LONDON, May 3 (Xinhua) -- China swept South Korea 3-0 on Sunday, concluding the women's team group stage with a perfect winning record at the 2026 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals.
Like the previous two matches, China did not drop a game en route to the win.
World No. 1 Sun Yingsha earned China the lead after breezing past Kim Na-yeong 11-8, 11-4, 11-5.
"As I had played Kim many times before and was quite familiar with her, I just executed what I had prepared in terms of skills and tactics on the court," Sun said after the win.
"As the tournament progresses, everyone will get into a better shape. In a team event, every member needs to step up and shoulder the responsibility. For me, no matter which match and who I play, I just want to contribute the best I can," she added.
Wang Yidi eased past Park Ga-hyeon 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 to move China further ahead.
"After playing two matches yesterday, I was more familiar with the venue," Wang noted.
Kuai Man secured the win for China with an 11-6, 11-9, 11-3 victory over Yoo Si-woo.
"At the beginning, I was not quite used to her rhythm and changes on the first three strokes, which mounted huge pressure on me," Kuai said. "After going through the first three strokes, I had more advantage on rallies."
China tops Group 1 with a win-loss record of 3-0, while South Korea sits bottom without a win. Chinese Taipei and Romania, both at 1-1, will cross swords later on Sunday.
In Group 2, Japan beat Germany 3-1, and France defeated host England 3-0.
In the men's draw, China fell 3-2 to Sweden in a five-match thriller to suffer its second defeat in the group phase.
Despite suffering with a bleeding hand in the second game, world No. 1 Wang Chuqin sailed past Sweden's Anton Kallberg 11-8, 11-5, 11-6.
Playing against Elias Ranefur, China's Lin Shidong lost the first two games 11-9, 11-6, before forcing a decisive fifth game with 11-3, 11-6. However, the 21-year-old debutant let a 9-7 lead slip away on the way to an 11-9 defeat.
Sweden changed its roster, fielding Olympic silver medalist Truls Moregard in the third singles match against Liang Jingkun.
Liang came back twice but wasted a match point at 10-9 in the decider before losing 12-10.
Wang got his second point of the day with a 12-10, 11-6, 11-4 win over Ranefur.
Kallberg beat Lin 12-10, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8 in the deciding match as Sweden notched its third consecutive win.
Featuring 32 teams each in the men's and women's events, the knockout stage will kick off on Monday. ■
