Sweden, Austria reach quarters at table tennis team worlds

DORTMUND, GERMANY - Sweden and Austria were the last teams to qualify for the quarterfinals of the men's tournament at the World Team Table Tennis Championships here on Thursday.

Sweden booked a comfortable 3-0 win over Portugal. Jens Lundqvist defeated Joao Monteiro 3-1 (9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9); Par Gerell overcame Marcos Freitas 3-1 (11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 16-14) and finally veteran Jorgen Persson beat Andre Silva also 3-1 (11-5, 11- 6, 5-11, 11-4).

"I had to be very aggressive and I was," Par Gerell told afterwards. "I took a 2-0 lead and he became better and better. In the end, it was a tight game. If it would have been a fifth set I don't know if I would have won this. I was quite tired and very happy and pleased I won."

Hosts Germany will be the next opponents. "We lost to Germany in the final of the European Championships," Gerell said. "They are big favorites and we can play without pressure. It would be fun to play in front of a lot of people. It will be a challenge for us. I hope we can play at same level or better." ? ? ?

Austria beat Poland 3-1 in the other final encounter in the last 16. Chen Weixing was too strong for Daniel Gorak with a 3-0 victory (11-7, 11-7, 11-9). Robert Gardos posted a 3-0 victory over Bartosz Such (11-8, 11-4, 11-2). Werner Schlager was defeated by Robert Floras 1-3 (8-11, 6-11, 13-11, 8-11) and Gardos recorded the vital win against Daniel Gorak 3-0 (11-8, 14-12, 11-6).

Austria will face top seeds China in the quarterfinals; hosts Germany face Sweden; Chinese Taipei will play against South Korea and Japan will meet Singapore.

In the women's tournament, top seeds China will deal with Poland, reigning champions Singapore meet hosts Germany, Japan play South Korea and Hong Kong, China, will play against the Netherlands.