SHANGHAI, April 29: China, the hosts and dominant force in table tennis, are favourites to sweep the board at the world championships starting on Saturday after winning three of the four gold medals at the 2004 Olympics. Their focus in Shanghai will be on the one that got away in Athens, the men’s singles title.

Korean Ryu Seung-min beat Wang Hao in the final after the young Chinese had defeated world number one and compatriot Wang Liqin in the semis.

China won all seven gold medals the last time the championships were held in Shanghai 10 years ago and nothing less than a repeat will do this time.

“Table tennis may be just a sport in other parts of the world but it is the national pride in China,” said head coach Cai Zhenhua.

“The priority is to take the men’s singles crown at any cost. Fans won’t expect another shaky display for the most coveted title in the sport, particularly on home turf.”

Wang Liqin, who comes from Shanghai, is in the same half of the draw as defending champion Werner Schlager, the Austrian who surprisingly beat him in the quarter-finals at the 2003 worlds.

Wang Hao, ranked third in the world behind Wanq Liqin and Ma Lin, is scheduled to meet his Olympic nemesis, Korea’s Ryu, in the quarters.

The top three women’s singles players are also Chinese. Olympic gold medallist Zhang Yining, who has been suffering from a shoulder injury, is favourite in Shanghai.

She is scheduled to meet North Korean Kim Hyang-mi, the woman she thrashed in the Athens final, in the last 32.

Defending champion Wang Nan, ranked second in the world, faces a tougher task as she has compatriots Niu Jianfeng, Guo Yue and Guo Yan in her half of the draw.

Wang and Zhang are favourites to repeat their women’s doubles title in Athens while the men’s doubles is tougher to call.

Olympic champions Chen Qi and Ma Lin will face a major challenge from defending world champions Wang Liqin and Yan Sen.

The mixed doubles is also likely to be an all-Chinese affair, with the top five seeds from the host country. The pairings have been shuffled around and the competition could produce the most spectacular table tennis of the week.—Reuters