The German table tennis women are in the quarter finals at the Team World Championships in China. After a 3-1 win against Puerto Rico, the 2021 European champions will now meet Hong Kong in the top eight on Thursday morning at 5 a.m. German time.
Should they win this game as well, they would already have secured the bronze medal in Chengdu. Because a third place is not played separately at a World Cup. At the Olympic Games last year, on the other hand, the team of national coach Tamara Boros lost the bronze game against Hong Kong 1:3.
The decisive player against Puerto Rico was Han Ying, who was born in China and has played for Germany for eleven years. The world ranking eighth from the Polish top club KTS Tarnobrzeg defeated the two sisters Adriana and Melanie Diaz in 3-0 sets. “To win twice today against Adriana Diaz, who is number eleven in the world rankings, and lead 6-0 in the third set is a strong performance,” praised national coach Tamara Boros. “So it’s not easy for anyone to win against Ying.” Shan Xiaona (TTC Berlin Eastside) got the third point against Daniely Rios.
Puerto Rico’s team is kind of a family business. Star player Adriana Diaz, who won 3:2 against European Championship runner-up Nina Mittelham (TTC Berlin Eastside), leads the team together with her sister Melanie. Trainer is her father Bladimir Diaz. “The Germans are just a very strong team. We fought to the last and can’t blame ourselves,” said 21-year-old Adriana Diaz, who carried her country’s flag at the Tokyo Olympics.
