(by Steve Hopkins)

TeamUSA is seeded third in Group 2 when action starts later this week at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in Busan, Korea.  At the top of USA’s group is Germany (second overall seed) and then England before USA, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia.  TeamUSA will feature Jishan Liang, Sid Naresh, Nandan Naresh, Nikhil Kumar, and Kai Zhang.

China is the top seed, and their group includes Croatia, Belgium, Hungary, and Cuba.  Korea is in third position, and they will have to contend with India, Poland, Chile, and New Zealand.  France is the fourth seed and they will have Austria, Denmark, Australia, and Algeria in their group.

Group 5 includes both Japan and Chinese Taipei, and then also has Nigeria, the Czech Republic, and Madagascar.  Group 6 has Sweden and Hong Kong at the top, then Slovakia, Puerto Rico, and Serbia.  Group 7 is Brazil, Slovenia, Singapore, Canada, and Malaysia.  And the Final Group (Group 8) includes Portugal, Egypt, Romania, Iran, and Thailand.

Visit ButterflyOnline.com for the latest in table tennis news and results.