CHENGDU – China sailed past South Korea 8-1 to complete an unbeaten run and win the first edition of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Mixed Team World Cup here on Dec 10.

Both teams had remained undefeated prior to the final day, but the deciding match turned out to be a lopsided affair.

Top-ranked mixed doubles pair of Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha got the hosts rolling early on, triumphing 11-8, 11-8, 11-5 over Shin Yu-bin and An Jae-hyun.

Wang Manyu piled up three more points for the hosts, defeating Kim Na-yeong of 11-2, 11-5, 11-7 in the women’s singles.

World No. 1 Fan Zhendong assured China’s victory with an 11-7, 10-12, 11-4 win against Lee Sang-su in the men’s singles.

Earlier, Japan registered an 8-4 victory over Germany to finish third, France beat Slovakia 8-4, and Chinese Taipei overpowered Sweden 8-6.

Adopting an innovative mixed team format, the competition began with the mixed doubles, followed by the women’s and men’s singles. Individual matches lasted for three games, resulting in either a 3-0 or 2-1 scoreline, with the team first to accumulate eight games emerging victorious.

If the men’s and women’s doubles matches were required, the order of play was decided by the captain of the lower-ranked team.

Running from Dec 4 to 10 in Chengdu, south-west China’s Sichuan province, the tournament featured a total of 18 teams. They were divided into four groups, with the winner and runner-up of each group advancing to the second stage.

The team with the best overall results after Stage 2 was crowned the champion. If the teams had faced each other in Stage 1, there was no re-match, but instead the results from their encounter were carried over to Stage 2.

For the ITTF, the Mixed Team World Cup not only champions gender equality and diversity, but also underscores the spirit of collaboration and teamwork in the sport.

Sweden ended fourth, followed by France, Germany, Chinese Taipei and Slovakia. XINHUA