China looks to extend title streak at Busan table tennis team worlds

BEIJING -- With ten men's and five women's team titles in a row, China remains the hot favorites for the Swaythling and Corbillon Cups again at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in Busan, South Korea.

In addition to stretching its title-winning run, China is also using the Busan event as an opportunity to test its training with less than half a year to go before the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

China is to use the same ten players that featured at the previous tournament in Chengdu in 2022. Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin, Ma Long, Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan will compete in the men's team event, while Sun Yingsha, Wang Yidi, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu and Chen Xingtong will represent China in the women's team competition.

According to the Chinese Table Tennis Association, the players have been selected based on the latest ITTF world rankings, with the five highest-ranked players in singles categories making the cut.

"They are the best players in this Olympic cycle and have proven themselves in many major international competitions. This is the strongest squad that we have at the current stage," said China's chief coach Li Sun.

Featuring world No 1s and Olympic and world champions, China appears to be the strongest team in terms of overall strength.

"We aim at winning titles in Busan, and we will make the most of this competition to test our players and gain experience for the Paris Olympics," Li commented.

With just two days remaining before the tournament gets underway at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center, China can expect some familiar challengers.

On the men's side, Germany finished runners-up in the past two editions of the competition. With 10th-ranked penholder Qiu Dang and veterans Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Timo Boll in its squad, Germany remains an opponent to be reckoned with.

Two years ago in Chengdu, Japan pushed China to the limit in the semifinal before narrowly losing 3-2 to the eventual winners. World No 9 Tomokazu Harimoto, who scored two points against China then, will lead Japan's charge for a higher place this time.

Host nation South Korea also has capable players, including Jang Woo-jin, Lim Jong-hoon and Lee Sang-su, and as this is the first time the country has hosted the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships, there are high hopes of capitalizing on home advantage to cause a stir.

With the likes of young talents such as Truls Moregard and Felix Lebrun thriving on the international stage, Sweden and France should feel upbeat about bettering their quarterfinal finishes from two years ago.

Having made the last four women's team finals, Japan will count on world No 5 Hina Hayata, 14th-ranked Mima Ito and 15-year-old prodigy Miwa Harimoto in its attempt to dethrone China.

South Korea, who finished third in the group and suffered a 3-0 loss to Japan in the round of 16 two years ago, aims to bounce back at home, with eighth-ranked teenager Shin Yu-bin offering the team much confidence in going further in this year's competition.

40 teams for each gender will participate in the competition in Busan. They are divided into eight groups, and following the completion of the round robin stage, the top three teams in each group will progress to the knockout phase.

In the men's team event, China is placed in Group 1 along with Croatia, Belgium, Hungary and Cuba. On the women's side, China will kick off its title defense in the group stage against Hungary, India, Spain and Uzbekistan.

With limited challenges expected to occur in the group phase, China is likely to be embracing tougher opponents en route to retaining its titles.

"We have only one goal in Busan - going for the title," commented Wang Hao, head coach of China's men's team.

His counterpart in the women's team, Ma Lin, added, "We will fight for the win and showcase our mentality in Busan."