China wins men's title at Team TT Worlds

Halmstad (Sweden), May 6 (IANS) China won the men's final at the World Team Table Tennis Championships on Sunday, defeating Germany 3-0 to take its ninth straight title.

Ma Long, the reigning Olympic men's singles gold medallist and world champion, dominated the opening game against Germany's Timo Boll 11-4, 11-8, 11-4, getting China off to a great start, reports Efe.

"Today, I was very active. In these matches, you need to be technically and mentally good, both are equally important. When I was losing in the second game, I tried to take the initiative," China's Ma Long said.

Fan Zhendong then took out Ruwen Filus 11-4, 11-5, 11-4 in the second game.

"I have played against him before, so I was prepared. I was ready for any difficulties. Even when I was leading, I knew that I must keep my concentration. Ruwen Filus is a player against whom you have to be patient. You must wait for the first opportunity to play an attacking stroke," Fan said.

Xu Win put away Germany, rallying to beat Patrick Franziska 9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-5.

"I'm so happy. I was under pressure, but I responded and the crowd supported me. When I was losing in the second game, I knew I had my teammates to follow even if I lost, but I believed in myself," Xu said.

China has dominated table tennis for decades and has now won nine straight editions of this team event (now held biennially every even year) dating back to 2001.