LONDON - China beat South Korea 3-0 on Thursday to advance to the women's team semifinals at the 2026 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals, with world No 1 Sun Yingsha surviving a five-game scare in the second match.

China had also defeated South Korea 3-0 in the group stage.

Wang Manyu gave China a strong start, beating Shin Yu-bin 11-1, 11-4, 11-4.

"I went all out in the first match, hoping to boost our team's morale," Wang Manyu said. "I made full preparations, both on tactics and mentality, and executed as well as I could."

Facing Kim Na-yeong again after their group meeting, Sun was pushed much harder.

After taking the opening game 11-7, Sun dropped the next two 11-7, 11-7 and trailed 4-1 in the fourth. She then won 10 straight points to level the match and force a decider.

Kim threatened another upset in the fifth, closing from 9-5 down to within one point, but Sun held on to win 11-9.

"I expected her to perform better than in the group stage," Sun said. "I was a bit conservative with my adjustments in the second and third games. The comeback in the fourth gave me more confidence in my tactics."

In the third match, Wang Yidi beat Park Ga-hyeon 11-5, 11-3, 10-12, 11-2 to seal the tie.

"It was our second meeting here. I started quickly, but after leading 9-5 in the third game, I became impatient and lost my rhythm," Wang Yidi said. "I adjusted quickly in the fourth and stayed focused on my own game."

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China will face either France or Romania in the semifinals.