China considered favourite as World Championships opens in Halmstad

HALMSTAD, Sweden, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships opened in Halmstad, Sweden on Sunday, with China being the favourite for both men’s and women’s title.

The 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships is the 54th edition of the World Table Tennis Championships team's event since it was inaugurated in 1926.

The top division is called the Championships Division, made up of the best 24 teams, split into four groups of six teams for the first stage of the event. The final winner of this division will be crowned world champion.

German veteran Timo Boll said before the championships that Germany is the current world No. 1, “but it doesn’t feel as though we are the top seed, because China is the favourite.”

However, the German players are in good shape, including world ranking No. 2 Timo Boll and No. 3 Dimitrij Ovtcharov.

“I hope we can do well but, in addition to China, there is strong competition from Japan and Korea; also from Sweden,” added Boll.

China’s men’s team, currently world No. 2, and women’s team as top seed are seeking nothing but the title in the west coastal city of Sweden.

China’s men’s team, consisting of Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, Xu Xin, Lin Gaoyuan and Wang Chuqin, will play against Russia in the afternoon, and China's women’s team, including Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen, Chen Meng, Zhu Yuling and Wang Manyu, will play India in the morning and Belarus in the evening. Enditem