(Beijing, April 19) In the women's team epee quarterfinals of the "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 FIE World Championships this afternoon, China and France beat their respective rivals Romania and Russia to enter the semifinals.

In the match between China and Romania, Zhang Li representing China lost the first bout 3-0; Her teammates Zhong Weiping and Luo Xiaojuan narrowed the deficit to 1-3 and 5-6 in the second and third bouts respectively. In the middle of the fourth bout Zhong Weiping equalized the score at 6, with her Romanian opponent hitting her valid targets twice to seal the bout 8-6.

China was in an inferior position after the fifth, sixth and seventh bouts. When Luo Xiaojuan took the field for the third time in the eighth round she managed to level the score at 23. In the critical ninth bout, Li Na showed her prowess by scoring 13 hits within three minutes amidst outbursts of cheers from the spectators, sending China into the last four with a 36-33 win over Romania.

Another quarterfinal between France and Russia also turned out to be whitehot, with the score tied at 9 and 14 in the third and fourth bouts and then 42-42 after the ninth. In the prolongation that followed, it was France who scored first to qualify for the semifinals by a narrow win of 43-42.

In the other two quarterfinal matches, Poland beat Italy 45-33 while Germany defeated Hungary 24-23 to make the semifinals.