The draw for the first stage of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Mixed Team World Cup occurred on Sunday.

A total of 18 teams, set to compete in the tournament with an innovative mixed team format from December 4 to 10, have been divided into four groups, with the winner and runner-up of each group advancing to the second stage.

Host China is placed in Group 1 with Sweden, Puerto Rico, and Hong Kong, China.

World No. 1 Fan Zhendong expressed enthusiasm about the challenge of competing in the new format for the first time.

Fan Zhendong of China competes during the men's singles match against Jeoung Young-sik of South Korea at 2020 ITTF Men's World Cup in Weihai, East China's Shandong Province, Nov 19, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

"I'm very happy to attend this important event for this innovative new format. I hope I can make great achievements together with our team China," said Fan.

Group 2 includes Germany, Portugal, Egypt, and Slovakia.

Japan and France are the favorites to advance from Group 3, which also features Romania, the United States, and Australia.

In Group 4, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, India, and Canada will compete for the top two spots to qualify.

In the second stage, the top eight teams will be grouped into a single group. Results from the first stage will be carried over, meaning that teams that faced each other earlier in the week won't compete with each other again.

Under the new format, matches will begin with mixed doubles, followed by women's singles and men's singles, while players who played mixed doubles will be barred from the singles matches.