Trio send China towards maximum haul

Zhang, Wang and Ma did not have it all their own way against a determined Germany, whose trio comprised of world number seven Timo Boll, Singles bronze medallist Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Bastian Steger.

Yet China emerged 3-1 victors to seal a place in Wednesday's final, where they will meet the Republic of Korea, who conquered Hong Kong at the ExCeL.

It started promisingly for Germany as, after being edged out in a tight opening game, Ovtcharov levelled matters against Ma.

But the world number two delivered when it mattered, winning the third game following a quite brilliant return with the score locked at 9-9.

Ma went on to claim victory, only for Boll to drag the European side back into it by beating Singles gold medallist Zhang 3-1.

Yet even the world's best falling to defeat did not stop China, with Zhang and Wang then combining to take the Doubles versus Boll and Steger.

Ma finished the job against the latter to leave his nation, having claimed gold and silver in the men's and women's Singles, on course to achieve their ultimate aim of a clean sweep.

Afterwards, Germany's coach Jorg Rosskopf admitted he expects China to dominate the sport for years to come, especially given the ages of Ma and Zhang, who are 24 and 23 respectively.

'Always against China, you get a small, small chance,' he said. 'But it takes a lot to go on and beat them.

'But the Chinese team is very strong. They are a young team and will win everything in the future.'

Standing in China's path is the team from the Republic of Korea following their resounding success this evening.