In Durban, South Africa, the table tennis pros are looking for their single and double world champions. The favorites are different, the Germans can surprise.
The 57th Table Tennis Individual World Championships will take place on Saturday (May 20th, 2023) in Durban, South Africa. sportschau.de shows you whether the German pros have a chance, who the favorites are and what else is worth knowing
When and where is the game played?
The African continent is the venue for a table tennis world championship for the second time. The World Cup was held in Cairo for the first time – but that was 84 years ago. Incidentally, Durban, with its motto “It’s time for Africa”, beat Düsseldorf in North Rhine-Westphalia by 90 to 39 votes.
From May 20th to 28th, the metropolis in East South Africa will open. There are 21 “sessions” in total. Up to eight tables are played during the first four days, after which the number is reduced to a central “Center Court”.
What is played?
We are looking for the winners in singles and doubles for women and men as well as in mixed. There is no team event, the world championship of the teams is held separately – by the way, only since 2001.
Who are the men’s favourites?
Nothing beats China. The world rankings are led by three Chinese: defending champion Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin and Ma Long. They are considered the top favorites for the title. However, national coach Jörg Roßkopf believes in tension: “The course of the World Cup is a piñata for all players. Even China’s defending champion Fan Zhendong suffered defeats in preparation.”
Overall, the world leaders are relatively close together. Especially the non-Chinese players in the top 10, which also include European champion Dang Qiu, can go far if the tournament goes well – like in 2021, when the young Truls Moregard sensationally crowned vice world champion.
Vice World Champion Truls Moregard in action
Who are the favorites among women?
In the case of women, China’s dominance seems almost overwhelming: the first six athletes come from China, followed by two Japanese. Europe’s best player comes in tenth with Germany’s Han Ying. Should someone challenge China’s women for the title, it would almost be a sensation.
Who are the favorites in doubles?
Things are different in doubles and mixed. Because there, the games are characterized above all by familiarity, an understanding of running routes and more tactics. Therefore, the global rankings are broader. For women, the favorites come from China and Japan.
Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson (right) are happy about their world title in doubles
There are a number of good duos among the men who can crown themselves as world champions. The defending champions are Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson from Sweden. It is very difficult to identify a favorite in mixed – because this form of play hardly exists on the World Tour.
What are the chances of the German men?
The same applies here: difficult to assess. Germany has lost some of its supremacy in Europe in recent years. The record European champion Timo Boll, who won individual bronze in 2021, will definitely be missing. He’s injured in the shoulder. “All the players in our squad are strong enough to have a say in the medal decision.”declared national coach Roßkopf confidently.
The individual European champions Dang Qiu and Dimitrij Ovtcharov are probably the most likely to do so. Ovtcharov won a preparatory tournament in Neu-Ulm, including with Vice World Champion Moregard. Ruwen Filus, Benedikt Duda and Patrick Franziska often lacked consistency – but a top run, like Filus’ in the final of the WTT tournament in Almaty, could cause a surprise.
For Ovtcharov, his first round match is a real indicator, because Can Akkuzu is number 52 in the world. Dang Qiu may not be completely happy with the draw either. In the course of the tournament he could meet Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (WR 51) or Felix Lebrun (WR 35) relatively early on, before ideally in the round of 16 he would face top seed Fan Zhendong.
What are the chances of German women?
Sports director Richard Prause describes the basic goal as follows: “For all of our athletes, the first thing to do is to fulfill our requirements.”
In addition to world ranking tenth Han Ying, who recently achieved strong international results, hopes are particularly pinned on Nina Mittelham, second at the European Championships. But she is still skeptical about where she stands: “During the preparatory period I was a little ill, unfortunately for the third time this year.” However she is a tough opponent on a strong day.
The draw went largely satisfactorily for the German women. Only the German champion Sabine Winter has a difficult task in front of her chest in the first round with Natalia Bajor, after all number 54 in the world.
What are the odds in doubles?
The greatest hopes in doubles are definitely on the duo Benedikt Duda/Dang Qiu. “Together with Dang Qiu, I made it to the doubles quarterfinals at the last World Championships in Houston. Now we’re going to try again.”Duda explained before the World Cup.
Benedikt Duda and Dang Qiu (right) in action
The two friends are fifth in the world rankings, have already proven internationally that they can keep up and recently set a new record for the most title wins at the German Championships. Winning a medal seems at least within reach at the World Cup.
Duda/Qiu had the necessary luck of the draw. With the pairing of Noshad Alamiyan/Nima Alamian, the German double champions have a feasible task to solve in the first round. They could also meet the current world champions Falck/Karlsson and the two Chinese duos in the final at the earliest.
Will the World Cup be streamed or on TV?
Bad news for all fans: The World Cup is nowhere to be seen on TV. The good news: The International Table Tennis Federation is broadcasting the World Cup extensively on its YouTube channel in live stream. There you can also see highlights of the games.