China crowned in men’s team for 10th straight time at table tennis worlds

Xinhua2022-10-10 08:57

　　Wang Chuqin of China hits a return against Kay Stumper of Germany during the men's teams final match at the 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Oct. 9, 2022. (Xinhua/Xu Bingjie)

　　CHENGDU, China, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- China made short work of their German counterparts 3-0 in the men's final here on Sunday at the World Team Table Tennis Championships and lifted the Swaythling Cup for the tenth time in a row and a record 22 times overall.

　　The last team having stopped China in a men's team final at worlds was Sweden in 2000.

　　Sunday's final was a repeat of the 2018 version and marked the sixth time that China and Germany met in the world title contest, with China prevailing on each occasion.

　　Jorg Rosskopf's squad failed to triumph again, as Olympic gold medalist Ma Long, who turns 34 years old in 11 days, came out the only Chinese having dropped a set, seeing off Germany's top paddler and newly-crowned European champion Qiu Dang 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 11-1.

　　Reigning world champion and world No. 1 Fan Zhendong opened the best-of-five games final with a straight-set victory over Benedikt Duda, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9. Wang Chuqin, 22, came up in the third game and beat Kay Stumper 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 to wrap up the match.

　　On Saturday, the Chinese women's team claimed its fifth straight world title after sweeping Japan 3-0. It was also a record-extending 22nd time for China to have lifted the Corbillon Cup in history.