Chinese men's and women's teams have flying start at table tennis worlds

Sun Yingsha of China competes against Crystal Liu of Canada during the women's group 1 match at the 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Oct. 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

Both Chinese men and women paddlers made a flying start at the World Team Table Tennis Championships, easing past Puerto Rico and Canada in straight sets.

CHENGDU, China, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese men paddlers made a flying start at the World Team Table Tennis Championships on Saturday, beating Puerto Rico 3-0, while their women counterparts also eased past Canada in straight sets.

World No.1 Fan Zhendong defeated Brian Afanador 11-2, 11-4, 11-7 and world No.2 Ma Long beat Daniel Gonzalez 11-6, 11-2, 11-6. Wang Chuqin wrapped up China's victory with an 11-1, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4 win over Angel Naranjowork.

"As defending champions, we have made a lot of preparation for these Championships. We have very high expectations for ourselves," said Fan.

"The third set was not that easy because my opponent was powerful, but we have made all kinds of preparation. So I think the result was normal," he added.

"It is our first match, and we are still adapting to the pace. We were unfamiliar with Puerto Rico, but I think we did a good job staying focused," Ma said.

Also as defending champions, the Chinese women players also enjoyed an easy time beating Canada 3-0. Chen Meng dealt an 11-5, 11-2, 11-5 blow to Ivy Liao, while Sun Yingsha won over Crystal Liu 11-8, 11-4, 11-5, before Wang Manyu breezed past Nie Jiayi 11-3, 11-3, 11-4.

Ma Long of China competes against Daniel Gonzalez of Puerto Rico during the men's group 1 match at the 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Oct. 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

Earlier on Saturday, former world champion Singapore beat Luxembourg 3-0 as Singapore's Zhou Jingyi took a decisive comeback win over 59-year-old legend Ni Xialian, triumphing at 4-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-8, 14-12.

The French women defeated South Africa 3-0, while Germany saw off India 3-2. World No. 8 Han Ying locked up two points for Germany with her consistent defensive play.

Giorgia Piccolin scored two points, leading Italy past Brazil 3-1, including a win over world No.21 Bruna Takahashi.

In other men's team encounters, Belgium won 3-1 over Chinese Taipei while Hong Kong, China, beat Iran 3-2. Poland, France, India, Egypt and Slovenia all claimed 3-0 victories.