Both teams came into the Pool C contest with two defeats from as many preliminary phase matches, and the importance of the occasion was evident in a titanic opening set edged by the Russians.
The Chinese pair of Xu Linyin and Wu Penggen fought back to take it to a decider, but after another close set it was the Russian pair who edged home to complete a 29-27 17-21 15-12.
The Russians must now wait to discover whether they will progress to the last 16 as one of the two best third-placed finishers across the six pools, or have to settle for a place in the four-team lucky loser play-off round.
The Chinese pair of Xu Linyin and Wu Penggen fought back to take it to a decider, but after another close set it was the Russian pair who edged home to complete a 29-27 17-21 15-12.
The Russians must now wait to discover whether they will progress to the last 16 as one of the two best third-placed finishers across the six pools, or have to settle for a place in the four-team lucky loser play-off round.
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