China stormed into the men's team final on Wednesday after
beating Hong Kong of China 3-0 at the Asian table tennis
championships.
The victory allowed China to set up a showdown against Japan or
Chinese Taipei and move closer to defending its men's team
title.
Japan had knocked out South Korea 3-0 to make the biggest upset of
the previous day, while Chinese Taipei defeated Indonesia 3-0.
World No. 53 Leung Chu Yan, though trying hard, hardly posed a
threat to second-ranked Chinese Wang Hao, trailing all the way to
lose the encounter 11-7, 11-7, 11-7.
Eighth-ranked Chen Qi beat Tang Peng 11-4 in the first set,
while Chen's frequent errors cost himself the second. But the
Chinese player soon staged a spirited comeback to take the next two
sets.
Sixth-ranked Ma Long, young but level-headed, barely broke sweat
to crush Cheung Yuk 11-3, 11-9, 11-3.
(Xinhua News Agency September 20, 2007)