Liu Shi Wen

Liu Shi Wen, China’s Liu Shiwen returns a ball during a women’s final match against Singapore’s Wang Yuegu at the table tennis world team championships in Moscow on Sunday, May 30, 2010.

Chinese table tennis squad enjoyed a strong start at the 50th World Team Table Tennis Championships on Sunday, with both men and women crushing their rivals 3-0.

Chinese women’s squad began the defense of its world team table tennis title with a quick 3-0 victory over Italy in the afternoon.

Chinese players Ding Ning, Guo Yan and Liu Shiwen overwhelmed their rivals without losing a single set.

During the first match, Ding Ning, ranked fourth in the world, beat former Chinese Tan Monfardini Wenling in some 15 minutes with a score of 11-3, 11-3, 11-5.

Third-ranked Guo Yan disposed of Nikoleta Stefanova and the world No. 1 Liu Shiwen wrapped up China’s victory by beating Debora Vivarelli.

The only tension came up when a seesaw game was seen between Liu Shiwen and Vivarelli, which ended with a score of 14-12.

Shi Zhihao, head coach of the women’s squad, said after the match that he actually hoped Chinese girls would face more close matches in the group round stage, which could help them find the right mood for the competition soon.

“Ding Ning and Guo Yue’s wins came too easy, which might not be a good thing,” he said.

In other Group A women matches, Poland beat Croatia 3-1 and England subdued Austria 3-2.

In group D, Japan won Belarus 3-0. But Ai Fukuhara, the top Japanese player, had a hard 3-2 victory over Veronika Pavlovich.

i