Wang Chuqin reacts after winning the men's singles title at WTT China Smash on October 5, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

China's men's and women's teams aim to defend their titles at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London, Britain, and the men's team faces stern challenges from their contenders, an analyst told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

A century after the inaugural World Table Tennis Championships took place in England in 1926, this year's event marks the centenary celebration as the sport returns to its birthplace. For the first time, the Championships features an expanded format with 64 men's and 64 women's teams competing across 13 days from April 28 to May 10.

According to the schedule, China's men's and women's teams will begin their campaign on Saturday, with the men's team facing England and the women's team taking on Romania. 

As the top seed, China has set sights on a 12th consecutive men's team title and a seventh straight women's team crown.

Defending the men's title this time will be very difficult. The gap in strength between the men's team and its international rivals has narrowed significantly. China's main competitors, such as Japan, France, Sweden, and Germany—have improved rapidly in recent years and will pose serious challenges to China, Wang Dazhao, a Beijing-based sport commentator, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The team event tests the overall depth of a country's men's singles line-up. At present, aside from world No 1 Wang Chuqin, the other two players need to be fully prepared for tough battles, Wang said.

China has fielded a line-up blending experience and youth. Led by World Cup champion Wang, the men's team also features Lin Shidong, Zhou Qihao, Xiang Peng, and Liang Jingkun. Olympic champion Fan Zhendong voluntarily withdrew from the tournament for personal reasons.

Looking forward to the contest, Wang, who claimed his first men's singles World Cup crown in April, said that "this is an all-or-nothing situation. We will approach it as challengers, going all out to contend for the title and defend the honor of Chinese table tennis."

Yet, Wang said this is actually a positive development for the global growth of table tennis. In the past, China implemented the "wolf-rearing plan" to help cultivate and train foreign ping-pong players and raise the overall level of the sport abroad. Now the "wolves" have truly arrived. 

"In my view, winning a title in such a fiercely competitive era is far more valuable than when China dominated the sport alone. Rather than dwelling on gains or losses in this tournament, the focus should remain on strengthening our overall capabilities," he said. 

Compared with the men's team, the women's team features the world's top three players in Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu and Chen Xingtong as well as Kuai Man and Wang Yidi. 

Ma Lin, head coach of the women's team, said that this World Championships is an important event for assessing players' abilities ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics.
"At the previous Busan world championships in South Korea, we had a do-or-die showdown with Japan in the final. Over the past two years, Japan has continued to improve, while South Korea and North Korea also possess strong competitive potential. Therefore, the women's team must face the pressure head-on and go all out," Ma told the Xinhua News Agency. 

The 64 teams in each category are drawn into 16 groups of four. Each group will play a round robin. Competition will unfold across three stages: Stage 1B features group stages determining qualification pathways, followed by Stage 1A seeding matches for the top-ranked teams, before Stage 2 delivers knock-out rounds showcasing the world's finest teams in pursuit of global supremacy, according to ITTF.