World number five Liu Guozheng beat German Lars Heelscher 3-1 in the men's singles third round of the World Table Tennis Championships Thursday in Osaka.
Liu, who saved seven match points in China's 3-2 win over South Korea in the team championship final, overcame early setbacks to crush the German 20-22, 21-18, 21-15, 21-9.
Liu will fight for a quarter-final berth with Austrian Werner Schlager.
Schlager, ranked 10th in the world, advanced by beating South Korean Oh Sang Eun 15-21, 27-25, 21-14, 21-15.
World number five Liu Guozheng beat German Lars Heelscher 3-1 in the men's singles third round of the World Table Tennis Championships Thursday in Osaka.