On May 3, the London World Team Table Tennis Championships continued, with the Chinese men’s team facing off against Sweden.
In the first match, Wang Chuqin defeated Carlberg 3-0, giving China an early lead. However, Lin Shidong fell to Ranne 2-3 in the second match, followed by Liang Jingkun’s 2-3 loss to Moregard in the third. Wang Chuqin returned in the fourth match to beat Ranne 3-0, leveling the tie. In the decisive fifth match, Lin Shidong lost to Carlberg 1-3, resulting in a 2-3 overall defeat for the Chinese men’s team. This marked their second consecutive loss after previously falling to South Korea.
In the women’s competition, the Chinese team defeated South Korea 3-0 to claim their third straight victory, finishing top of their group and advancing to the knockout stage.
The Chinese men’s team had previously lost 1-3 to South Korea, ending an unbeaten streak in World Team Championships that dated back to 2000.
Lin Shidong, currently ranked second-highest on the Chinese men’s team, has struggled throughout the past year. Since 2025, he has lost to ten different foreign opponents. His world ranking has slipped from first to sixth due to inconsistent performances.
At the start of 2026, Lin missed several matches due to injury, returning only just before the World Team Championships. However, his form has remained below expectations, with losses to South Korea’s Oh Junsung, world No. 70 Ranne, and Carlberg, leaving him with three defeats in the tournament.
Despite these setbacks, the group stage results are not insurmountable for the Chinese team. This year’s World Team Championships introduced a seed team ranking round, where the top eight men’s and women’s teams are split into two groups of four. The results of Phase A determine the seeding for the knockout stage but do not eliminate any teams. This gives the Chinese men’s team an opportunity to regroup and continue their title defense.