The tournament, which begins in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur tomorrow, has been dominated by the Chinese for the last two editions with the country winning both crowns in Dortmund in 2012 and Tokyo in 2014.

They are heavy favourites for double success again with Ma, the world number one and team Olympic gold medallist from London 2012, leading the men's team.

The singles world champion from Suzhou last year will be joined by an all-star team including triple World Championships medallist Fan Zhendong.

Six-times World Championship gold medallist Xu Xin is also in the ranks, alongside double Olympic champion Zhang Jike and world silver medallist Bo Fang.

China will meet European champions Austria in Group A, with the two teams joined by Chinese Taipei, Greece, North Korea and the Czech Republic.

Germany had been touted as the second favourites for the title and are in Group B which contains France, Denmark, Sweden, Malaysia and England.

However, their preparations were hit after top player Dimitrij Ovtcharov withdrew through injury.

Belarus, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Singapore and Ukraine are scheduled to contest Group C, while Group D contains South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, Croatia, Romania and Italy.

In the women's competition, Suzhou world winner Ning is joined by triple world champion Liu Shiwen, double world winner Zhu Yuling, twice Asian champion Chen Meng and double Olympic gold medallist Li Xiaoxia.

China will play hosts Malaysia in Group A, and will also face European champions Romania, Chinese Taipei, Hungary and Spain.

Japan, who ended as the runners-up in 2014, will take on Germany, North Korea, Thailand, Brazil and the Czech Republic in Group B, while Group C consists of The Netherlands, Singapore, Poland, Ukraine, France and Belarus.

Meanwhile, Group D contains South Korea, Hong Kong, Austria, Russia, Sweden and the United States.