The World Cup, as the name indicates, always begins as an international chorus. Players from North and South America and Africa join the perennial powerhouses from Asia and Europe for a celebration of the truly global sport of table tennis. While it starts out like "We Are the World," the medley almost invariably concludes with the Chinese national anthem. Since 2000, 15 of the ITTF Men's World Cup titles have gone to China. The five remainders were claimed by European powers, either Germany (3) or Belarus (2, both won by Vladimir Samsonov). In this year's edition, seven of the 21 entrants in the 2020 ITTF Men's World Cup in Weihai, China were from Europe. Two reached the quarterfinals: Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov (pictured) and Sweden's Mattias Falck. Ovtcharov, the 2017 World Cup champion, outmaneuvered fellow European Liam Pitchford of England, 4-3, in the round of 16. For his efforts, he earned a date with China's Ma Long, the second seed whom many consider the G.O.A.T. (i.e., "greatest of all time"). Ma justified his seeding, not to mention his aura of invincibility, with a 4-1 dismissal of his German rival. This left Falck, Sweden's silver medalist from the 2019 World Championships, as the lone player from outside of Eastern Asia. In the round of 16, Falck survived a seven-game test of will against Hong Kong's penhold master, Wong Chun Ting. "Wong is one of the few pen-holders left and it is always hard playing against this kind of opponent," reflected a relieved Falck. Things would get no easier for the Swede, however, as he earned a shot at Japanese wunderkind Tomokazu Harimoto in the round of eight. The 17-year-old Harimoto offered no quarter in the quarters, sending Falck home with a 4-1 thrashing. Last year, China's Fan Zhendong defeated Harimoto to win his third World Cup title. En route to the silver, Harimoto had eliminated China's Ma Long, the living legend whom he again faces in tomorrow's semifinal. For Fan to find the finals, he must first negotiate his way past Jang Woojin of the Korea Republic. Jang is not to be overlooked, having staged a thrilling comeback from 1-3 down against Japan's Koki Niwa in the round of 16. Jang then dispatched his countryman Jeoung Youngsik in the quarters, the same Jeoung who had just upset #4 seed Hugo Calderano of Brazil. Once again, China is assured at least one medal at the World Cup. While anything but gold is considered failure to China, the rest of the world must redouble its efforts if they ever want to hear another song at the end of the tournament.

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