Sports Report
LONDON: It began in a hall in Farringdon in 1926, a modest gathering that few could have imagined would one day fill arenas and captivate hundreds of billions of people around the world. One hundred years later, in the same city where it all started, the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026 Presented by ACN came to a close at a sold-out OVO Arena Wembley, completing a centenary celebration that the sport will not forget in a hurry.
China were crowned Men's Team and Women's Team champions, defeating Japan in both finals to lift the Swaythling Cup and Corbillon Cup for a record 24th time on each side of the draw. It was a conclusion worthy of the occasion, and one that underlined why China remain the benchmark in world table tennis. Japan claimed silver on both sides of the draw, their women's team pushing China to a deciding fifth match in a final that had OVO Arena Wembley on its feet.
In the Men's event, France produced one of the performances of the tournament to reach the podium, sweeping aside Brazil in the quarterfinals before pushing China all the way in a gripping semifinal. Chinese Taipei were the other Men's Team semifinalists, their run to the last four including a stunning upset of top seeds Sweden that was one of the moments of the Championships.
On the women's side, Germany claimed bronze after a campaign built on the brilliance of Sabine Winter, whose performances throughout the tournament underlined why she is the highest-ranked European woman in the world.
Romania's run to the Women's Team podium was perhaps the most emotional story of London 2026, securing a medal in the Women's Team event for the first time in 26 years, with Bernadette Szocs leading from the front and her leap onto the table after sealing their semifinal win over France one of the defining images of the Championships.
But the stories did not stop at the podium. A 127-point match between Denmark and Canada in the Round of 32, lasting over three hours, or Moldova surpassing their previous best finish in the Men's event, qualifying for the Main Draw and announcing themselves as a side with genuine ambitions for the future. Moments like these will be spoken about long after the trophies have been handed out.
The final day brought its own special chapter. IOC President Kirsty Coventry visited OVO Arena Wembley, welcomed by ITTF President Petra Sörling. President Coventry exchanged rallies with Former Olympic champions Ma Long and Xu Xin and ITTF Athletes' Commission members Liu Shiwen, Elizabeta Samara and Paul Drinkhall before officially starting the final day's competition, pressing the button to get proceedings underway in front of a packed Wembley crowd. She later presented the Corbillon Cup to the Women's Team champions, a fitting role for the IOC President on a day that spoke to everything table tennis stands for.
The Swaythling Cup, donated by Lady Swaythling for the very first World Championships in London in 1926 and lifted by every Men's Team champion since, was raised in this city once again. The Corbillon Cup, awarded to Women's Team champions since 1933, completed a centenary double for China. To lift both in London, in this year of all years, means something that goes beyond the scoreline.
One hundred years since a small group of enthusiasts gathered in this city and set something in motion that would grow into a global sport, London 2026 brought that story full circle. The world came to London. Table tennis delivered. Here is to the next hundred years.
