China will defend the Mixed Team World Cup in Chengdu with Wang Chuqin, Lin Shidong, Huang Youzheng and Zhou Qihao in the men's team and Wang Manyu, Sun Yingsha, Kuai Man and Chen Yi in the women's.

The Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) announced the eight players on Tuesday. The tournament runs from 29 November to 6 December in Chengdu, where China won the title for the third year in a row last December.

The association said it had chosen the squad with gold at the Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Olympics as the aim, weighing world ranking points, recent results at major events, the need to bring through the next generation and the balance of playing styles.

How the eight were chosen

Four places were automatic under the selection rules for the event. Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong, and Wang Manyu and Sun Yingsha, were the two highest-ranked Chinese men and women in singles on the ITTF ranking of 12 October.

Huang Youzheng and Kuai Man were picked as the highest-ranked Chinese man and woman on a combined doubles and mixed doubles ranking from the same week. Huang, 21, is ranked 60th in singles. Kuai, 22, is the world No 4 in singles and won the women's doubles at the 2025 World Championships.

The last two places were decided on results at four events, China Smash, the Asian Championships and WTT Champions Montpellier and Frankfurt, and went to Zhou Qihao and Chen Yi.

The form picks

Zhou, 29, is the world No 12. He beat Félix Lebrun in Montpellier on the way to the quarter-finals, where he lost to Patrick Franziska 12-10 in the seventh game, and reached the last 16 in Frankfurt before Lin Yun-Ju beat him in four games.

Chen Yi, 22 and the world No 8, is the Asian champion. She reached the quarter-finals in Frankfurt, where Sabine Winter beat her.

Who misses out

The selection leaves out two Chinese women ranked above Chen Yi in this week's ranking: Wang Yidi, the world No 5, and Chen Xingtong, the No 7. Both played in Frankfurt, where Wang lost to Han Ying and Chen Xingtong reached the quarter-finals.

Among the men there is no place for Wen Ruibo, the 19-year-old who beat Wang Chuqin 11-7, 11-8, 11-6 in 23 minutes in the last 16 in Frankfurt and rose to 13th in the world this week. Liang Jingkun, who returned from months out in Frankfurt and then withdrew from WTT Contender Istanbul, is also left out.

Wang Chuqin, the men's team captain, lost to Wen in only his second match back after more than a month out injured. On Monday he wrote on social media that his slump had made him take a hard look at himself (our report).

Three women and three men

Each tie in Chengdu will use three women and three men, in line with the format of the new mixed team event at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Each tie opens with a mixed doubles, and the first team to win eight games takes it. China's squad of four men and four women gives the coaches one spare player on each side.

France, led by Félix and Alexis Lebrun, named their squad last week. China's men go to Chengdu with no player in the top three of the world ranking: Japan's Sora Matsushima and Tomokazu Harimoto now hold the top two places.

Play starts on Sunday 29 November. Chengdu is eight hours ahead of the UK.