Asian powerhouse South Korea entered the last eight on the heals of China, beating Chinese Taipei at the world table tennis championships Wednesday.
South Korea, which already scored a string of dominant wins over Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden, dispatched top player Ryu Seung Min to confront 14-ranked Chuan Chi-Yuan in the opening game.
The encounter proved to be nail-biting with Chuan overpowering the Olympic champion 3-2 in a long march.
Joo Se Hyuk, who made his name as a top-class defensive chopper in 2003, stretched full against 36-ranked Chiang Peng-Lung before emerging with a 3-1 victory. Joo's compatriot Lee Jung Woo enlarged South Korea's lead to 2-1 after beating Chiang Hung-Chieh3-0.
Back on court, Ryu pulled himself together and completed a 3-1 win for his team after finishing off Chiang 3-1.
Meanwhile, Japan formed a strong lineup of Jun Mizutani, Kan Yoand Kaii Yoshida against Germany's Bastian Steger, Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Christian Suss.
With the absence of its star Timo Boll, the German regiment seemed a little different and succumbed to Japan 1-3 in a two-hour enthralling encounter.
Earlier on Wednesday, China rolled over Austria in one hour to become the first team to enter the last eight, while Hong Kong of China trashed its Asian rival Singapore to set up a meeting with Belarus in Group D.
Liu Guoliang, head coach of the Chinese men's squad, said early Wednesday that the team would keep a close eye on the performance of South Korea and Chinese Taipei.
Source: Xinhua
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