Romania's Bernadette Szocs is in action in group stages at the ITTF Women's World Cup ©ITTF

Home world champion Liu Shiwen and seven other top seeds will await developments as the group action starts tomorrow at the International Table Tennis Federation Women's World Cup in Chengdu, China.

Other top-seeded players include Liu's compatriot Zhu Yuling, who lost last year's final to fellow Chinese player and Rio 2016 champion Ding Ning, and the Japanese pairing of Miu Hirano and Kasumi Ishikawa.

Romania's Bernadette Szocs is the highest-seeded of the 12 players in group matches at the Sichuan Province Gymnasium at the event, which ends on October 20.

China's world champion Liu Shiwen will join the ITTF Women's World Cup in the later stages ©Getty Images
China's world champion Liu Shiwen will join the ITTF Women's World Cup in the later stages ©Getty Images

Having made her women's World Cup debut at last year's event in Chengdu, Szocs is back for more after successfully sealing qualification with her runner-up finish at the 2019 Europe Top 16 Cup competition.

Topping her group last time out, Szocs will be aiming to replicate that feat once again as she seeks to better her round-of-16 finish.

Also involved in the group stages will be South Korea's Jeon Jihee, who will be making her debut in this competition.

A member of the historic Unified Korea team that took bronze at the 2018 World Team Championships in Halmstad, Jeon is the sole player representing South Korea in Chengdu, having gained her ticket with her seventh position at the 2019 ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup.