Team Croatia has created top rated upset by beating Chinese Taipei in Men’s Teams Group 7 at the 2022 ITTF World Team Championships Finals in Chengdu. The back-bone of Croatia’s success was Andrej GACINA with two wins over PENG Wang-Wei and LIAO Cheng-Ting whilst Filip ZELJKO beat HUANG Yan-Cheng. “The result shows things went smoothly but actually it was a tough match. They could have won. So we are happy that we managed to win. I think we all played well. We managed to win the match and we are happy about that. We need to take a rest try to recover as fast as possible. Because we have the match against Belgium tomorrow morning and the winner will win the number one position in this group ” said ZELJKO. After victory over Taipei Belgium overcame Singapore today. Martin ALLEGRO Cedric NUYTINCK and Adrien RASSENFOSSE recorded straight matches win over PANG Yew En Koen CHEW Zhe Yu Clarence and QUEK Izaac. Portugal also recorded second victory; after Slovakia it was Brazil who suffered by the hands of Marcos FREITAS Joao MONTEIRO and Joao GERALDO. Hugo CALDRANO won his both encounters on the other side. GERALDO played the decisive match against Eric JOUTI. “We are happy with having a good experience we hope to keep the good shape. We were used to this kind of long match in the past. Basically we’re happy that in the end we could manage the match. Denmark’s team is a good team they made a lot of troubles to Brazil. We’ll have a rest now and start to prepare for the matches tomorrow ” said GERALDO. Germany suffered defeat by the hands of India’s players “I think they played well over the last few years and put themselves at many different international stages. For us we give everything today. The match was very close and I think we could do better in one or two matches. For example my 4th match was leading 2-0 at first we could win this match and maybe we would win overall. But the India always believe themselves they deserve to win at the end ” explained QIU Dang. In the Women’s Event Germany beat Egypt in straight matches. “I’m really happy. We did it that’s great. I did not feel so much pressure we were leading two-zero. In my first game I missed some easy balls it was a pity. But the most important thing is that in the end I won the serve and I was also leading all the time in the second game. I got the chance to come back I managed to win the game at the end ” said Nina MITTELHAM. Italy also recorded another victory. South Africa’s Danisha PATEL Lailaa EDWARDS and Zodwa MAPHANGA suffered by the hands of Debora VIVARELLI Giorgia PICCOLIN and Nicole ARLIA “We prepared quite well for the match today and yesterday against Brazil. With this victory we found it quite good. And we are happy about this match. Now we are thinking about the match with France tomorrow. I think this is the most important match. We know them a little bit since we played against them before. We know that they have a good number one. But we have nothing to lose so we want to be prepared ” said PICCOLIN. Team Luxembourg added another victory to their scoreboard. After win over Korea and defeat against Singapore they beat Iran in the third round. “So far so good I’m happy. Every player is professional. They are very good. For me every match is very serious and not easy. I still have to prepare well and fight very hard. I must sleep well. I have my own problem but I think I’m happy with my result. And in the future the game will be tough ” said NI Xia Lian. Sarah DE NUTTE beats Neda SHAHSAVARI: “I’m happy to win my first single game. I had some troubles to get into the tournament. I was sick before coming here. I didn’t practice so much and now I think it’s good to win one match to get some confidence. Hopefully I can play better in the next matches.” Tessy GONDERINGER succeeded against Shima SAFAEI after five games: “For me it was a very tough game. All the games are very close and I needed to fight every ball to continue. I’m very happy to win the game. Today my condition was good but for me playing with Thailand will be difficult.”

