CHENGDU, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- China and South Korea both won on Saturday to keep their winning record intact, making their duel on Sunday a title decider at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Mixed Team World Cup.
Top seed China dispatched Japan 8-5, while South Korea edged Germany 8-6.
With their biggest challenge so far expected to arrive on Saturday, China was dragged into the fifth match to emerge victorious over their arch rivals.
Mixed doubles world No. 1 Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha suffered an early shock, losing 5-11, 13-11, 11-9 to Miwa Harimoto and Shunsuke Togami.
Wang Manyu outplayed Hina Hayata in straight games to earn China a 4-2 lead after the women's singles, while Tomokazu Harimoto won two games to one against top-ranked Fan Zhendong in the men's singles.
In the women's doubles, Wang Manyu and Chen Meng saved two game points in the third to edge Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara 10-12, 11-3, 13-11, moving China within one game to victory.
Then Wang Chuqin and Ma Long had the job done, winning 11-5 in the first game of the men's doubles.
Jang Woo-jin and Jeon Ji-hee moved South Korea ahead 3-0 in the mixed doubles, while Germany responded with veteran Shan Xiaona's straight-game victory in the women's singles, and went on to lead 5-4 after the men's singles as Ricardo Walther upset An Jae-hyun 13-11, 3-11, 11-7.
An made amends in the doubles competition, as he partnered with Lim Jong-hoon to triumph in straight games to power South Korea ahead 7-5.
Only needing one game to seal the deal, South Korea saw Lee Zi-on and Jeon Ji-hee pocket an 11-8 win in the second game.
Elsewhere, Chinese Taipei overpowered Slovakia 8-3, and Sweden beat France 8-6.
With the final match day remaining, China and South Korea both have 12 points, while China has a superior win-loss record of 48-9 in games, compared to South Korea's 48-19.
Apart from the decisive contest between China and South Korea on Sunday, Japan will meet Germany, Slovakia takes on France, and Sweden plays against Chinese Taipei. ■