World number 11 Han Ying was a key player for Germany's women ©Getty Images

Germany and Austria claimed the first gold medals at the European Table Tennis Championships in Russia as they triumphed in the women's and men's team competitions respectively.

The Germans proved too strong for Romania in the final of the women's competition in Yekaterinburg, winning the clash 3-0 in the best of five format.

It means they have now won the team title three times in a row with their victory over the Romanians beginning thanks to world number 11 Han Ying who beat Bernadette Szocs in straight sets.

The first was a close affair before Ying came through 12-10, but the other two were extremely one-sided as the German claimed them both 11-1.

In the second match Germany's Shan Xiaona came through 12-10, 12-10, 11-5 against Elizabeta Samara and Petrissa Solja looked set to end the final early when she went 2-0 up against Romania's Daniela Dodean Monteiro.

However, Monteiro hit back to level at two sets all before the German eventually came through 11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9 to bring the final to an end.

The victory completed a continental double for Germany after they also won the European Games title in Baku this year.

Petrissa Solja won the deciding match for Germany
Petrissa Solja won the deciding match for Germany ©Getty Images

Hosts Russia and Ukraine both claimed bronzes after exiting at the last four stage.

In the men's final, Austria won the gold for the first time as they denied Germany a double with a 3-2 overall success.

Stefan Fergl won the crucial deciding rubber for the Austrians, beating Patrick Baum in straight sets.

Germany had reached the final eight times in a row and had to make do with silver on this occasion.

Losing semi-finalists Belarus and France shared the bronze medal.

Meanwhile, the team events have also been decided at the Asian Championships in Pattaya in Thailand, with the sport's powerhouse China claiming gold in both the male and female competitions.

In both finals they beat Japan 3-0, with singles and doubles competitions in Europe and Asia now due to begin.



Related stories
September 2015: Table tennis test event ahead of Rio 2016 scheduled for November
September 2015:  ITTF boss meets with Tokyo 2020 President as campaign for Olympic mixed doubles table tennis gathers pace
August 2015: World champion Ma heads list of participants at ITTF Men's World Cup as countdown hits 50 days to go
August 2015: Lisbon announced as hosts of 2015 ITTF Star Awards
July 2015: Bidding process for 2019 ITTF World Championships opens