With exactly 100 days to go to the event, the list of entries for the upcoming 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals Chengdu has been unveiled.

ITTF President Petra Sörling commented, “With just 100 days to go until the 2022 World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals, all eyes are on Chengdu, and we cannot wait to witness a breath-taking competition. As we are about to accelerate the preparations, I am grateful to our hosts, who have taken every necessary measure to ensure the successful delivery of our marquee event.”

The ITTF, the Chinese Table Tennis Association, and the City of Chengdu authorities are working hard to give the players the opportunity to compete in the best and safest conditions. The 2022 World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals Preparatory Committee has worked on extensive COVID-19 countermeasures to ensure all participants arrive smoothly, participate securely, and return safely. The event will be put under strict closed-loop management in a bubble format.

With the 2020 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan cancelled, it has been four years since the team event was last held. The Chinese teams took gold in the men’s and women’s events in Halmstad, Sweden, in 2018. Playing on home soil this year, Team China will be the favourite.

Liu Guoliang, the ITTF Executive Vice President, WTT Council Chair and Chinese Table Tennis Association President, commented: “Chengdu is a beautiful, stylish and vibrant city. It has successfully delivered high-level events such as ITTF Men’s World Cup, Women’s World Cup and ITTF World Tour. This time, World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals will add a new stroke to the history of this city. As the host, we expect players to show themselves on this stage, and may the fans enjoy a table tennis festival during the golden autumn in October.”

The following 40 men’s and women’s teams will be vying for one of the sport’s most coveted titles. The teams will be divided into eight groups. Each group of five teams will play a complete round-robin competition. Then, a final knock-out phase will be played with the winners of each group and the teams placing second.

* Qualification pathway:

As per the vote of the ITTF Board of Directors, 33 teams qualified from the Continental Stage (4 for Africa, 10 for Asia, 11 for Europe, 6 for Americas, and 2 for Oceania) and the host nation qualification is guaranteed. Five additional quotas, as replacement of the Intercontinental Stage which did not place due to Covid-19, were then distributed in the following way:

• Europe (1): The highest-ranked, not-yet qualified team from the European Championships 2021 Group Stage, according to the World Team Ranking published after the 2021 EC Final Stage
• Asia (1): Position 11 (2021 Asian Championships) in each gender
• PANAM (1): The winner of the consolation (7th position) at the 2021 PANAM Championships
• Africa (1): The winner of the consolation (5th position) at the 2021 African Championships
• Oceania (1): The highest-ranked, not-yet qualified teams from the Teams World Ranking (January 2022).

Finally, the last quota was allocated to the highest ranked not-yet qualified team from the ITTF Table Tennis Teams World Ranking (January 2022).

** About the Russian Men’s and Women’s Teams

On 1 March 2022, the ITTF Executive Committee decided that no Russian or Belarusian players and officials are currently allowed in ITTF events, in line with the recommendations formulated by the IOC Executive Board. A decision regarding their participation to the 2022 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals will be made during the next meeting of the ITTF Executive Committee on 26-27 July