France produced one of the most dramatic performances of the tournament so far, pushing unbeaten Korea Republic to the edge before narrowly losing 8–7 in the Stage 2 of the ITTF Mixed Team World Cup 2025.
In Chengdu The French side refreshed its lineup for Stage 2, with Félix LEBRUN and Prithika PAVADE starting the tie in mixed doubles, while Alexis LEBRUN and Jia Nan YUAN handled singles duties.
Alexis delivered a world-class display in the men’s singles, stunning Woojin JANG 2–1 and later teaming up with Félix to win the men’s doubles in straight games — a result that brought France level at 6–6 and reignited their hopes.
However, in the decisive women’s doubles, PAVADE and Jia Nan came agonizingly close to a huge upset. They won the opening game and fought back from 6–10 in the decider, but Nayeong KIM and Hyojoo CHOI held their nerve to seal victory for Korea and preserve their perfect record.
Croatia faced an unstoppable Chinese team, falling 8–0, but not without moments of brilliance. In mixed doubles, Ivor BAN and Hana ARAPOVIĆ were outmatched by world champions Chuqin WANG and Yingsha SUN, while Man KUAI dominated the women’s singles against Ivana MALOBABIĆ.
The European highlight came from Tomislav PUCAR, who pushed Lin Shidong to a spectacular 14–12 opening game. The second game produced one of the rallies of the day, featuring PUCAR’S stunning edge-ball winner after a sequence of acrobatic lobs. Despite the Croatian’s inspired play, LIN closed the match 2–0.
Germany earned an important 8–5 victory over Sweden. The tie opened with a comeback from Annett KAUFMANN, Patrick FRANZISKA, who overturned a tough start to beat Christina KÄLLBERG, Kristian KARLSSON 2–1. Sweden immediately struck back, as Linda BERGSTRÖM edged Sabine WINTER in a dramatic 2–1 duel.
Germany then grabbed control through Dang QIU, who produced a superb performance to defeat Anton KÄLLBERG 3–0 in the men’s singles, giving Germany crucial momentum.
Sweden reduced the gap in the men’s doubles, with KÄLLBERG/Karlsson narrowly topping DUDA/QIU 2–1, but Germany quickly responded: WINTER/MITTELHAM claimed a tight first game (12–10) against KÄLLBERG/BERGSTRÖM, securing the final point needed for an overall 8–5 German win.
