In the final of the Women’s event at the 2024 ITTF World Championships Final in Busan China will play against Japan for the gold. In the semifinal of the Men’s event China will meet Korea and France will meet Taipei. Today in the semifinal of the Women’s event Japan overcame Hong Kong in straight matches whilst China halted France on their way to the ultimate stage. In the Men’s event the remaining two quarterfinals were on the program. Korea overcame Denmark whilst Taipei prevented Germany’s men’s team from winning the 13th World Championship medal in the 98-year history of table tennis World Championships. “You don’t experience such a game often! Losing 0:3 sounds catastrophic but we weren’t far from winning 3:0 today ” said Dimitrij OVTCHAROV. “This experience grounds us and will help us to go into the tournament even sharper and more attentive at the Olympics in Paris.” The record Olympic medalist added “We haven’t experienced a defeat like this in the last 15 years. It’s really bitter that it happened at a World Championship. But better it happens here than in Paris.”

Both French teams at the ITTF World Team Championships Finals 2024 recorded wins in the quarterfinals thus securing medals. The French women’s team after an almost three-hour thriller denied Germany a spot on the medal podium. After the decisive match the 19-year-old French champion and three-time European bronze medalist Prithika PAVADE collapsed to the ground while her four teammates rushed onto the center court squealing with joy and burying her beneath them. It was the dramatic conclusion to a great duel in which the 2022 European Championships finalist Nina MITTELHAM secured two points for Germany but France proved their strength as a team. Europe Top-16 winner Jia Nan YUAN defeated Xiaona SHAN in five games and Charlotte LUTZ overcame Sabine WINTER. Prithika PAVADE: “We feel amazing right now. We are all speechless. I think it’s definitely our best result in a team event. The main reason for our win is definitely the team spirit. We are five girls who have dreamt about this moment for many years now. And yeah I’m just so grateful to have them as teammates and so so happy. Speechless right now.” Charlotte LUTZ: “We feel amazing because we knew that it would be a tough match and Prithika did so well we were shaking off. We’re really proud of everyone.” Audrey ZARIF: “Yeah we would like to thank the French people for supporting us. Throughout the competition they were there. I know that I didn’t see my phone but I know that a lot of people sent me some messages. I’m really proud of my team and it’s amazing. I know that we will play China in the next game and I think it will be a tough match but we have nothing to lose. So we hope to give our best and always support each other and maybe win another medal.” France will face defending champion China in the semifinals on Friday. The top-seeded Asian team with players ranked number one two three four and six in the world quickly dispatched World Championship hosts South Korea without dropping a single set in three games. In the second semifinal Hong Kong will meet Japan. The women’s final is on Saturday. In the Men’s quarterfinal France overcame Portugal in four matches. Marcos FREITAS gave his team a dream start with a victory over Alexis LEBRUN but Felix LEBRUN turned the match in the opposite direction. Felix beat both Tiago APOLONIA and Marcos FREITAS while Simon Gauzy prevailed against Joao GERALDO. “It feels unbelievable and amazing for France and us. We played a very good match and tournament. It’s not finished so we’ll try to continue in this way but we’re just super happy for this moment. For the semifinal we will sleep well and see the other match. We’ll just speak about the next match when we know against who it will be. It’ll be difficult; both teams are good so we’re ready to fight ” said the older LEBRUN brother. Felix LEBRUN added: “I feel amazing and I got two points for this match. I’m so happy to win my two matches. The first one was okay for me and I played quite well. I think I was a little bit better than APOLONIA in service receive. The second one against FREITAS was tough and he played very well and I also played very well so it was a good game. I’m just very happy to win the two matches with the team.” Simon GAUZY: “I knew that the two next games would be in our favor but it would not leave any room for mistake to Alexis and Felix if I lost mine so I had a lot of pressure. I felt really tense but I think I handled my emotions pretty well. I never lost against Geraldo before so I didn’t want to lose today. And I think I played a great game and my emotions kept together.” In the semis France waits for the winner of the match between Taipei and Germany. China after the victory over Japan awaits the winner of the encounter between Denmark and Korea.

