Player list unveiled for ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals 2023

BEIJING, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Wednesday unveiled the list of players for the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals 2023 to be held in Durban, South Africa.

The world's elite paddlers, including Fan Zhendong, Sun Yingsha, Wang Chuqin, Wang Manyu, Tomokazu Harimoto, Chen Meng, Ma Long, Mima Ito, Hugo Calderano and Wang Yidi, will be among the participants for the World Championships in Durban.

Reigning champions Fan Zhendong and Wang Manyu of China will be looking to defend their titles, but the duo are expected to face tough challenges from their compatriots like world No. 2 Wang Chuqin and world No. 1 Sun Yingsha, and those from other member associations, including Japan's Harimoto and Truls Moregard of Sweden.

China won four of five titles in the last edition of the World Championships in Houston, the United States in 2021, with the men's doubles being the only exception where the Swedish pair of Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson were crowned.

The table tennis flagship event will take place at the Durban International Convention Center from May 20 to 28, featuring 128 players each in the men's and women's singles, and 64 pairs in each of the doubles competitions.

This year's event marks a return of the championships to Africa after 84 years. The last time the event was held in Africa was in Cairo, Egypt in 1939.