DORTMUND, Germany, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Reigning champions Singapore avoided early elimination by beating hosts Germany in the quarterfinals of women's team competition at the World Team Table Tennis Championships here on Friday.

The hosts had a dream start after Irene Ivancan beat Feng Tianwei 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-8) and Wu Jiaduo also defeated Wang Yuegu also in straight sets (11-6, 11-9, 11-7).

However, the third match was won 3-2 by Li Jiawei against Kristin Silbereisen (11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 14-12), followed by a 3-1 win by Feng Tianwei over Wu Jiaduo ( 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 12-10) and finally Wang Yuegu beat Irene Ivancan 3-2 in the final encounter ( 9-11, 11-5, 11-13, 11-8, 11-4).

"We never thought that we can get a lead of 2-0," Wu Jiaduo told. "What a pity that we lost in the end."

Team coach Jie Schopp was proud of her team. "They fought until the last ball. My special thanks to the spectators, your support gave us more power."

"Thrilling, really thrilling," said Singapore team coach Zhou Shusen. "Not only the first and the second match, even in the third match. We were so dangerous. However, we are the winner now. "

Singapore, second seeded, will meet South Korea in the semifinals. In the other semifinal, China will meet Hong Kong.

In the men's team tournament, South Korea claimed their fourth semifinal berth by beating Chinese Taipei 3-1. Joo Se Hyuk was first beaten by Chuang Chih-Yuan (6-11, 7-11, 7-11), but Oh Sang Eun bounced back with a straight sets victory over Chen Chien-An ( 11-8, 11-7, 11-7).

Ryu Seung Min gave the South Koreans a 2-1 lead after overcoming Wu Chih-Chi ( 11-9, 11-4, 11-8) and Joo Se Hyuk handed his country the semifinal place by posting a 3-0 win over Chen Chien-An (11-7, 11-3, 11-4).

Third seeded South Korea will meet top seeds China in the semifinals, while Germany play against Japan.

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