Team World Cup Preview

(by Steve Hopkins)

The ZEN-NOH 2019 ITTF Team World Cup starts this Wednesday in Tokyo.  Twelve teams (12 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams) will battle for the World Cup title with qualification based upon a combination of World Ranking and regional qualification.  The TeamUSA Men’s team includes Kanak Jha, Kai Zhang, and Yijun Feng.  The TeamUSA Women’s team includes Jennifer Wu, Lily Zhang, and Amy Wang.

All teams will participate in group play – 4 equal groups of three teams.  The group position will determine where each team is seeded in the knock-out stages.  Each match set will include doubles and a maximum of four singles – with the winner being the first to three wins.

The top seeds in the Men’s Division are China, Japan, Germany, and Korea.  The Chinese team will be heavy favorites as they are featuring Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong and Ma Long (with Lin Gaoyuan and Liang Jingkun in reserve).  The top seeds in the Women’s Division are China, Japan, Taipei, and Hong Kong.  The Chinese team of Chen Meng, Ding Ning and Wang Manyu will be heavy favorites, though Japan’s team of Ito Mima, Kasumi Ishikawa, and Miu Hirano could press the favorites if a few things go their way.

Group action begins on Wednesday with Quarterfinals scheduled for Friday, Semifinals on Saturday, and Finals on Sunday.

Visit ButterflyOnline.com for updates throughout the event.

For more information on the Zen-Noh 2019 ITTF Team World Cup, visit the event page at ittf.com