CHENGDU – Top seeds China achieved an 8-1 victory over Germany to top the standings, while South Korea overcame Japan 8-4 to remain in the running for the title at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Mixed Team World Cup here on Dec 8.

In a match against second-seeded Germany, China took a 2-1 lead in mixed doubles as world No. 1 pair Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha overcame Cedric Meissner and Wan Yuan 8-11, 11-7, 11-2.

Wang Manyu extended China’s lead by winning 11-2, 11-5, 11-4 against veteran Shan Xiaona in women’s singles.

Table tennis icon Ma Long dominated in straight games over Ricardo Walther in men’s singles, propelling the hosts to their fourth consecutive victory during the second stage.

Given the three-way battle for the crown prior to Friday’s matches, the showdown between Japan and South Korea was crucial in determining the eventual winner.

The two teams were tied at 3-all after the mixed doubles and women’s singles.

South Korea pulled ahead as Jang Woo-jin battled to beat Tomokazu Harimoto 9-11, 13-11, 11-9 in a tightly contested men’s singles match, before teaming with Lim Jong-hoon to secure South Korea’s victory after defeating Harimoto and Shunsuke Togami 11-8, 11-9, 11-1.

In other matches, France defeated Chinese Taipei 8-3, and Sweden swept Slovakia 8-0.

With just two days of competition remaining, China and South Korea, both undefeated, hold the top two positions in the standings with 10 points each.

China are set to face Japan, currently third with nine points, on the penultimate day, while South Korea challenges Germany. Additionally, Slovakia will compete against Chinese Taipei, and Sweden will clash with France.

The inaugural table tennis mixed team World Cup concludes on Sunday, with final-day matches including the blockbuster China-South Korea clash, with the team achieving the best overall result in the round-robin second stage claiming the title.

South Korea and Chinese Taipei had advanced from the five-team Group 4 in the round-robin first stage, with Singapore, Canada and India eliminated.

The Republic, represented by Clarence Chew, Josh Chua, Koen Pang, Izaac Quek, Wong Xin Ru, Zeng Jian and Zhou Jingyi, beat Canada 8-5 but lost 8-3 to South Korea and were narrowly defeated 8-7 by both Chinese Taipei and India. XINHUA