China, the ‘world’s strongest team’ in table tennis, will compete at the 26th Pyeongchang Asian Table Tennis Championships in 2023 from the preliminary round, leaving South Korea and other countries on edge.
The Pyeongchang Asian Table Tennis Championships Organizing Committee held the draw for the team event on Wednesday.
According to the draw, the top-seeded Korean men’s team was paired with fourth-seeded Japan and the two qualifying teams in the quarterfinals.
This means that they could face China, who are also playing qualifiers, as early as their first game in the quarterfinals and as late as the fourth round.
The second-seeded women’s team will first face Thailand, ranked sixth in the tournament, in the quarterfinals and will likely meet China as early as the fourth round and as late as the final.
This is because China missed the last edition of the tournament in Doha, Qatar, in 2021 during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In the team event of the Asian Table Tennis Championships, the top six teams based on their performance in the previous tournament, regardless of their current ranking, will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the two best qualifiers will join the tournament, with China, who are not seeded in this tournament, joining from the qualifiers.
Therefore, the countries already seeded for the quarterfinals are focusing all their attention on where China will start in the bracket, as they are sure to reach the quarterfinals after breezing through the qualifiers.
The men’s team is in the worst possible situation, as they could end their campaign with just one quarterfinal match.
“We all know it’s not going to be an easy fight,” said men’s head coach Joo Se-hyuk, “but we are determined to set the tone in the team competition and fight for a victory.”
Meanwhile, the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Asian Table Tennis Championships was held the previous day at the Ramada Hotel & Suites Grand Ballroom in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, with about 200 people including table tennis officials from various countries.
After the quarterfinals of the team competition on Thursday, the women’s team final will be held on Friday, followed by the men’s team final on Saturday.
On the seventh, the individual competition will be held.
Athletes from around the world will continue to compete at the Pyeongchang Dome until the 10th to secure a spot at the Busan 2024 World Table Tennis Championships. 안전카지노사이트
