The 2023 ITTF Chengdu World Cup team competition is in full swing, and a high-profile battle yesterday attracted widespread attention from the outside world. This is a matchup between No. 3 seed Japan and No. 4 seed South Korea. Expectations were placed on Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan's to step up, but the result was unexpected. Tomokazu Haramoto lost five games in a row in the singles and doubles matches, resulting in a 4-8 defeat for Japan and a big upset. The match was also the end of Japan's seven-game winning streak, while South Korea made it eight in a row. They are expected to compete for the title in their clash with China. In the other match, France put in a great performance, beating Chinese Taipei 8-3 to claim their second win in the quarter-finals round-robin. South Korea vs. Japan are in the spotlight, with two teams of equal quality, one is the No. 3 seed and the other is the No. 4 seed. Prior to this match, both teams had a clean sheet of wins, just like China.
Although the overall strength of the national table tennis is strong, and winning the championship seems to be a matter of course, this match between the South Korean team and the Japanese team is also known as the "runner-up battle" by the outside world, because the losing side will withdraw from the championship competition early, and the winning side is expected to lock in the runner-up. Therefore, both sides take this match very seriously. The first set was a mixed doubles match, with Japan fielding Junsuke Togami and Miwa Zhangmoto against South Korea's Lee Sang-so and Tian Zhihee. The match was extremely intense, and in the first game, the Japanese pair made a strong effort at a critical moment and won 11-9. In the second game, the two sides fought to a 7-7 draw, and the South Korean team scored four points in a row to pull back a game 11-7. In the third game, the Japanese pair once took the lead, but was finally overtaken by their opponents and lost 9-11. After losing the mixed doubles match, Japan fell behind South Korea 1-2. In the next women's singles match, the Japanese team sent the strongest player Hina Hayata, while the South Korean team sent Kim Na-young.
Hina Hayada did not show her superior skills, and she fought with Kim Na-young inextricably. Hina Hayada narrowly won the first game 11-8, but she lost 9-11 in the second game. However, in the third game, Hina Hayada withstood the pressure and won 11-5. In the end, she defeated Kim Na-young 2-1 and helped the Japanese team chase the score to a 3-3 draw. The game is full of suspense and tension. Both Japan and South Korea have shown a tenacious fighting spirit, and both will be hoping to emerge victorious and battle for the runners-up spot. The competition is at a crucial stage, and players from both sides need to give it their all to get the best result for their teams. As the race progressed, there was a lot of anticipation for the final result. Whether it's Japan or South Korea, they will be hoping to win this game and bring glory to their country.
The runner-up battle will also be a highlight of the match, so let's wait and see how both sides perform and who will have the last laugh. In the men's singles match between Japan and South Korea, Tomokazu Harimoto won 11-9 at the beginning, but then he made a mistake in the next two games and lost two games in a row, 11-13 and 9-11, leaving Japan 1-2 behind. After that, Tomokazu Zhang played again with his partner Junsuke Togami against the Korean pair of Jang Woo-jin and Lim Joong-hoon, but they lost three games in a row, losing 0-3 on aggregate, including a 1-11 defeat in the third game. Tomokazu Haramoto from Japan suffered its first defeat after losing five games in a row, losing to South Korea 4-8 on aggregate. Meanwhile, the French team emerged victorious against Chinese Taipei. In the mixed doubles, the French pair Alex and Yuan Jiannan defeated Yang Jiaan and Li Yuchun 2-1 to take the lead for the French team.
Next up was the Women's Singles match, France's Pavard faced Chinese Taipei's Huang Yihua, who won two games in a row and then lost one game to defeat Huang Yihua 2-1 on aggregate to help France extend the score to 4-2. Then came the men's singles match, where French veteran Simon Goetz faced Chinese Taipei's Wang Chenyou, who won 2-1 to give France a 6-3 lead over Chinese Taipei. Finally, in Men's Doubles, Simon Goetz and his partner Felix defeated Yang Chia An and Lin Yanjun 2-0 to help France comfortably beat Chinese Taipei 8-3 to cement their fifth place in the standings. In this game, we saw Tomokazu Haramoto's underwhelming performance at key moments, while the French team showed consistent strength and team spirit. Each competition has its own highlights and highlights, and the athletes gave their best on the field, showing their skills and perseverance.
Whether they win or lose, they deserve our respect and praise. This competition also gave us an opportunity to observe and Xi, and let us better understand the charm of table tennis and the intensity of competition. I believe that there will be more exciting competitions waiting for us in the future.