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Japan, China power into world table tennis semis
2008-02-28
Japan's women swept into the semi-finals of the world team table tennis championships Thursday as giants China continued to demolish all in their path. Japan, determined to finish higher than their third at the last worlds, thumped Hungary 3-0 to set up a semi-final showdown with Singapore, who earlier secured their spot in dramatic fashion. "We decided that the theme for our team is the undefeatable spirit and that's how we want to continue here," 19-year-old sensation Ai Fukuhara said. Teammate Sayaka Hirano said Japan were gaining in confidence as the worlds progressed, although she conceded that they would need an extra dose of aggression against Singapore. Singapore earlier downed the Netherlands after the Europeans, 2-0 down in their quarter-final, were forced to halt the third match when Li Jie hurt her ankle in the opening game. "Although I'm pleased that we won, I feel very sorry for the Netherlands, who knows what might have happened if they kept playing," said Singapore's Wang Yue Gu, who was leading 5-3 when play stopped. It was a crushing end for the Netherlands, whose paddlers survived an exhausting encounter with South Korea late Wednesday to reach the quarters. China, undefeated at the worlds since 1993, thrashed Romania 3-0 in their quarter, drawing roars from the partisan crowd packing the Guangzhou Gymnasium. The powerful paddlers now take on Hong Kong, who are steeling themselves after being thwarted by the Red Army in the final of the last two worlds. Hong Kong reached the semis after grinding down Austria in marathon matches lasting almost three hours, eventually wrapping up the clash 3-2. China's equally fearsome men whitewashed Italy 3-0 to reach the quarters, as they stepped up their campaign for a fourth straight team title. Italy took just one game off China, boasting the world's top players who are using the worlds as the perfect warm-up for the Beijing Olympics where nothing short of total dominance is expected. Japan also continued their scintillating form, downing Serbia 3-0 to finish top of their group and also automatically qualify for the quarters. South Korea, gunning for their first team title, are also in, but were made to suffer anxious moments against a gritty Hungary before prevailing 3-1. Hong Kong secured a spot after fighting through a 3-2 thriller against Belarus. But in the playoffs late Thursday for the final four quarter-final berths, arch rival Singapore were denied 3-2 by the Czech Republic. In a battle of the European heavyweights, Germany edged out Austria 3-2 for a place in the last eight. Although former world champion Werner Schlager inflicted early damage for Austria, Germany's Jorg Rosskoph came roaring back in the final match of the evening to clinch the tie. "Right from the beginning, we always believed that we had a chance," Germany coach Richard Prause said. "They were fighting like this might be the last match ever, and the whole bench was ready to take over this fighting spirit and I think that was the key to us winning," he said. Taiwan are through after downing Denmark 3-1 and Romania prevailed over Russia also 3-1.
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