China retains men's team title at Asian Table Tennis Championships

ASTANA -- China defended its title in the men's team event with a 3-1 victory over Chinese Taipei at the 27th Asian Table Tennis Championships on Thursday.

In the semifinal against the Republic of Korea, Wang Chuqin bagged two points as China triumphed 3-1, setting up the title showdown against Chinese Taipei, who rolled past India 3-0.

Wang became China's main driving force again in the final, as the world No 1 dispatched Kao Cheng-Jui 3-0 to earn his team an early lead.

Teenager Lin Shidong doubled China's advantage by upsetting Chinese Taipei's linchpin Lin Yun-Ju 3-1.

Although Liang Jingkun lost a full-game thriller to Huang Yan-Cheng, Wang staged a 1-11, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-4 comeback win over Lin in the fourth set to assure China's title defense.

"A new Olympic cycle, a new team, we achieved a good result in the team event," commented Wang, who also gave his compliments to his 19-year-old teammate Lin.

"He played great so far in the Asian Championships, also at the recent World Table Tennis (WTT) China Smash and Champions Macao, showcasing his consistent form and fulfilling his role in the team event," Wang said. "As for myself, through these team matches, I became better and better, and found familiar feeling and willingness like before on the court."

After going through their mixed doubles round of 16 matches earlier on Thursday, the two Chinese pairs, Lin Shidong/Kuai Man and Lin Gaoyuan/Wang Yidi fared differently in the quarterfinals, with Lin/Kuai sweeping past Cho Dae-seong/Kim Na-yeong of the ROK in straight games, while Lin/Wang fell 3-1 to another ROK duo Lim Jong-hoon/Shin Yu-bin.

In Friday's semifinal, Lin/Kuai will play against Ham Yu Song/Pyon Song Gyong of DPRK.