China overcame the shock upset of world and Olympic champion Zhang Jike to sweep the men's and women's titles at the World Team Table Tennis Championships yesterday.

In front of thousands of fans at Tokyo's Yoyogi Gymnasium, China's women blazed past hosts Japan but their men's team had to battle past a determined Germany before retaining their title.

After Ma Long dispatched Timo Boll 11-6, 11-9, 11-9, a rout looked on the cards but China reckoned without Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who handed Zhang his first ever defeat at a world championships.

But Ovtcharov's stunning 13-11, 11-8, 11-6 win looked like counting for little when Xu Xin dismissed Patrick Franziska 11-5, 11-2, 11-9 to put China back in front.

And Ma quickly brought Ovtcharov down to earth when he beat the German in three straight games, 12-10, 11-5, 11-2, to seal China's 19th title in 24 final appearances.

China had fewer problems defending the women's title after Ding Ning weathered a storm against Yuka Ishigaki to take the opener in four games, 11-8, 8-11, 11-2, 11-5.

World and Olympic champion Li Xiaoxia beat Kasumi Ishikawa 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 and Liu Shiwen then finished the job when she outclassed Sayaka Hirano 11-4, 11-2, 11-5.

It extended the extraordinary run of the Chinese women, who have reached every world team final since 1963 and have raised the trophy 19 times.

"The defeat is good for Zhang Jike," said Liu Guoliang, head coach of the Chinese team.

"Though he won the world champion in Paris last year, Zhang didn't make much improvement after the London Olympics. "The loss shows that there is still room for him to improve. If he can learn from the defeat, I'm sure that he will push himself to a new level. I have faith in him and this defeat won't affect it."

Xu Xin said preparation was the key to his success. "Though it is my third time to win the world championship, it's the first time for me to play in the final," said Xu.

"I've prepared for this moment for six years. That's why I totally controlled the match."

Kong Linghui, the head coach of the Chinese women's team, was full of praise for the players' efforts.

"The players even gave me no chance to call a timeout," said Kong. "Ding Ning now is in very good condition. Her performances are now consistent after winning the Asian Cup this year," he said.

"Li Xiaoxia has always been the leading figure of the team. And she proved herself to be a good captain," said Kong.

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