The match started in South Korea at 02:00 on Tuesday night Swedish time and Sweden number one Linda Bergström was rested.
Matilda Hansson had to make her debut in this championship. She started somewhat nervously against Jessie Xu but worked her way into the match and after 7-11 in the first set, it was the Swede who had the initiative and won in three straight, which gave the final numbers 3-1 in the set.
Will face a group third in the round of 16
– In the first set, I struggled, I lost at the beginning but then I think I found a little better my own game and my own serves, says Matilda Hansson to the Swedish Table Tennis Association.
Confederation captain Tobias Bergman is satisfied with having advanced further as group two and looks forward to the upcoming matches.
– It is clear that it is very important to come second for the draw going forward. Having said that, there are of course no easy matches, but it is clear that we would rather face a group third than a group two in the round of 16, says Bergman.
Avoiding China in the round of 16 is almost a prerequisite to have a realistic chance of reaching the quarter-finals and, in that case, a place in this summer’s Olympics.