Cheng, seeded 19, put up stout resistance in the opening set but had no answer to left-hander Wang, who at 20 is expected to succeed compatriot Deng Yaping, who has retired as reigning World and Olympic champion. Wang won 21-17, 21-15, 21-12.

Samsonov Beaten: The pendulum swung back towards China yesterday evening, with Belarussian top seed Vladimir Samsonov defeated in the men's singles by Ma Lin. Samsonov was beaten 15-21, 21-13, 21-18, 21-16, by the ninth-seeded Ma.

France's three musketeers were all put to the sword in the last 16 while Sweden's reigning world champion Jan-Ove Waldner and his compatriot Jorgen Persson -- himself a former world victor of this event -- were taken all the way before living to fight another day.

Number two and three seeds Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui of China, meanwhile,joined Ma in the last eight after fourth-round wins. Liu and Kong, the world's top doubles pair, then combined to save six match points before winning their quarter-final match against Austria's Werner Schlager and Karl Jindrak.

Samsonov and Croatia's Zoran Primorac also entered the semi-final, beating China's Ruiwu Tan and Hong Kong's Leung Chu Yan 14-21, 21-14, 21-13, 21-18.The last four line-up is completed by China's Yan Sen and Wang Liqin and Korea's Kim Taek Soo and Park Sang Joon.

The women's doubles semi-final line-up will see Wang Nan and Li Ju tackle Zhang Yining and Zhang Yingying, while Yang Yin and Sun Jin will confront the only non-Chinese survivors Park Hae Jung and Kim Moo Kyo from Korea. GOLD FOR MA & ZHANG: Ma Lin and Zhang Yingying today beat Feng Zhe and Sun Jin in an all-Chinese mixed doubles final to take the first gold medal at the World Table Tennis Championships today.

Ma and Zhang won 21-15 21-19 9-21 21-15, having earlier in the day battled past compatriots and number oneseeds Wang Liqin and Wang Nan 13-21 8-21 21-12 21-11 21-13 in the semi-finals. The 16-year-old Zhang, featuring in her first major tournament, was lost for words after her success, eventually managing to say: ``I am very happy.''