Korea claim team bronze

South Korea won in three straight matches, dropping only two games. It was hardly a showcase for the sport, with the crowd lulled into near silence by the efficient yet dull display, heavy on chop shots.

"We're very moved because it just wasn't easy to win this medal," Korea's Dang Ye-seo said. The South Korean women landed in the bronze match after losing a marathon semi-final to

Singapore, who were to face China later on Sunday in the final.

South Korea's Kim Kyung-ah, the foremost defensive player in women's table tennis, set the tone in the opening match with an unspectacular but clean victory over Japan's Sayaka Hirano.

Kim inflicted a slow-motion torture of chop after chop that lured Hirano into gaffes. She won 11-9 11-4 7-11 and 12-10. Chinese-born Dang Ye-seo, the one attacking player for the Koreans, scored an upset against Japan's top player, Ai Fukuhara.

Strong crowd support in the early stages for Fukuhara, who used to play for a Chinese club, only made her nervous. Dang pounced on her tentative play to win 11-4 13-11 7-11 and 11-3.

"During the match I tried not to think about the result, but was really satisfied with my play," Dang said.

Kim returned to the table for doubles with her partner, Park Mi-young, five years Kim's junior but nearly identical in her suffocating defensive style. They overwhelmed their Japanese opponents, 11-6 11-8 and 13-11.

"I feel were weren't resolute enough," Fukuhara said.

Earlier on the men's side, South Korea beat Hong Kong and Austria topped Japan to set up a bronze medal match between the two. They will meet on Monday, before China face Germany in a much anticipated men's final.