China rolls to 3rd consecutive men's group win at Busan table tennis worlds

BUSAN, South Korea, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- China overwhelmed Hungary 3-0 for its third straight victory in the men's team event at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals on Sunday.

Facing world No. 133 Bence Majoros, the current highest-ranked player in Hungary's squad, Fan Zhendong just encountered a bit of resistance en route to an 11-7 victory in the first game, before unleashing his attacking firepower to emerge victorious 11-4, 11-5 to have his job done.

"It's our first head-to-head. He tried to impose his pressure through the first three strokes and made some shots at an early stage, thus making it intense in the first half of the first game," explained the top-ranked Fan.

"Then I made some changes to my serve and fit myself better into the game, and from there I had a better control of the match," he added.

Having played two matches so far in Busan, Fan felt that his focus on the game has been improved.

Liang Jingkun powered China to a two-set lead after getting past Tamas Lakatos 11-6, 11-8, 11-5.

"I had some problems in my reception, which made the first two games a little intense. Starting from the third game, I tried to attack his forehand through my serve and receive, which worked well," Liang noted.

In his first match in the Busan event, Lin Gaoyuan surrendered an early lead in the first game before falling 12-10 to Adam Szudi.

"When I led in the first game, I had some unforced errors and did not grasp some opportunities," admitted Lin.

Then, world No. 5 Lin came back into contention with 11-6, 11-2, 11-7 to accomplish the mission for the defending champions.

"From the second game, I adjusted my mentality and tactics, and tried to play some rallies with him. Since then, I had a better grip on the game," Lin commented.

Targeting its 11th straight men's team title, China will lock horns with Croatia in the group on Monday.