China has become the first team to secure their place in Stage 3 of the ITTF Mixed Team World Cup Chengdu 2024 presented by CHINA TELECOM, following an emphatic 8-2 victory over Japan on Friday night. The defending Guoliang-Sörling Trophy champions sealed their advancement despite early resistance from the Japanese squad, who managed to claim a game in the Mixed Doubles through Rin Mende and Ryuusei Kawakami.
Wang Manyu quickly restored order with a commanding performance against Kaho Akae (11-7, 11-5, 11-5), before Lin Shidong extended China’s advantage to 7-2 with a victory over Yuta Tanaka (11-5, 12-10, 6-11). The night concluded in style as the formidable pairing of Sun Yingsha and Wang Yidi secured the decisive game against Asuka Sasao and Kaho Akae (11-6), sending the Sichuan Gymnasium into celebratory cheers.
In the evening’s other contest, Germany kept their tournament hopes alive with an impressive 8-0 victory over USA. Franziska Schreiner and Fanbo Meng set the tone with a dominant Mixed Doubles performance against Kayla Goodwin and Zhang Xiangjing (11-6, 11-3, 11-4). Yuan Wan followed up by overcoming Jessica Reyes Lai in three close games (12-10, 11-9, 12-10), before Kay Stumper sealed the victory against Jishan Liang (11-6, 11-7).
“I think my opponent played good tactics against me. She has backhand pimples, which were quite uncomfortable for me, so I was struggling a bit with that,” Yuan Wan reflected after her match. “I feel like I was not so free today, I was more tense. Perhaps that’s why the games were so close. But I must say my opponent also gave her best, and she played well… In both of our next matches, we are the underdogs, they are the favourites. So, we will be happy about any game we can win, and we’ll try to give our best.”