On the second day of play at the 2022 ITTF World Team Championships Finals in Chengdu teams Poland and France recorded wins in both Men’s and Women’s Events. In Group 5 Men Poland is at the top with Sweden with two wins each. In the last remaining match in group stage they will meet each other. Poland maintain their perfect record with a 3-0 win over Australia. Samuel KULCZYCKI Milosz REDZIMSKI and Maciej KUBIK overcame Dillon CHAMBERS Nicholas LUM and Finn LUU. Only REDZIMSKI faced pressure in full five games duel against LUM. KULCZYCKI and KUBIK both resolved their matches in straight games. “We are very happy because we won two matches. We pass the group now with the question if we were the number one or two in the group. But now we have won the two matches I feel very happy ” said KULCZYCKI. KUBIK added: “We just practiced today and now we will have a rest. Also we will prepare strategy for the next adversary.” Sweden accounted for England in four matches duel. Liam PITCHFORD suffered his first defeat against Truls MOREGARDH. “We played a great match. 3-1 of England is very good. PITCHFORD is the number one so it’s always thought to be very happy with that. Pitchford was very strong. It’s not an easy situation. So we’re very satisfied and I’m looking forward for the next match into this ” said MOREGARDH. Liam PITCHFORD was the only to score for England in the match against Anton KALLBERG but he lost to Truls in fourth match. Kristian KARLSSON beat David MCBEATH. Team France defeated Kazakhstan 3-0 led by young LEBRUN brothers. Felix defeated Kirill GERASSIMENKO in the opening duel of the match. “My coach said to us that we would change the players today so I knew it and didn’t surprise to start this morning. I feel stressed after the beginning of the match just a bit “stated Felix. His brother Alexis defeated Denis ZHOLUDEY whilst Emmanuel LEBESSON beat Aidos KENZHIGULOV “Our next two opponents will be Germany and India in this order. I think both of these matches would be hard for us. We will have tomorrow a great day. So we will have more practice before playing Germany after tomorrow. So we know again Japanese could be a big fight. We will try to do our best and we will see which position we can stay in from the group and hope to a minimum to catch one of these two games ” said LEBESSON. In Women’s Event Poland beat Uzbekistan in long distance match. Katarzyna WEGRZYN: “It was a very tough game for us but we are very happy that we managed to do it. For the next matches we will do our best and we hope to play good matches. Chengdu is a very nice place and everything is fine. The organization is very good and we enjoy being here.” Anna WEGRZYN beat both Markhabo MAGDIEVA and Asel ERKEBAEVA. Asel lost to Katarzyna as well. For Germany it was a close call but the leaders in Group 5 has seen off a tenacious Team India with a 3-2 win. HAN Ying’s defensive skills proved crucial with the World No.8 locking up two wins along the way. Nina MITTELHAM beats Manika BATRA. “We are really happy that we won. It was our first table tennis team match here and the first match is always difficult. I think match by match we will play better to get in good shape. And then at the end of the championship we all show our best. So it doesn’t matter ” said Nina. Upset of the day so far was created by Italy. European team beat Brazil 3-1 with Giorgia PICCOLIN as the backbone of the team picking up two wins including a career best performance defeating World No.21 Bruna TAKAHASHI. Debora VIVARELLI beats Giulia STAKAHASHI. “We knew we had a chance today to win this match. We didn’t expect Giorgia to win Bruna but we know she has the chance and she’s very brave. My match was also very closed. I knew I had to win this one. It was a thrilling match at the end ” said VIVARELLI.”Yesterday against Hong Kong we knew we could enjoy the match. We didn’t have anything to lose. And it was good that we could start and play a little bit before the match with Brazil. Today we knew we could win. So probably that was the difference between yesterday and today.” France gets the their first win in Chengdu and the first of the Day 2 by defeating South Africa in straight matches. Prithika PAVADE succeeded against Danisha PATEL: “I think we played really well. It was a good start for the tournament We should focus on each ball to finish the match as quick as possible.” Charlotte LUTZ followed her path by beating Zodwa MAPHANGA: “We are always together when we play. We like to focus together and winning together. So I think it’s a good experience.” Team Portugal was forced to go full distance against Sweden. YU Fu recorded both wins against Matilda HANSSON and Linda BERGSTROM SHAO Jieni beat Matilda. Team Czech Republic recorded first win in the match against Egypt. Hana HATELOVA overcame Dina MESHREF: “At the moment we are feeling great. We won but in 2 matches we were very close. I knew that I could play a bit more with calmer vibes. We are going to play against India tomorrow so now we can take rest and prepare for tomorrow.”

