YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) Third-seeded pair Jun Mizutani and Seiya Kishikawa were defeated in straight sets by Chinese second-seed duo Ma Long and Xu Xin in the semifinals of men's doubles at the tennis table world championships on Monday.
Mizutani and Kishikawa had the backing of a partisan crowd but Ma and Xu dominated in an 11-6, 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 win at Yokohama Arena. The Japanese men failed in their bid to make their first final berth in the event in 40 years.
With no playoff for third place, Mizutani and Kishikawa settled for the bronze medal. Hiroshi Shibutani and Koji Matsushita were the last to win a bronze for Japan at the 1997 tournament in Manchester, England.