CHENGDU, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) — The draw for the primary stage of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Mixed Team World Cup occurred right here on Sunday.
A complete of 18 groups, set to compete within the match with an modern blended group format from December 4 to 10, have been divided into 4 teams, with the winner and runner-up of every group advancing to the second stage.
Host China is positioned in Group 1 with Sweden, Puerto Rico, and Hong Kong, China.
World No. 1 Fan Zhendong expressed enthusiasm in regards to the problem of competing within the new format for the primary time.
“I’m very happy to attend this important event for this innovative new format. I hope I can make great achievements together with our team China,” mentioned Fan.
Group 2 consists of Germany, Portugal, Egypt, and Slovakia.
Japan and France are the favorites to advance from Group 3, which additionally options Romania, the United States, and Australia.
In Group 4, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, India, and Canada will compete for the highest two spots to qualify.
In the second stage, the highest eight groups can be grouped right into a single group. Results from the primary stage can be carried over, which means that groups that confronted one another earlier within the week will not compete with one another once more.
Under the brand new format, matches will start with blended doubles, adopted by ladies’s singles and males’s singles, whereas gamers who performed blended doubles can be barred from the singles matches.