China beats South Korea, France to continue winning streak at ITTF Mixed Team World Cup

CHENGDU, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- China won over South Korea and France successively with an unbeaten record at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Mixed Team World Cup on Thursday.

In the face of arch-rival South Korea, Chinese pair Kuai Man and Lin Shidong swept Kim Na-yeong and Park Gang-hyeon 11-5, 14-12, 11-8 in the mixed doubles.

China's Wang Manyu then seized an 11-7, 11-7, 11-8 win over Lee Eun-hye, and world No.1 Wang Chuqin of China added another two games 11-9, 11-4 against An Jae-hyun to seal victory 8-0 in overall score.

"My teammates had a great start, which relieved the pressure on me. An also performed well, but I managed to take the win with fewer mistakes," said world No.1 Wang Chuqin after the match.

Later in the day, China took on France in a clash in which the home team's dominance was challenged by Felix Lebrun.

In the mixed doubles, China's Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha defeated Alexis Lebrun and Yuan Jianan 11-7, 12-10, 11-5, and Wang Manyu cruised past Prithika Pavade 11-9, 12-10, 11-2. However, Felix Lebrun then rallied past China's Liang Jingkun 6-11, 13-11, 11-7, after which Wang Chuqin and Lin clinched the team's victory 8-2 after seeing off Felix Lebrun and Alexis Lebrun 11-9 in the men's doubles.

"In front of difficulties, we still need to keep focused and be patient to forge ahead," noted Wang Manyu.

Also on Thursday, Hong Kong, China claimed victory over Sweden 8-6 but lost to South Korea 8-5, while Germany eased past Croatia 8-1 but was defeated by Japan 8-3.

The ITTF Mixed Team World Cup adopts a best-of-15 format, with each match beginning with mixed doubles, followed by women's singles and men's singles. The men's and women's doubles, if required, will see their order of play determined by the team captain of the lower-ranked team.

The round-robin second stage competition will continue on Friday, as China will confront Germany, while South Korea will take on Japan. ■