(Olympics) S. Korea beats Croatia in men’s table tennis team event; China next in quarterfinals

South Korea cruised past Croatia in its first knockout match of the men's table tennis team event at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, with the top-ranked China up next in the quarterfinals. Jang Woo-jin, Cho Dae-seong and Lim Jong-hoon carried South Korea past Croatia 3-0 after one doubles match and two singles matches in the round of 16 at South Paris Arena in the French capital. In the opening doubles, Jang and Cho dispatched Filip Zeljko and Andrej Gacina 3-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-6) without breaking a sweat. Lim Jong-hoon wasted little time giving South Korea a 2-0 lead, as he defeated Tomislav Pucar in the first singles match 3-0 (11-2, 11-7, 11-9). Back out for the second singles match, Jang beat Gacina 3-1 (11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4), as South Korea finished off the match at 3-0. In the quarterfinals scheduled for Wednesday, South Korea will face the mighty China, which features world No. 1 Wang Chuqin, world No. 2 Fan Zhendong and world No. 6 Ma Long. They knocked off India 3-0 in their round of 16 on Tues day. Jang is the top-ranked South Korean player at No. 13. The men's team event made its Olympic debut in 2008, and China has won every gold medal so far. Ma played on the past three gold medal-winning teams. South Korea won bronze in 2008 and silver in 2012. Source: Yonhap News Agency