The Round of 16 in the Men’s Team Event at the ITTF World Team Championships 2024 in Busan concluded with Denmark’s surprising victory over Slovenia. Ranked 19th in the World Rankings Denmark defeated Hungary in the Round of 32 with Jonathan GROTH Anders LIND and Tobias RASMUSSEN facing off against Tamas LAKATOS Adam SZUDI and Csaba ANDRAS. On the other side Slovenia ranked 12th in the world led by world No. 15 Darko JORGIC exceeded expectations by defeating Brazil to advance directly to the Round of 16. However in today’s match they lost to Denmark. The duel lasted five matches with Darko JORGIC winning both of his encounters against RASMUSSEN and LIND. GROTH defeated KOZUL in the third position while LIND and RASMUSSEN both prevailed against HRIBAR. In the next round they will face Korea. Japan and China will play for the medal at the top of the draw while in the bottom half Germany will meet Taipei and France will meet Portugal. Germany secured their ticket for the Olympic Games by beating Iran. In first singles match against world number 51 Noshad ALAMIYAN European champion Dang QIU prevailed in four games with a focused performance. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV then defeated Nima the older of the ALAMIAN brothers in three games. The 35-year-old ten-time European champion showed improvement compared to the preliminary rounds in his unexpected search for new equipment. Patrick FRANZISKA won an intense match against Amir Hossein HODAEI. Saarbrücken’s three-time European Games winner had to fend off three game points against the seven-year younger WTT Feeder semifinalist from Antalya when the score was tied at 1-1 in sets. After a hard-fought match against the highly aggressive HODAEI a skilled server prevailed in five games with a hard-fought victory. “No nation in the world likes to play against Iran ” Dang QIU clarified. “They have three strong players with very individual playing styles. In addition there is their team spirit. With their fighting spirit they have often impressed in team competitions.” Regarding the quarterfinals the 27-year-old QIU said: “This time we got a really tough draw. It will be a 50-50 match on equal terms. The same would have applied for Sweden.” France overcame Poland on their way to the quarterfinals. Brothers Felix and Alexis LEBRUN and Simon GAZY defeated Milosz REDZIMSKI Jakub DYJAS and Samuel KULCZYCKI. DYJAS forced Alexis LEBRUN to go the full distance. Previously Poland beat Czechia in straight matches. Alexis LEBRUN said: “The Polish team is never easy to play against. They have four good players so it’s never easy. But we won 3-0 a tough match but we won also. We are very very happy about this and yeah we are in the quarterfinals so we try to take our revenge of the last World championship. Portugal is a very strong team. We know them a lot because in Europe they play so good in the world championship. They are always a very strong team and hard to beat them. So it will be a very intense match and we try our best to go to the semifinals.” One of the biggest upsets was created in the Round of 32 when Croatia beat Brazil to reach the Round of 16. Andrej GACINA Tomislav PUCAR and Filip ZELJKO failed to repeat the performance a few hours later against Portugal. Marcos FREITAS Tiago APOLONIA and Joao GERALDO safely reached the quarters in the match where Tomislav PUCAR was the only one to score against GERALDO. “The game was very good. Croatia is a top team in Europe. We know each other for many years. They’re very experienced like our team and we knew they will fight a lot. I think they were a bit tired because they played today. The first match was very important and we started well ” said Marcos FREITAS. Speaking of the match against France FREITAS said: “France is a top team. We played a very close match last time against them in the European games and it’s a very important duel for the medal. So we will give everything and fight. We can bring a medal home for sure. We beat France before a few times now. They are very strong at the moment but we will give our best.”

