BUSAN, South Korea, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) --The 2024 ITTF World Table Tennis Team Championships in Busan entered the fourth match day on the 19th, and the Chinese men's and women's teams defeated Croatia and Hungary respectively, and both advanced to the round of 16 with a complete victory in the group stage.
Against the Croatian team, which had won two consecutive victories, the national table tennis men's team sent Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin and Ma Long. In the first set, Fan Zhendong defeated the world No. 48 Puchar 3-0, but was once suppressed by the opponent's attack in the match. "I played the last two games relatively patiently, so it was a good test for myself to win in the end. Fan Zhendong said.
On February 19, China's Fan Zhendong celebrates in the first set. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yao Qilin.
In the last two sets, Wang Chuqin achieved a large score advantage in all three games and defeated Zeliko 3:0. Malone faced Kojic's challenge and led all the way to win the first two games. In the third game, Ma Long scored 6 points in a row to win the game when he was 5:9 behind.
Ma Long said that the most important thing in the group stage is to win, and then to adapt to the rhythm of the game, the atmosphere, and the stadium. "Stage 2 was a knockout round at the beginning, you need to get into the groove faster, there is no longer time for you to adapt. ”
On February 19, China's Ma Long served in the third set. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yao Qilin.
The Chinese women's team was played by Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha and Wang Yidi on the same day. There was a big gap in the strength of the two teams, and the game was not shocking, and the Chinese team quickly won 3:0.
Sun Yingsha said that the whole team summarized the difficulties and problems encountered in the first game in a timely manner, and the follow-up performance is getting better and better, and will meet the knockout round with a better mental outlook.
On February 19, China's Sun Yingsha returned the ball in the second set. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Shiyao.
The Chinese team will take a day off on the 20th and compete for a place in the quarterfinals on the 21st.