Japan Sweep Ukraine 3-0 to Reach World Team Semifinals

Japan moved through Ukraine 3-0 without surrendering a game, but the bigger shift in the women’s bracket came when Romania beat France 3-1 to lock up a medal and turn Day 11 into a genuine power-shift night at Wembley.

The quarterfinals closed out the 13-day centenary championships, staged across the Copper Box Arena and OVO Arena Wembley as London marked 100 years since the first World Championships were held there in 1926. In the sport’s premier team event, the women are playing for the Corbillon Cup and the men for the Swaythling Cup, with 64 men’s teams and 64 women’s teams chasing the title.

Japan’s win over Ukraine was controlled from the start, even if the opening game carried more tension than the final score suggested. Honoka Hashimoto settled the tie first, Miwa Harimoto followed, and Hina Hayata completed the sweep as Japan advanced to a semifinal against Germany. The official match report noted that Japan did not drop a single game in the tie, a reminder of how cleanly the Japanese have handled the knockout rounds.

Romania, though, delivered the result that changes the story of the tournament. France’s Jia Nan Yuan opened by beating Adina Diaconu in five games, but Bernadette Szocs answered to steady Romania, Andreea Dragoman then pushed the Romanians in front with a confident backhand-led performance, and Szocs closed the tie against Yuan. The 3-1 victory gave Romania its first women’s team medal since 2000, a breakthrough for a program the ITTF described as a five-time champion entering the event.

That is why Romania now looks more than a quarterfinal surprise. Szocs has already been central to Romania’s recent team success, helping deliver gold at the 2023 European Games and silver at the 2023 European Championships, and this run has given the draw a second serious title contender alongside Japan. Romania now meet reigning champions China in the semifinals, while Japan’s composure and depth leave Germany with the tougher tactical assignment on the other side of the bracket.

The men’s quarterfinals reinforced the same theme of the day: no team can coast. China avenged its earlier group-stage loss to Korea Republic with a 3-0 sweep, led by Wang Chuqin’s 11-9, 11-1, 11-7 win over Oh Junsung before Lin Shidong and Jingkun Liang finished the job. The semifinals are set, and Romania’s surge is the result that changed the temperature of the tournament.