(by Steve Hopkins)

The ITTF Men’s and Women’s World Cup returns this month, bringing together the world’s best for an intense battle on the biggest of stages. From April 14 to 20, the Galaxy Arena in Macao, will play host to a lineup of elite talent vying for the Evans Cup (the name of the ITTF Men’s Cup) and the Hammarlund Cup (the name of the ITTF Women’s World Cup).

The event will be played in 2 stages.  The first stage will be sixteen 3-player groups.   First place finishers will move forward to Stage 2 for the knockout rounds, where every match is best-of-seven.  Beyond the trophy, the event will give 1,500 ranking points to the winner, so expect big changes in the ITTF standings later this month.

The field is stacked.  For the men, we have World No. 1 Lin Shidong last was on top at the Singapore Smash, and World No. 2 Wang Chuqin is back in his 2024 dominant form.  Add in Harimoto and Jingkun and Calderano and Felix Lebrun, and you should have great action from start to finish.

American table tennis fans will be pleased to see that Kanak Jha will in Macao. Jha earned his spot by winning the ITTF Pan American Cup.  Jha shocked many with a Top 16 run at the Olympics and this will be another opportunity to shock the world.

This tournament is going to be special.  Tune in for updates at ButterflyOnline.com

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