If the men's side of the 2026 World Team Table Tennis Championships is unusually open, the women's event looks as one-sided as ever. Analysts unanimously tip China to lift the Corbillon Cup in London, and the debate has quickly turned to whether any team can even make the tournament competitive.
"In the women's team event, things are much more clear," commentator Ash said in a YouTube preview. "Team China, I can't really imagine a world in which they don't come away with the Corbillon Cup."
The Chinese selection reads like a list of the world's top five players. Sun Yingsha, the world number one and reigning World Championships gold medallist, leads a group that includes Wang Manyu, Chen Xingtong, Kuai Man and Wang Yidi.
"Sun Yingsha — need I say any more?" Ash said. "Any three of those five for me would come away as world champions."
Japan remain the most likely challengers but even their strong lineup is not expected to threaten. Hina Hayata, Miwa Harimoto, Miyuu Kihara and Satsuki Odo all sit inside the world's top 20, yet they are still rated below every member of China's first-choice five.
"All very good players, top 20 players in the world, but all of them unfortunately are worse than that top five of the Chinese national team," Ash said.
North Korea have been floated as a wildcard, largely because of their historic ability to appear from nowhere and cause trouble. Kim Kum Yong was Asian champion just 18 months ago but has not been seen on the international circuit since. "We essentially don't know much about them," Ash said. "But if we're going to have a mystery wildcard pick as a team that's going to do well in this championships, maybe North Korea."
Egypt and the United States have been singled out for possible deep runs on the draw. Hana Goda, still only 18, has recently broken into the world's top 20, a breakthrough Ash called "massive for an African women's player."
"She had a great World Cup, scared Sun Yingsha," he said.
Goda will line up alongside veteran Dina Meshref, giving Egypt one of the strongest African teams ever to contest a World Championships. A run to the round of 16 would be a milestone. Beyond that, they would likely need a lenient draw and a minor miracle against an Asian heavyweight.
The women's final in London is expected to feature China against either Japan or Korea, with Chinese gold the overwhelmingly probable outcome.