Click to watch England's emotional celebration!
England have produced one of the unbelievable performances in table tennis history to defeat France and sensationally made it through to the semifinals of the Perfect 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships.
The quarterfinals match was the most dramatic table tennis matches of all time, with Paul DRINKHALL having four match points in the deciding match against Emmanuel LEBESSON, only to lose them all and become a match point down himself. The new father of one saved this match point and did not make the same mistake when he got himself another one to close out the historic match 3-2.
The semi finals appearance is their first since 1983, which was before any of the team made up of Paul DRINKHALL, Liam PITCHFORD and Sam WALKER were even born.
Making the feat even more remarkable is the fact that at the last World Team Championships in Japan, England were battling down in the second division to secure promotion to the Championship Division for this year's Championships.
An elated DRINKHALL stated after: "Yes I was 10-6 in the fifth but I won 13-11 and that is what counts!"
"It has just been fantastic, Liam played great today and won both his matches and Sam has been great at number three", added DRINKHALL. "We came here as a promoted team; our aim was to stay in the division, now we are in the semi-finals; it is just beyond belief."
It was a view with which PITCHFORD agreed with: "Yesterday Paul won two and we won against Poland; today I won two and we won against France. We have all played to a good level; we have beaten good team; everyone has pulled together."
An impressive 111 points were played in that enthralling match between the English and the French team, making it the longest match played so far in Kuala Lumpur.
In the women's team semifinal, Japan overcame the challenge of Korea DPR 3-1 to reach the women's team final. 15-year-old Mima ITO was the hero for the Japanese women, sealing the final deal for Japan in a nerve wrecking clash against the North Koreans, which made the youngster burst into tears of joy after securing match point.
Eighth seeded in the championships, Chinese Taipei women pulled off an impressive upset against fourth seeds Hong Kong 3-2, setting up a semifinal encounter with top seeded China tomorrow afternoon to fight for the last spot available in the women's team final.
Defending Champions China, who last lost their men's team crown in the same city of Kuala Lumpur, avenged their 2000 team final loss against Sweden, winning 3-0, without dropping a single game, making its way to the semifinals.
Table tennis powerhouses Korea Republic and Japan prevailed over Portugal and Hong Kong 3-1 to fill the remaining 2 seats in the men's team semifinals.
The Perfect 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships continues tomorrow with the men's team semifinals, with the world's top 4 male teams fighting for the prestigious crown of World Team Champions.
Quick Links:
Day 6 Results: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=37710&N=1689&L=2530&F=H
Day 7 Schedule: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=37710&N=1689&L=2548&F=H
Day 6 Flash Quotes: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=37710&N=1689&L=2455&F=H
Day 6 Statistics: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=37710&N=1689&L=2532&F=H
Media guide: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=37710&N=1689&L=2439&F=H
Photos for editorial use: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=37710&N=1689&L=2451&F=H
Event news and information: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=37710&N=1689&L=2232&F=H
Video Match Highlights: http://www.edm.ittf.com/link.php?M=37710&N=1689&L=2472&F=H
Full Match replays: ITTF.com/itTV
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