TABLE TENNIS: London world championships hoping to ride 'Marty Supreme' momentum

LONDON- The hit movie "Marty Supreme" put table tennis in the spotlight this year and organizers of the World Team Championships that started in London this week will hope the sport's new audience can make it one of the best-supported editions ever.

One hundred years after the first Table Tennis World Championships were staged in London, the biggest names descend on the capital for an event that will culminate at Wembley Arena on May 10.

Actor Timothee Chalamet's chaotic portrayal of fictional ping pong hustler Marty Mauser will be a world away from the high-class action that begins at London's Copper Box Arena on the Olympic Park for the early stages.

The tournament is on a completely different scale to the original, with 64 men's and women's teams playing 262 matches across 13 days.

A so-called "extended snake" format will feature Stage One in which 56 lower-ranked nations are split into four groups with the winners and best runners-up moving to Stage Two where they will join the eight seeded nations in a traditional knockout format.

The business end of the championships will be at Wembley where defending men's and women's champions China's domination will be challenged by the likes of Japan, Korea Republic, Germany, France and Sweden.

ENGLAND BANK ON HOME SUPPORT

England, among the top seeds, will be hoping that home support can fuel their medal ambitions. Vastly experienced Paul Drinkhall, a three-times Olympian and bronze medallist at the 2016 ITTF World Team Championships in Kuala Lumpur, said it would be special.

"I remember playing at home at London 2012 and didn't think anything could beat that, but hopefully this comes close," Drinkhall told Reuters. "This is an amazing chance to showcase the sport and use it as a platform to grow table tennis.

"I've never been to Wembley so to play an event in there will be extra special."

China will be the team to beat on the men's side with a powerful squad including world number one Wang Chuqin but Sweden, with second-ranked Truls Moregardh, and France, led by Paris Olympics hero Felix Lebrun, will provide tough opposition.

On the women's side, China's Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu and Chen Xingtong are the top three in the rankings and will be tough to beat.

The World Table Tennis Championships alternates between a team and an individual event. "There's always excitement in a team event, and it's the more fun format to play," Drinkhall said.