In the quarterfinals of the ITTF World Team Championships 2024 in Busan China will meet Korea France will play against Germany Taipei will meet Hong Kong and Japan will play against Romania. In the Round of 16 Romania prevailed against Egypt in straight matches with Bernadette SZOCS beating Hana GODA Elizabeta SAMARA prevailing against Dina MESHREF and Adina DIACONU overcoming Yoursa HELMY. Adina DIACONOU (ROU): “It was a very intense match as we expected we played against Egypt who are very good players who fight for every match. We took it very seriously and of course we were stressed a little bit because it was the qualification for the Olympics. Now we are very happy because this was our main goal to qualify for Paris. Now of course we are going for the medal. We will prepare good for the next match. I feel very good in this team the atmosphere is very good.” France also needed three matches to secure their place in the quarters. Jia Nan YUAN Prithika PAVADE and Charlotte LUTZ overcame Fu YU Jieni SHAO and Matilde PINTO. Charlotte LUTZ stated “Even though we are already qualified for the Olympics since it’s going to be held in our country I’m really proud of my team because two years ago we lost in the round of 16 against Slovakia. This year our first goal was to top the group stage then advance to the round of 16 and now the quarterfinals. So now we really want the medals and we want to make history. We’ll never relax and go for tomorrow! We’ll take a rest tonight because it’s been a tough match even if we won 3-0 and then go back to training tomorrow to make history!” Germany also showed no mercy against Sweden. Xiaona SHAN Nina MITTELHAM and Sabine WINTER beat Linda BERGSTROM Cristina KALLBERG and Filippa BERGAND. Only KALLBERG put pressure on MITTELHAM and forced her to go the full distance. “Before the World Championships we set the goal of reaching the quarterfinals but once you’re there you naturally want to win ” said 27-year-old Nina MITTELHAM. “We were a bit lucky with the draw. But my personal goal was to compete for a medal here from the start. I hope that in the end like two years ago we can fly home with a medal. It was a great feeling that I would like to experience again.” In Chengdu China the German team won bronze in 2022. The most hard-fought match was between MITTELHAM the 2022 European Championship finalist and Christina KÄLLBERG. Sweden’s number two secured the first game and in the fourth set scored five consecutive points against MITTELHAM’S three match points to tie the set at 2-2. The fifth game was then a clear affair for Germany’s leading player in the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center. “It was a good team effort with ‘Nana’ putting us ahead. That helped me a lot because I was very nervous ” admitted MITTELHAM who lost to KÄLLBERG at the European Games last year. Today it was difficult for her to focus on her own match. “You naturally have in mind which games are going on next to you and what it can mean if you win or lose.” The women’s quarterfinals are scheduled for Thursday. “The French team is tough. They are a good team ” said Sabine WINTER who has already won Team World Championship bronze twice. “I expect a close match where we will fight for every ball and hopefully with our team we will come out as winners.” Previously in the Round of 32 Croatia ranked only 41st in the world defeated Malaysia (28) to reach the Round of 16. With two wins Hana ARAPOVIC was the backbone of the team’s success together with Lea RAKOVEC who also posted one win. In the next match they lost to Japan. “No one expected us to reach this far. We had a slow start with a defeat against Ukraine but then we beat Czechia 3-0 which was a big upset. We continued our success by defeating France again in straight matches. Against Malaysia which had previously beaten Italy we just rode the wave of success and reached the Round of 16. In the end Japan proved too strong for us. Our team spirit carried us to these great results ” said 19-year-old ARAPOVIC who played in her first World Championships in Busan.

The Group Stage of the ITTF World Team Championships Final concluded after intense battles for the remaining positions in the main draw as favorites easily secured their places in the knockout phase. In the men’s team event China Germany Korea France Japan Sweden and Portugal justified their rankings with all top seeds advancing to the Round of 16 matches except for Brazil. Slovenia emerged successfully at the top of Group 7 avoiding the Round of 32 battles and leaving Singapore and Brazil in lower positions. Slovenia will face the winner of the clash between Hungary and Denmark while France awaits the victor of the match between Czechia and Poland. Portugal will meet the winner of the match between Croatia and Brazil; Sweden will play against the winner of Serbia versus Taipei and Germany will face the winner of the Singapore versus Iran duel. In the Women’s Team Event China Japan Germany Taipei Korea Hong Kong Romania and France have received byes in the opening round of the main draw. They will await the winners of the Round of 32 matches. In an all-European section of the draw France will await the winner of the clash between Luxembourg and Portugal while Germany will await the outcome of the duel between Sweden and Slovakia. Romania will play against the better team from the duel between Chile and Egypt. You can see the draw here With up to eight Olympic quota spots in each respective team competition at Paris 2024 up for grabs the stakes have never been higher. In the men’s team event France China Australia Sweden Brazil Canada and Egypt have already secured their spots while the women’s quotas have been clinched by France China Australia Germany the United States Brazil and Egypt. However the battle for remaining quotas intensifies with teams striving to secure their passage to Paris 2024. You can stay updated with the race to Paris 2024 here. 

