BARCELONA, Spain - A Chinese trio led by current world number one Wang Hao are poised for honors at the men's World Cup table tennis tournament which starts in Barcelona on Friday.
Wang Liqin (front) and Ma Lin Wang Hao, the winner of the men's singles title at the Pro Tour Grand Finals in December 2006, was listed as the top seed while his compatriots Wang Liqin and Ma Lin followed to fill in the top three spots in seedings.
Drawn to separate groups, they avoided battling with each other in early stage, which almost guaranteed their places in quarterfinals.
Wang Hao's clash with arch-rival and Olympic champion Ryu Seung Min, however, will highlight group A which also includes Chuan Chih-Yuan from Chinese Taipei.
Wang lost to the South Korean in the final of Athens Games in 2004 but won all the other of their 13 meetings in the world ranking events at senior level.
Ma Lin will have to compete with South Korean Joo Se-Hyuk for a group B top finish on his way to a record fifth World Cup title.
The berths from Group C are surely reserved for the reigning world champion Wang Liqin and Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus, twice champion for the World Cup.
Potentially, Germany's Timo Boll could be European greatest threat to Chinese supremacy in Barcelona.
The fourth-seeded won the men's World Cup in 2002 and 2005, beating Wang Liqin, Ma Lin and Wang Hao on the latter occasion.
However, he withdrew from the World Team Cup in Magdeburg a week ago through illness and his preparations for the Barcelona tournament might have been hampered.
Meanwhile, the South Korean contingent could well have a bearing with Oh Sang Eun joining Ryu and Joo on duty. Oh was well below his best form in Magdeburg but he still has the technique and experience to challenge Boll in group D.
Play starts on Friday with matches in the group stage and the eight players who finish first and second in each group advance to the knock-out stage with the losing semi-finalists competing for the bronze medal.