The first day of play at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan saw the third-seeded Germany and the seventh-seeded Romania secure victories against Poland and Sweden respectively. Additionally the eighth-seeded France defeated Czechia Spain won against Uzbekistan and Serbia scored a surprising victory over Canada.
The Germany Women’s team defeated the Poland Women’s Team in four matches although their opponents tested them. In a nearly three-hour-long match Nina MITTELHAM defeated Katarzyna WEGRZYN 3-2 and also overcame Natalia BAJOR in five games. Xiaona SHAN lost to BAJOR while Sabine WINTER prevailed against Zuzanna WIELGOS in straight games.
Nina MITTELHAM commented “It was a really difficult match. I was just trying to play ball by ball because I knew they can play quite well they had good results in the past. First matches in the tournament are always difficult so I am really happy that we were able to win our match even if it was really close. But this just can push us a little bit more and hopefully tomorrow we can also play a little bit better. From the team spirit and from the fighting it was a really good match so I am satisfied.”
Sabine WINTER said “We are going to have a nice and fast dinner I guess we will have a good sleep or I hope it will be a good sleep and I guess tomorrow we will talk about our plan and our draw the play and we will watch some videos of our opponents and I am sure we will be ready tomorrow.”
Romania overcame Sweden in superb fashion: Bernadette SZOCS Elizabeta SAMARA and Adina DIACONU all recorded straight games wins over Christina KALLBERG Linda BERGSTROM and Filippa BERGAND.
Elizabeta SAMARA said “I believe it was the unity of the team that made the difference. It was our first match which is never easy. My teammates gave me a lot of confidence but playing at 2-0 was still challenging because every match is crucial. I focused on adapting to the hall environment as well. Given that it was our first match it was particularly important. I maintained a high level of focus in every game and I’m pleased that we didn’t drop any matches today. We prepared extensively for these World Championships because they serve as a qualification criterion for the Olympics. Therefore we are physically and mentally well-prepared.”
Adina DIACONU said “I lost two years ago so this time I approached the match with better tactics. We will treat every match as if it were the final. We will discuss our upcoming match against Canada tomorrow morning.”
France led by the recent Europe Top 16 Cup winner YUAN Jia Nan succeeded in full five matches against Czechia. Spain’s Maria XIAO clinched two wins against Kazakhstan’s Rozalina KHADJIEVA and Markhabo MAGDIEVA while Sofia-Xuan ZHANG also managed to record a victory over MAGDIEVA and Maria BERZOSA lost to Rimma GUFRANOVA.
Serbia’s women’s team like the men’s team created an upset and overcame Canada. Sabina SURJAN recorded wins over Zhang MO and Ivy LIAO while Andrea TODOROVIC beat Jessie XU. Zhang beat Izabela LUPULESKU.
“I managed to restore my rhythm after Mo was 2-1 in advance. I put more variation in my speed and it gave me a 2-2 and 9-3 lead. Then Mo sped up her service threw me out of rhythm and leveled. In a close finish I put my game together to win and prevent the risky fifth duel ” explained SURJAN.
