GUANGZHOU (China), Feb 26: Swedish veteran Jorgen Persson said China were virtually impossible to beat at the world team table tennis championships as the Red Army notched up their third straight win on Tuesday.

Persson said main challengers South Korea and Germany were depleted teams after the withdrawal of key players with injury before the tournament.

And China were always difficult to stop on home soil, the Swede added.

“I don’t think so, especially at home,” the former world champion said when asked if the Chinese juggernaut could be halted.

“Normally South Korea have a chance but their number two player is not here, so they are a little weak,” the 41-year-old told AFP.

“Germany also could normally have a chance to beat them but they are without Timo Boll here, so China will win for sure.”South Korea say they are confident of success here despite being without their number two, Oh Sang Eun, who has a shoulder injury. German star Boll announced before the championships that he was resting an inflamed knee.

Sweden, led by legend Jan-Ove Waldner and Persson, battled China for dominance over a decade from the late 1980s to the 1990s, and China’s paddlers recently rated Waldner, now retired, their most fearsome competitor.

But the Europeans, fielding some younger and less experienced paddlers here, have suffered three straight defeats in their group.

“The younger players are getting better and better but they need to play big matches and also to win to gain more confidence,” Persson said.

China, undefeated in this competition since 2000, boast the world’s top four players in their team and are expected to dominate at the Olympics this year.—AFP