Table tennis-Xu, Yang end six decade drought for cross border pairs

The pair beat Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa and Maharu Yoshimura 4-0 at the world championships on Friday, becoming the first mixed nationality winners of the title since Czechoslovakia's Ivan Andreadis and Hungarian Gizella Gervai at Wembley in 1954.

Xu played through a shoulder injury he sustained in his men's singles match earlier in the day but was quick to deflect Yang's assertion that his performance had been heroic.

"The injury definitely affected my play," the 25-year-old lefthander said. "I am glad that our partnership worked out well despite my injury.

"I am neither a hero, nor a warrior, but I made sure that I give my best. As long as that is the case, I think the outcome matters less compared to the process and efforts."

The world championships in Suzhou, China conclude on Sunday.