On the afternoon session at the 2022 ITTF World Team Championships Finals in Chengdu Luxembourg beat the 4th seeds Korea Republic 3-1. There has been a shock result in the Men’s Teams as well with unseeded Poland proving their worth in overcoming 8th seed England 3-2. Romania overcame Sweden in Women’s Event after thrilling five matches. In team Luxembourg NI Xia Lian justified her status by beating JEON Jihee and LEE Zion and it was Tessy GONDERINGER who put Luxembourg ahead of Korea Republic defeating KIM Hayeong for a career best win (12-10 11-9 2-11 11-9). In the third game KIM was on her way to level the game but Tessy managed to halt her spirited comeback. “It was only important for me to stay calm and to keep on play ball for ball. This is perfect start for us ” said GONDERINGER. NI stated that this win belongs to the team. “The harmony was very important in our victory. We have to thank to our coach on that. Korea is very strong team but this is today’s victory and we already thinks about tomorrow ” said NI. The leaders in Group 6 Romania underlined their status but not without great fight. Sweden proved worthy adversary. Bernadette SZOCS gave Romania dream start with the win over Matilda HANSSON in three straight games but Linda BERGSTROM had other plans. She overcame Elizabeta SAMARA and SZOCS both in five games. Adina DICONU overcame Filippa BERGAND before in the decisive match SAMARA overcame HANSSON in another five games duel. “In the last match I won my opening game easily but then she read my service game and it became difficult to play against Matilda. We are the favorites in this Group and the pressure was on us. It was the case in my last match for sure. Matilda got nothing to lose; she played more relaxed and she risked more. It was very hard to find the answer to that ” said SAMARA. In men’s event Poland beat England in five matches. Whilst all three Samuel KULCZYCKI Maciej KUBIK and Milosz REDZIMSKI scored for Poland it was only Liam PITCHFORD who recorded wins for England. Samuel KULCZYCKI put Poland ahead with a 3-1 win over David MCBEATH PITCHFORD beat REDZIMSKI and KULCZYCKI; Maciej KUBIK stealing a tight victory over England’s Samuel WALKER. In the decisive match REDZIMSKI beat MCBEATH. “We played a good game everyone contributed to the victory and gave it their best. We are very happy. In my last match I played confidently and agressive it allowed me to win 3-0. Of course I had to be focused all time and fortunately I wasn’t thinking about importance of this match. It was tough but great new experience in my pocket ” said REDZIMSKI.

The opening Round at the 2022 ITTF World Team Championships Finals in Chengdu was successful for main European favorites. In Men’s Teams Event Germany Sweden and Slovenia recorded their first wins at the Championships. In Group A Slovenia beat Puerto Rico 3-1 with Darko JORGIC being the main force behind team’s success. He overcame Daniel GONZALEZ and Brian AFANADOR. “It is always harder to be a coach and a player and I am more used to be a player. It is said for us that we are without coach but what we can do? It was no other opportunity for us but it is nice to be also the coach to get some experience for the future “explained JORGIC. Deni KOZUL overcame AFANADOR as well before Peter HRIBAR lost his encounter against Angel NARANJO. “We are happy to win this match. The atmosphere here in China is nice. First matches are always a little bit harder like you are getting used to everything. But I think we did well and we are happy with our performance. In third match peter was leasing 1-0 (9-6). It was a little bit pity that he lost the game but this is team event. Darko fished the game for us with 3-0. At the end team result is important so we want to win. Tomorrow we will play against Thailand and especially since we have Top Ten in our team we are aiming for the win and fighting match per match and we will see when it comes ” stated KOZUL. The leaders in Group 2 Germany overcame Kazakhstan in straight matches. Benedikt DUDA laid the foundation for clear German success in the opening duel. The number 36 in the world managed the decisive break to the important 1-0 lead against the top Kazakh player Kirill Gerassimenko who is eight places better in the ITTF ranking. After 0 -1 and 0 -4 Benedikt Duda scored 11-1 and equalized against