Taiwan’s women’s team lost 3-0 to China in the semifinal of the 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championship Finals held in Chengdu, China on Friday, to finish third and claim a bronze medal.
Since the group stage began on Sept. 30, Taiwan’s women’s team had lost only one match, to Sweden on Monday, and reached the semifinal by defeating India 3-0 in the round of 16 and Singapore 3-2 in the quarterfinal.
However, with the world’s top three female paddlers to call on, the Chinese women’s team proved too strong for Taiwan’s team.
China’s Sun Yingsha (孫穎莎), Chen Meng (陳夢) and Wang Manyu (王曼昱) swept past Taiwan’s Chen Szu-yu (陳思羽), Li Yu-jhun (李昱諄) and Liu Hsin-yin (劉馨尹) without losing a game.
The Chinese women’s team, which is seeking a fifth consecutive world championship title and has won 21 titles in total, has bulldozed opponents throughout the competition, with six consecutive 3-0 victories following its defeat of Taiwan.
However, by securing a bronze medal, the Taiwanese women collected only their third ever medal and second bronze at the world championships.
In 2000 the Taiwanese women’s team, led by naturalized Chinese paddler Chen Ching (陳靜), won a silver medal, losing in the final to China.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel