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China ease into next stage
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CHINA'S all-conquering women's table tennis team swept into the second stage of the world championships yesterday, pummelling Lithuania, practically without breaking a sweat.
The Chinese rested world number two Li Ju for the tie, substituting her with sixth seeded Yang Ying.
Yang, alongside double Sydney Olympic gold medallist Wang Nan and world number three Zhang Yining, thumped the Lithuanians 3-0 in just over an hour by which point ties on neighbouring tables had barely played their first match.
The Chinese men, led by Olympic champion Kong Linghui, booked a second stage berth with a convincing 3-0 victory over Yugoslavia.
China now take their place as top seeds in the next round, playing, via the complex draw system, either a lower-placed first division group or a winning second division team who win a qualifying match.
Also through as group winners yesterday were the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), who topped preliminary group G after beating Germany 3-0, following their defeat of Australia on Monday.
The Germans finished above the DPRK in the last world championships, but faced a highly motivated squad cheered to the rafters by thousands of drum-beating, flag waving Japan-based Koreans.
An equally noisy Korean contingent at the other side of the arena saw South Korea through to the next stage, as they clinched top place in their group with a win over Croatia.(SD-Agencies)
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