czech Republic, Serbia,
Belarus, Romania and India.
The women's group matches will produce three more winners, who
will enter the second stage of quarterfinal competitions of the
championships.
In Group B, Hong Kong of China, which suffered only one defeat,
1-3 to France, is expected to finish first.
South Korea is set to be No. 1 in Group C after overcoming
Germany, Italy, Austria, Australia and the Netherlands.
Japan will top Group D after Japanese women players swept their
group.
The four top teams will directly enter quarterfinals.
(Shenzhen Daily/Xinhua, April 28, 2006)