CGames: England and India untroubled in table tennis
India followed up a 3-0 win over Barbados and a 3-1 victory against Nigeria.
GLASGOW (AFP) - Third and fourth seeds England and India maintained their strong starts to the women s table tennis at the Commonwealth Games on Friday, following Singapore and Australia into the knock-out phase with near perfect records.
With smaller pools of three teams, Singapore and Australia confirmed progression from their pools on the opening day.
They were joined by an England team that picked up its third successive 3-0 win, beating Tanzania after earlier victories against Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago.
India followed up a 3-0 win over Barbados and a 3-1 victory against Nigeria with a 3-0 success against Kenya in their final Pool D match and they are followed through by Nigeria, who beat Barbados 3-0.
New Zealand followed up their memorable 3-2 victory over Wales with a 3-0 win over Mauritius and they are joined in the knock-out phase by Wales after their 3-0 win over Vanuatu.
Twelve years after she won gold in the women s singles in Manchester, Li Chunli, 54, and team-mate Sun Yang believes the veteran has made a significant difference.
She said: "I think the team is much stronger now that we have the Chinese players (Li) back. This is the strongest Commonwealth Games team that we ve ever had."
Malaysia and Canada also progressed to the knock-out stages from Pool F. With their qualification already sealed, Singapore s men completed a perfect start to the tournament with a third straight 3-0 win, backing up victories against Ghana and Sri Lanka with a win over Seychelles.
Li Hu, 26, believes that England represent the biggest challenge to Singapore s hopes of gold and is grateful for the influence of Gao Ning, his team s top player.
Li said: "He s an incredible player and we combine together well. He s a good friend. If something goes wrong in the game then he ll say,
Just let it go .
"For sure England might challenge, as they have the physical power and speed. We ll need to be on our guard when we meet them.
"Of course there s pressure, but this is a really strong team, and my teammates support me."
Second seeds England beat Barbados 3-0 to follow up their victories over Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago by the same scoreline.
Elsewhere, India and Northern Ireland have also reached the next phase, with the final round of the men s pool stage taking place later on Friday.
