Germany’s women booked their place in the semifinals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals after overcoming Hong Kong 3-1 in a tense and emotional quarterfinal clash in London. Sabine WINTER, Ying HAN and Annett KAUFMANN secured Germany’s 57th medal in the history of the World Championships and guaranteed a place on the podium once again.
The German team will now face either Japan or Ukraine in Saturday’s semifinal. Japan, seeded second in the tournament, handed Germany their only defeat during the group stage.
Sabine WINTER played a decisive role in the victory by collecting two crucial points. She produced a remarkable comeback in the opening match against Doo Hoi Kem after trailing by two games and facing a difficult situation midway through the third game. WINTER gradually turned the momentum around with clever variation and strong forehand play before sealing the match in five games.
Ying HAN then delivered one of the most dramatic encounters of the tournament against NG Wing Lam. The experienced defender survived a marathon battle filled with spectacular rallies and momentum swings. In the deciding game, HAN also showed great sportsmanship by correcting a point in favour of her adversary after the umpire missed an edge ball. Despite missing several match points herself, she eventually closed out the contest 15-13 to double Germany’s lead.
“It was a crazy match. I kept believing in myself until the very last point,” said Ying HAN afterwards.
Hong Kong responded through SU Tsz Tung, who defeated Annett KAUFMANN in four games to reduce the gap to 2-1. However, WINTER stepped up once more in the fourth match, producing a dominant straight-games win over Ng Wing Lam to secure Germany’s place in the semifinals.
“It’s something huge to be in the semifinal,” said Sabine WINTER. “The score may say 3-1, but every match was extremely close. We fought for every single ball and stayed mentally strong in the key moments.”
Germany – Hong Kong 3-1
- Sabine WINTER – Doo Hoi Kem 3-2 (10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-4)
- Ying HAN – Ng Wing Lam 3-2 (11-9, 7-11, 15-17, 13-11, 15-13)
- Annett KAUFMANN – Su Tsz Tung 1-3 (10-12, 11-8, 8-11, 4-11)
- Sabine WINTER – Ng Wing Lam 3-0 (11-1, 11-5, 11-6)
