Chinese stars all advance at table tennis worlds

PARIS - China's table tennis team showed dominance again in the world championships as all of their players advanced to the next round here on Wednesday.

With the world entering the third day's competition, there is not a single Chinese player facing serious challenge and they passed a very clear message that the sport remains their domain.

China's Ma Long plays against Soumyajit Ghosh of India in their men's singles opening round match at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Paris, May 15, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Zhang Jike launched his title defense in style by beating Sweden's Fabian Akerstrom in straight sets. The gold medallist at the 2012 London Olympics took the easy win 5-11, 1-11, 10-12, 7-11 over the 321st-ranked opponent.

His Chinese teammate Ma Lin, the Olympic champion in 2008, also advanced after eliminating local player Christophe Legout without conceding a game.

The other three Chinese stars Xu Xin, the top seed, and Ma Long, the World Cup winner, all reached the second round with straight-set victories.

Wang Hao, whom Zhang beat in the Olympic final in London, was an exception. Unlike his other star teammates, He conceded a game, in the win over Marcos Madrid of Mexico.

Fan Zhendong, 16, and Yan An, 20, the two youngest players in the Chinese men's team, also entered the second round, beating Oleksandr Didukh of Ukraine and Croatia's Roko Tosic.

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