At the World Team Championships in London, both German table tennis teams are only one win away from their hoped-for medal.
The German men are in the quarter-finals after a 3-0 win against Hong Kong. The German women followed suit three hours later with a 3-0 win against North Korea.
“I’m very proud of the team,” said men’s national coach Jörg Roßkopf after the confident performance of Benedikt Duda, Dang Qiu and Patrick Franziska. The next opponent is the World Cup co-favorite Japan on Thursday (1.30 p.m. / Dyn), against whom the German team won 3-2 in the group phase just last Saturday.
Women convince against North Korea
“The ones still in the World Cup are the best teams there are. We were well prepared again today and are rightly in the quarter-finals.”
The German women also impressed against the highly rated North Koreans. The players from the isolated Asian country rarely compete in international tournaments. The preparation for this round of 16 match was correspondingly difficult for Annett Kaufmann, Sabine Winter and Ying Han.
The European champions’ quarter-final opponent is also Hong Kong on Thursday (6 p.m./DAZN). At major table tennis tournaments, both semi-final losers receive a medal. There is no special competition for third place.