The major upset on day 4 of the ITTF World Team Championships in South Korea was created by Croatia as the team defeated France in straight matches. In Group 8 France remains at the top of the standings but there is still one round of play remaining for Egypt and Croatia the teams with two wins out of three matches. Today Hana ARAPOVIC (156) paved the path to success with a win over Prithika PAVADE (33) before Lea RAKOVAC who is ranked only at position no. 231 in the world defeated the world’s no. 19 Jia Nan YUAN. Mateja JEGER prevailed against Charlotte LUTZ. “Everyone played at their best ” said coach Dragutin ŠURBEK. “Hana was phenomenal she swept PAVADE away. It’s evident in this tournament that she has progressed a lot. Lea rose up after defeating MATELOVA and it was easier for her to play after Hana defeated PAVADE. It was clear that the French girls were a bit scared after that match. Lea imposed her game against a player who recently won the Top 16. A phenomenal tactical match. Mateja didn’t have it easy to play she had the match in her hands. She was tense in the first set but later played tactically mature. It’s not easy to finish like that but she was brave. In my opinion this French team is among the top three European teams behind Romania and Germany. As for the last match I think the same as the previous days. The Egyptians are favorites in that match but they are not unbeatable.” In Group 2 Luxembourg posted their first victory after 3 matches. Sarah DE NUTTE Xia Lian NI and Tessy GONDERINGER beat Iran 3-1. Only Neda SHAHSAVARI managed to beat GONDERINGER. In Group 7 Romania concluded the first phase unbeaten. In the fourth match Bernadette SZOCS Andreea DRAGOMAN and Elena ZAHARIA overcame team Serbia presented by Tijana JOKIC Sabina SURJAN and Izabela LUPULESKU. “In the end it’s important that we won. I won all my matches and I am proud of my team for winning all the matches in the group. Now we are waiting to see who we will play next. I was a little bit angry with myself because I didn’t play as I wanted and didn’t execute what I’ve been practicing. This made me a little bit frustrated because I wanted to execute what I’ve been practicing. However what matters in the end is that I won and I will focus on the next matches to ensure I don’t make the same mistakes ” said SZOCS. Andreea DRAGOMAN :”Tomorrow maybe we will rest a little bit. Of course we will also practice because the tournament is not over yet. So we will practice and wait to see who we will play against.” In Group 3 Germany secured the top spot with a victory over Slovakia and Poland beat Mexico. While Germany is safe at the top Slovakia and Poland will decide who will be second after their duel against Mexico and Nigeria tomorrow. Seventeen-year-old Annett Kaufmann opened the match with a four-set victory over world No. 209 Ema LABOSOVA. Nina MITTELHAM then left no chance for 19-year-old Adriana ILLASOVA. The Berlin Bundesliga teammate Xiaona SHAN concluded with a victory. The 2022 European bronze medalist defeated the current top-ranked Slovakian player Tatiana KUKULKOVA in three games. “Advancing to the round of 16 was our first goal. We are now ready for the knockout stage ” said coach BOROS. “I am very satisfied with my team. The girls are playing better and better every day. After the day off tomorrow we will be well prepared for the second part of this World Championships.” The leading player and European Championship singles finalist in the German ranks echoed these sentiments. “We managed the group well and won relatively solidly ” said Nina MITTELHAM. “We started with the toughest game on Friday and fought our way through. Now we look forward to the day off tomorrow and await the draw with anticipation.” The Slovak team’s top player 31-year-old Barbora BALAZOVA sat on the bench against Germany with minor foot problems. Even in the case of a victory her team could no longer have finished first in the group.