The defending world and Paralympic champions won all five of their matches to top Group A as they bid to retain the title at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Germany were The Netherlands’ first victims as the Dutch team ran out 60-45 winners thanks to impressive scoring for Bo Kramer and Mariska Beijer who notched 25 and 22 points respectively.

The Netherlands then thrashed Thailand 107-16 and Algeria 114-18 before overcoming Japan 96-42.

Their toughest test came against the United States as The Netherlands trailed 45-43 going into the final period before beating the two-time winners 66-57.

Germany defeated fourth-placed Japan 61-52 today to seal second spot, while the US came third with three wins and two losses.

China demonstrated their credentials to win the tournament for the first time by securing top spot in Group B.

The Chinese team’s only defeat came against Canada, losing 54-50, as they beat Australia 71-49, Spain 66-49, Britain 64-46 and Brazil 53-35.

Canada are five-time winners but suffered two losses in Group B as they went down 75-70 to Spain before falling to a 68-64 defeat to Australia.

They did enough to seal a top-four place to advance to the quarter-finals along with China, Spain and Australia.

Quarter-finals are due to be held tomorrow with the women’s and men’s competitions set to reach their conclusion on Tuesday (June 20).