Kirill GERASSIMENKO to 1: 1. “I met a tough opponent. They have a very good top player to carry games. We did good teamwork today and I was lucky that I could manage the first win against GERASSIMENKO ” said DUDA. QIU Dang beats Denis ZHOLUDEV without due alarm: “It is a big honor for us to play for the national team. We are all happy that we can represent Germany and we give our best every match so we can fight and be proud to be Germany.” Ricardo WALTHER beats Alan KURMANGALIYEV: “First matches are always difficult new conditions new hall as everything is new. So we need to get used to it. I think we could manage it somehow today. And now we are happy we won the match.” In the same Group France also recorded straight matches win with young forces. Brothers Alexis and Felix LEBRUN and Jules ROLLAND succeeded against Uzbekistan. Alexis LEBRUN beat Abdulaziz ANORBOEV: “It was my first match. I am so excited to play in this competition. I was mainly thinking about how to play. I hope we can continue performing like this in the coming games.” Felix overcame Elmurod KHOLIKOV: “The team spirit is very good. My brother and I had pleasure to play together. So it is very cool.” Jules ROLLAND scored against Shokhrukh ISKANDAROV: “I was nervous in this morning because it is an important match for me. I was less nervous when we did very nice. A year ago it was impossible to see that I would be here today. So I was so happy. It is an amazing thing. We had a very good experience and performance it is the most important thing. We have very good team spirits. There is a different generation like Alexis and Felix in our team. They are very young and it is a good experience to play with them.” The leaders in Group 5 Sweden commenced their journey with the win over Australia. Mattias FALCK beat Dillon CHAMBERS Kristian KARLSSON succeeded against Finn LUU and Anton KALLBERG beat LEE Yonghun. The opening Round at the 2022 ITTF World Team Championships Finals in Chengdu was successful for main European favorites. In Men’s Teams Event Germany Sweden and Slovenia recorded their first wins at the Championships. In Group A Slovenia beat Puerto Rico 3-1 with Darko JORGIC being the main force behind team’s success. He overcame Daniel GONZALEZ and Brian AFANADOR. “It is always harder to be a coach and a player and I am more used to be a player. It is said for us that we are without coach but what we can do? It was no other opportunity for us but it is nice to be also the coach to get some experience for the future “explained JORGIC. Deni KOZUL overcame AFANADOR as well before Peter HRIBAR lost his encounter against Angel NARANJO. “We are happy to win this match. The atmosphere here in China is nice. First matches are always a little bit harder like you are getting used to everything. But I think we did well and we are happy with our performance. In third match peter was leasing 1-0 (9-6). It was a little bit pity that he lost the game but this is team event. Darko fished the game for us with 3-0. At the end team result is important so we want to win. Tomorrow we will play against Thailand and especially since we have Top Ten in our team we are aiming for the win and fighting match per match and we will see when it comes ” stated KOZUL. The leaders in Group 2 Germany overcame Kazakhstan in straight matches. Benedikt DUDA laid the foundation for clear German success in the opening duel. The number 36 in the world managed the decisive break to the important 1-0 lead against the top Kazakh player Kirill Gerassimenko who is eight places better in the ITTF ranking. After 0 -1 and 0 -4 Benedikt Duda scored 11-1 and equalized against Kirill

Defending champions China occupy the top seeded positions in both the men’s and women’s team events at the 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals Presented by China Telecom; the initial stage groups being determined at the draw ceremony on Wednesday 28th September. Overall 32 teams compete in the men’s event 28 in the women’s competition. In the men’s team event Germany the second seeds are in the same group as France; for Germany DANG Qiu the recently crowned European champion leads the line. Brothers Alexis and Felix LEBRUN appear for France. None were under serious first team consideration four years ago in Halmstad. Similarly at the Liebherr 2018 World Team