China got off to a strong start at the Asian table tennis championships on Monday, with its players crushing all the challengers from Macao of China, Singapore and Indonesia.

China whitewashed Macao in the first round of the championships after World No. 2 Guo Yue made easy work of her victory against Ma Chao In of Macao 3-0 in the women's team opener.

The Chinese girls then breezily cruised to their second and third wins, downing both Singapore and Mongolia 3-0.

Eighth-ranked Wang Yue Gu of Singapore had managed to take a 11-6 lead in the first set of her encounter with Guo, but Guo staged a spirited comeback to take the next three.

Yemen's absence delayed China's appearance in the men's team until late in the day when Chinese players defeated Indonesia 3-0.

Neither sixth-ranked Ma Long nor eighth-ranked Chen Qi broke sweat to brush aside their Indonesian rivals in straight sets.

Top-ranked Ma Lin, however, appeared unsettled from the start, winning the first set by a narrow margin and enabling Reno Handoyo of Indonesia to take a 8-5 lead in the second set.

Cheered on by the home crowd, Ma soon gained momentum to finish off his rival 3-0.

In non-Chinese action, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea overpowered Singapore 3-1 in the men's team, while Hong Kong trounced Malaysia by three sets to love in the women's team.

Japan also got off to a strong start, beating Cambodia in the men's team and Indonesia and Chinese Taipei in the women's team.

(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2007)