Sending in their strongest ever line-up of players, Japan looks to upset defending Champions, China, at the Perfect 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships that begins tomorrow, 28 February till 6 March 2016 at the Malawati Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Silver medalists at the last edition of the World Team Championships in Tokyo, Japan, and at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the Japanese Women's team was the closest to come to upsetting the Chinese team ever since Team Singapore successfully snatched the crown from the 19 time Champions in 2010 in Moscow.
Ai FUKUHARA who heads the Japanese team in Kuala Lumpur shared, "We have a young but very strong team here in Kuala Lumpur. We finished second on home soil in 2014, and this time round we will be aiming higher for the crown. It will not be an easy task, but we will put in our best efforts for that!"
Commenting on her loss at the Moscow World Championships in 2010, 2015 World Champion DING Ning stated at the press conference held earlier this afternoon 'Losing the title in 2010 was a shock for us, but at the same time, it was an important lesson for me, and made me more prepared for difficult situations during competitions."
"We not only have the World Championships this year, but also the Olympic Games in Rio later in the year. But what's now more important for us is to perform well here to defend our title!" added the 25-year-old Chinese.
The Chinese Men's Team will be looking to take their eighth consecutive title at the 54th edition of the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur. The last time the Chinese men were beaten at the World Team Championships, was back in 2000, when Sweden defeated them in an epic final, also here in Kuala Lumpur.
Team captain MA Long shared "The last time we played the world championships in Kuala Lumpur, we lost the title to the Swedish team, this time round, we will go all out to defend out title to make sure that history doesn't repeat itself."
The reigning world champion also called on Japan, Germany, Korea Republic and Portugal as the biggest opponents of the Chinese team on their way to their gold.
The world number one shared, "I think Japan will be our biggest threat, their team is very young and dynamic, and they are full of fighting spirit every time we meet, always out on full force to fight for their chance to win!"
The qualification stage of the Perfect 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships will starttomorrow, 28 February, where all teams in the Championships Division will be fighting to qualify for the main draw.
- Group A: China, Austria, Chinese Taipei, Greece, Czech Republic, Korea DPR
- Group B: Germany, Sweden, France, Denmark, England, Malaysia
- Group C: Japan, Portugal, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Singapore
- Group D: Korea Republic, Hong Kong, Russia, Croatia, Romania, Italy
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