Ma, Liu lead China's charge

China on Monday announced a 10-member squad for March's World Team Championships led by reigning world singles champions Ma Long and Liu Shiwen.

The all-conquering team also features current men's and women's world No 1s Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng, as well as Grand Slam winner Ding Ning.

The 30-year-old Xu Xin, the highest ranked pen-hold paddler in the world, and teenagers Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, both 19, were also named in the squad.

Wang is included at the expense of world No 4 Lin Gaoyuan, with men's head coach Qin Zhijian claiming the 19-year-old had impressed enough at last year's world championships to warrant selection.

"Wang Chuqin took part in the 2019 Budapest worlds, and claimed the men's doubles gold medal partnering with Ma Long as a world championships debutant," said Qin.

"He's young and aggressive, his technique and tactics are high quality and he's balanced in singles and doubles play. We coaches believe in him and want to give him the chance to further improve."

Both Qin and women's head coach Li Sun told media that the selection process involved a thorough discussion between coaching staff, with preparation for the Tokyo Olympic Games taken into consideration.

"We discussed the possible rivalries at the upcoming team worlds and at the Olympics half a year later, and conducted a comprehensive evaluation of every player before making a decision on the team roster," Qin said.

"Everything we've done before and during the team worlds is to ensure we prepare in the best possible fashion for the Tokyo Games."

Full squad:

China's team for 2020 World Team Championships in Busan, South Korea (March 22-29):

Men: Ma Long, Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong, Liang Jingkun, Wang Chuqin. Women: Liu Shiwen, Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, Ding Ning, Zhu Yuling.

Xinhua