The Chinese table tennis players are in normal form Sunday, one day before the 48th World Table Tennis Championships open, said coaches.

After watching the Chinese players practicing for one and half hours inside the AWD-Dome, where the one-week biennial event is to be held, team leader Huang Biao told Xinhua that the players gradually adjusted themselves into normal form.

"They have adapted themselves to the climate here and completely overcome jet lag after they had trained for a week in Austria," he said.

There were no major injuries and illness among them, he added.

China formed strong line-ups of both men and women.

Among the five men are the world's number one Wang Liqin, number three Wang Hao and number four Ma Lin. Chen Qi and Ma Long are being nurtured for the 2008 Olympics.

Coach Liu Guoliang told Xinhua also on Sunday that there was "no pressure" to play. He seemed to be quite satisfied with the form and performance of his players, who were conducting their last training before the event formally opens on Monday.

Chinese men and women players have been expected to retain their championships achieved two years ago in Qatar.

The five Chinese women players to the World Team Table Tennis Championships are the world's No. 1 player Zhang Yining, veteran Wang Nan, Guo Yue, Guo Yan and Li Xiaoxia.

They were expected to capture the Corbillion Cup without doubt, but their coach Shi Zhihao restrained himself from saying that they could easily beat their rivals.

"It is hard to say that you can easily win, though we are hoping for the best," he told Xinhua on the training ground in the AWD-Dome.

"The charm of sports lies in surprises," he said.

Both Chinese men and women are in Group A of the Championships division.

China will play against the Czech Republic in the women's first round at 10:00 AM (09:00 GMT) on Monday, while Chinese men face Romania at 12:45 PM (11:45 GMT).

(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2006)