On the receiving end of an 8-0 defeat the previous evening, Hong Kong, China bounced back with a strong display on Day 6 at ITTF Mixed Team World Cup Chengdu 2024 presented by CHINA TELECOM, seeing off Romania by an 8-4 margin.
Making the best possible start to the match with a straight games success in the Mixed Doubles, Hong Kong, China’s afternoon soon got a whole lot better as Doo Hoi Kem put three games past Elizabeta Samara (11-8, 11-5, 12-10).
Trailing by a 6-0 deficit, Romania needed an immediate response, and Eduard Ionescu restored a glimmer of hope, producing a fantastic effort to battle past Wong Chun Ting 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-8).
Bernadette Szocs and Andreea Dragoman would add another game to Romania’s tally in the Women’s Doubles, but the day ultimately belonged to Hong Kong, China as Ng Wing Lam and Doo Hoi Kem struck the next two games (9-11, 11-9, 11-6) to put the result beyond doubt.
“The Romanian team is very strong. When I prepared before the match, I thought the Women’s Singles opponent would be (Bernadette) Szocs, but they let (Elizabeta) Samara play singles. I lost to her recently, so I had the mentality of challenging her. I won the first two games, and she may have sped up in the third set. I really didn’t feel very easy to play, so I fell behind at 7-10. The crowd gave me more support when I was behind which gave me confidence to chase. The opponent might be nervous, and I finally won the game. The atmosphere is super good, I enjoy playing here, and I hope we can go further and work harder to play every ball well.” Doo Hoi Kem
Over on Table 1, Korea Republic once again demonstrated its potential title capabilities with a resounding 8-1 victory over France.
There were bright moments in the match from the French team with Camille Lutz picking up a game against Shin Yubin in the Women’s Singles (11-9, 11-7, 7-11). But that would be the only blemish on Korea Republic’s record as Jang Woojin stepped up with a 3-0 victory over Jules Rolland (11-7, 11-5, 11-9) to cement his team’s status as serious contenders in Chengdu.
“Today I’m competing again after a long time. Having the support of my teammates behind me, and having scored so many points in Mixed Doubles and Women’s Singles, allowedm me to play without any pressure. It was a great experience for me personally.” Jang Woojin