Championships Truls MOREGARD played just one match; he is now a key player for Sweden the fifth seeds. In their group the next rated outfit is England; the team Sweden beat in Halmstad to gain a semi-final place. Mattias FALCK is pivotal to Swedish success as is Tomokazu HARIMOTO for Japan. They are in the same group as Hong Kong China and Romania. Promoting youth Eduard Ionescu winner of the Under 19 Boys’ Singles title at the European Youth Championships appears in the Romanian squad. In the women’s team event Japan the second seeds face European opposition in the guise of Hungary Poland and Slovakia. The Land of the Rising Sun includes Hina HAYATA Miyuu KIHARA and Miyu NAGASAKI all players born this century they make their World Team Championships debuts. Germany the fifth seeds the staunch defensive skills of HAN Ying at the head of the order are drawn in the same group as teams that in recent years have made immense progress. It is a chance for Egypt and India to shine. Completing to top six teams Romania includes Bernadette SZOCS and Elizabeta SAMARA. They appear in the same group as Chinese Taipei likewise a team with experienced players. Cheng I-Ching and Chen Szu-Yu were both members of Chinese Taipei’s bronze medal winning outfit at the Perfect 2016 World Team Championships in Kuala Lumpur. Overall 16 teams in each of the men’s and women’s events qualify for the knockout stage; play starting on Wednesday 5 October. Teams finishing in first position in each group will be drawn in the seeded positions; second placed team will be drawn randomly against a group winner or into unfilled seeded positions; additional places will be filled by the highest-ranked third-place group finishers. Men’s TeamGroup 1: China Slovenia United States Puerto Rico ThailandGroup 2: Germany France India Kazakhstan UzbekistanGroup 3: Japan; Hong Kong China; Romania; Iran; HungaryGroup 4: Republic of Korea Egypt Czech Republic Canada Saudi ArabiaGroup 5: Sweden England Australia PolandGroup 6: Brazil Portugal Denmark SlovakiaGroup 7: Chinese Taipei Croatia Belgium Singapore Women’s TeamGroup 1: China United States Puerto Rico Canada MalaysiaGroup 2: Japan Hungary Poland Slovakia UzbekistanGroup 3: Hong Kong China; Brazil; France; Italy; South AfricaGroup 4: Republic of Korea Singapore Thailand Luxembourg IranGroup 5: Germany Egypt India Czech RepublicGroup 6: Romania Chinese Taipei Sweden Portugal

Over 250 athletes have landed in Chengdu China ready to compete in the 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals. For the first time since Beijing 2022 China has welcomed athletes in elite competition. A closed-loop system has been employed for these championships with athletes arriving on specially chartered flights from the ITTF. In the loop athletes will be regularly tested for COVID-19 while being separated from the general population. This system ensured the successful delivery of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games and should make for thrilling safe competition in Chengdu. “It’s great that we will be able to play this Championships even if the restrictions are hard ” said Team Sweden’s Kristian KARLSSON. The men’s competition will feature 32 teams with 28 in the women’s draw. Play takes places in two stages a group phase organised on the round robin principle followed by knockout. Before the competition starts a draw ceremony will take place on Wednesday 28 September. Men’s teams will be drawn in to seven groups women’s in to six groups. Placement in the groups will be based on the ITTF World Team Ranking. “Words cannot express how excited we are to be watching the world’s best table tennis teams take the floor in Chengdu ” Petra SORLING ITTF President said. “The most positive news yesterday was that all participants tested negative. Credit must be given to the organisers who have delivered in this challenging environment what surely will be an impeccable event.” The group stage will begin on September 30 with the women’s and men’s finals taking place on October 8 and 9 respectively. The event in Chengdu will be broadcast for the first time in 4K in the Chinese market. Broadcasts of the World Championships will be available in 120 countries to follow the action live. All results and information on Chengdu 2022 can also be found on this dedicated website for the event.