China into Stage 2 at table tennis World Cup
Top seed China won two consecutive matches to sit atop Group 1 with a perfect winning record, while the eight teams advancing to the second stage have been confirmed at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Mixed Team World Cup on Tuesday. Following an 8-0 victory over Sweden on Monday, hosts China continued their momentum to dispatch Hong Kong 8-0 in its first match of the day. Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha got past Doo Hoi-kem and Ho Kwan-kit 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 in mixed doubles, moving China ahead 3-0. Chen Meng extended China's lead to six points in women's singles with an 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 win against Zhu Chengzhu. In men's singles, world No 1 Fan Zhendong capped China's win by topping Wong Chun-ting 11-7, 11-4 after two games. In the evening session, China faced some challenges in its final group match against Puerto Rico. Adriana Diaz upset Wang Manyu 10-12, 12-10,11-8, to put her side to within 4-2, before China pulled away to triumph 8-2. Sweden regrouped from its opening loss to China, outplaying Puerto Rico 8-3 and Hong Kong 8-0, to advance as the runners-up in Group 1. Germany and Slovakia progressed from Group 2. In Group 3, Japan and France finished top two to qualify. South Korea and Chinese Taipei advanced to the second stage as top two sides in Group 4. (Xinhua)