Tokyo Olympics: Chinese paddlers clinch gold in team championship

The women’s team - comprising Chen Meng, Wang Manyu and Sun Yingsha - maintained China’s supremacy without dropping a match in the best-of-five rubber.

Players from Team Japan, Team China and Team Hong Kong pose with their medals at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Thursday.

The Chinese paddlers continued their unbeaten run, and clinched the fourth successive table tennis women's team championship gold medal at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Thursday.

The supergirls from the table tennis fraternity defeated host Japan 3-0.

Ever since the team championship was introduced in the Olympics in 2008, China’s men and women have been unstoppable. The women’s team - comprising Chen Meng, Wang Manyu and Sun Yingsha - maintained China’s supremacy without dropping a match in the best-of-five rubber.

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Japan, who re-entered the final after 2012, having settled for a bronze in Rio de Janeiro five years ago, could draw solace from the fact that it appeared competitive in two of the three matches in the final.

While Kasumi Ishikawa and Miu Hirani lost 3-1 to Chen and Wang in the doubles tie, Mima Ito won a game against Sun in the next.

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Earlier in the day, Hong Kong earned its maiden women’s team medal by stunning Germany 3-1 in the bronze medal playoff.

The table tennis event will conclude on Friday with the men’s bronze and gold medal rubbers.