Pingpong: Champions China brush Germany aside

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, March 06, 2004

Pingpong: Champions China brush Germany aside

China are through to the men's final of the World Table Tennis Team Championships yesterday after Ma Lin and company humbled a German team led by Timo Boll which up to now had swept all before them.

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China are through to the men's final of the World Table Tennis Team Championships yesterday after Ma Lin and company humbled a German team led by Timo Boll which up to now had swept all before them.

In a stark reminder of just how dominant they are in a sport they have virtually made their own for the past three decades China executed a near-flawless 3-0 win over the fifth seeds.

German number one Boll was first on the rack, losing to Ma Lin in four sets.

Then it was the turn of Zoltan Fejer-Konnerth, the world No 71 who was put out of his misery in three ultra-quick sets by Wang Hao, leaving the way clear for the tall Wang Liqin to wrap up the match without dropping a set to Jorg Rosskopf.

A pale-faced Boll emerged from the bruising to say: "We were quite optimistic before meeting China.

"We'd played well up to now, we tried to play our best but they didn't show any weaknesses �C that's why they won."

Under the bizarre format of these championships Germany could still make it into tomorrow's final as they will now play the winner of the head-to-head between the group runners-up, South Korea and Sweden, for the second final spot.

Asked how he thought Germany might fare if they were to have a second crack at the all-conquering Chinese, Boll said: "If we reach the final, we'll have to think of another way to beat them!"

Boll had no answer to Ma Lin's aggressive top spin attack and although he took the second set 11-9 the European champion was always playing catch up.

According to Ma Lin, beating Boll was crucial. "For the Germans, my first match with Timo was very important. It was always going to be tough for them to fight back after seeing their best player lose."

Earlier, the Hong Kong women's team brushed aside Japan to earn the right to face China in the women's final today.

(China Daily/Agencies)

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