Title favourites China clinched an 8-4 victory over Germany to remain top of the rankings in the round-robin second stage at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Mixed Team World Cup on Friday. In the opening mixed doubles, China's Kuai Man and Lin Shidong beat the German pair Benedikt Duda and Sabine Winter 11-6, 13-11, 9-11. World No. 1 Sun Yingsha helped China extend its lead to 5-1 after beating Nina Mittelham 11-7, 11-3, 11-7 in the women's singles.
However, Germany's Patrick Franziska then upset Chinese star Wang Chuqin 12-10, 11-3, 7-11 in the men's singles. In the men's doubles that followed, Wang and Liang Jingkun came back to see off Duda and Qiu Dang 6-11, 11-2, 12-10, reports Xinhua. "I didn't make an effective response at the start of the match.
I tried to adjust myself gradually and maintained the momentum in the doubles. I also congratulated my friend Franziska for his great performance today," said Wang. Also on Friday, Hong Kong, China edged France 8-7, after the two teams were tied 6-6 following 12 games.
In the decisive fifth match, Zhu Chengzhu and Doo Hoi Kem beat French pair Yuan Jianan and Prithika Pavade 11-5, 9-11, 11-2 to clinch victory for Hong Kong, China. The ITTF Mixed Team World Cup, running from November 30 to December 7, adopts a competition format that begins with mixed doubles, followed by women's singles and men's singles, and then men's and women's doubles if required, with their order of play determined by the captain of the lower-ranked team.
Each individual match consists of three games, resulting in either a 3-0 or 2-1 scoreline. Team matches continue until one side secures eight game victories. On Saturday, China will face Japan and Sweden in back-to-back matches. Earlier, 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 archrival 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 the overall score.
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.