An impressive 184 skaters from 43 ISU member nations have been entered into the Championships, due to be held at the Taipei Arena.

Reigning champion Daniel Samohin of Israel arrives in Chinese Taipei with a season’s best of 226.53 points so far and will be aiming to defend his title in the men's event.

Competition is set to be tough though with Dmitri Aliev of Russia, the winner of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final held in Marseille in December and his compatriot Alexander Samarin, who won silver in France, among the contenders.

The bronze medallist from that competition Jun Hwan Cha of South Korea is also expected to challenge for medals as he arrives with a seasons best of 239.47.

In the women's event, reigning world champion Marin Honda of Japan will face a difficult task in defending her crown.

Honda, who has a season’s best of 184.11 points, had qualified for the competition in Marseille, but had to withdraw due to illness.

Alina Zagitova of Russia looks like the favourite after winning the gold medal in Marseille and scoring a season’s best of 207.43 points so far.

The pairs event looks wide open after 2016 world champions and reigning Junior Grand Prix Final silver medallists Anna Duskova and Martin Bidar of the Czech Republic moved up to the senior level.

Russia leads the way among the other contenders with Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medallists Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii considered strong contenders alongside compatriots Alina Ustimkina and Nikita Volodin and Amina Atakhanova and Ilia Spiridonov.

Other competitors include Chelsea Liu and Brian Johnson of the United States and Canada's Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud.

All of last year's World Championships ice dance medallists are once again in action this year.

Reigning world champions Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter of the US hope to defend their title and are aiming for their third consecutive medal at the Championships.

They also took silver at the 2015 edition in Tallinn in Estonia.

Possibly denying them the gold medal are their compatriots, the reigning Junior Grand Prix Final champions and current World Championships silver medallists, Rachael Parsons and Michael Parsons.

Russia's 2016 World Championships bronze medallists Alla Loboda and Pavel Drozd are also in contention.

The ISU awards a prize fund of $138,500 (£113,000/€130,000) at the World Junior Championships to skaters and couples placed first to fifth.

The men’s and lady’s winners each receive $10,000 (£8,200/€9,400), while the pairs and dance champions take home $15,000 (£12,300/€14,100) per couple. 

Action in Taipei is due to start tomorrow with the men's and pairs' short programmes.