China will take on a supercharged Singapore for a gold medal in the Olympic women's team table tennis tournament after the two Asian powerhouses won their semifinal matches on Friday.

Chinese women, whose triumph seemed to have an air of inevitability, easily took down Hong Kong of China in the semifinal 3-0, while Singapore slew a tenacious South Korea 3-2, a historic victory that ended the city-state's 48-year Olympic medal drought.

The final on Sunday will produce the first team champion in the history of the Olympic Games as the doubles event has been replaced by a round-robin team tournament.

World number one Zhang Yining beat 10th-ranked Tie Yana 11-7, 11-4, 11-3 late Friday, before world champion Guo Yue had no difficulty in demolishing Lin Ling 11-7, 12-10, 11-4.

Zhang and Grand Slam veteran Wang Nan, who won the doubles gold at the Athens Games, then quickly finished off Lau Sui Fei and Lin Ling 11-4, 11-9, 11-4 in the doubles.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2008)