China avenge S. Korea to reach men's semifinal

China avenged its group stage loss with a 3-0 victory over South Korea in the men's quarterfinals at the 2026 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals on Friday.

Wang Chuqin of China serves in the singles match against Oh Junsung of South Korea during the men's teams quarterfinal match between China and South Korea at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London, Britain, on May 8, 2026. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

World No. 1 Wang Chuqin gave China the lead with a five-game victory over Oh Jun-sung, who had scored two points in a 3-1 win over China in the group match with Wang rested.

Wang had a 3-1 win-loss record in their head-to-head, with his only defeat coming from the men's singles quarterfinal at the 2024 Asian Championships.

Wang won 11-9 in a closely contested first game, before cruising to an 11-1 victory to double the lead.

Playing in his first team worlds, Oh began clawing back in the third game, triumphing 11-8 and 11-7 to force a decider.

Unfazed by the comeback, Wang took the fifth game 11-7 to move the defending champion ahead.

China's Lin Shidong showed improvement on his shape after struggling at times in the group phase, dispatching Jang Woo-jin 11-3, 13-11, 11-8.

In the third match, Liang Jingkun delivered one of his best performances so far in the tournament, beating An Jae-hyun 11-7, 11-5, 15-13 to close out China's win.

China will face either France or Brazil in the semifinals.

Earlier in the day, Japan swept Ukraine 3-0, setting up a women's semifinal clash with Germany.