Zhang, Li face tough title defenses

Defending champions Zhang Jike and Li Xiaoxia from China will face tough challenges at the World Table Tennis Championships which started in eastern China's Suzhou on Sunday.

Zhang, who won the men's singles title at the 2013 World Championships in Paris, was drawn in the bottom half on Saturday alongside the likes of world No 2 Xu Xin from China, Japan's world No 5 Jun Mizutani and Belarussian veteran Vladimir Samsonov.

"I think the draw is quite normal. If you want to reach the final at the Championships you have to beat all your opponents on the road," said Zhang. "Of course I want to defend my title but my opponents will pose real threats to me so I will try my best in the tournament."