GUANGZHOU, China, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The Republic of Korea (ROK) men's team pushed its way into the final of the world table tennis championships after sweeping over Japan on Saturday. Kaii Yoshida of Japan fought hard but found himself hopeless to stand against an aggressive Ryu Seung Min, the 2004 Olympic champion, in the first two sets. Yoshida saved several match points before he lost the third set 12-14. Japanese teenage prodigy Jun Mizutani staged a grueling match with 39th-ranked Lee Jung Woo, who got steam in the deciding set to beat Mizutani 3-2 following a 2-2 draw. Kan Yo, former player of China's Liaoning province, thumped JooSe Hyuk 3-2 by forcing the top-class defensive chopper to make errors, catching up 1-2 in games. Mizutani gave a serious challenge to a determined Ryu before he lost his second outing 1-3. "I couldn't receive Ryu's serve as he was always moving. I couldn't attack," said Mizutani, who has been trained in Germany's Dusseldorf club for five years and had once overpowered China's Wang Hao in 2005. "I watched Germans playing everyday and learned many techniques," said the 18-year-old, adding that he needs to improve himself and grow more powerful. ROK outlasted Germany to reach the semifinals on Friday. Vying for their first team title, ROK will have a showdown with China in the final on Sunday.
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