Aspiring athletes from 26 nations will be at ITTF World Hopes Week & Challenge, with 18 boys and 18 girls set for a week of training and competition in Sheffield.

The final list has been confirmed by the International Table Tennis Federation and includes England’s Sai Prasanna Kumar and Isabella Xiao Xu, who qualified via the England Hopes Challenge.

They will join the world’s most promising Under-12 players at the English Institute of Sport for the week.

Players have been identified through their respective Continental Hopes programmes over the course of the year, with the strongest performers in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania earning their places.

The 2026 field includes players from established powers and emerging table tennis countries, and every part of the globe from New Zealand to Canada, Chile to Malaysia and Uganda to Finland – reflecting the truly global reach of the Hopes Programme.

As in previous editions, participants will spend the week combining technical training with a Challenge competition, with performances assessed not just on results but on technical ability, training attitude, and overall development potential. The programme’s top performers will earn selection to the Hopes Team, unlocking a fast-track route into the high-performance pathway.

Qualified players

Girls: Dhatri Tatikonda (AUS), Tiffany Zhan (CAN), Zeina Farouk (EGY), Isabella Xiao Xu (ENG), Kamilla Kadar (FIN), Yasmin Aranki (GUA), Valeria Ortiz (GUA), Aadya Mahesh Baheti (IND), Wan Suan Yong (MAS), Yu Han Amabelle Chua (MAS), Elizabeth Chikamnario Emilike (NGR), Katie Chen (NZL), Paula Benitez (PAR), Gia Meywa Kcomt Gamboa (PER), Bianca Stefania Toma (ROU), Ritej Charif (TUN), Ezoza Khurazova (UZB), Loriadni Pineda (VEN)

Boys: Aiden Cepeda (BEL), Vicente Tejeda (CHI), Juan Manuel Echavarria (COL), Adam Lashin (EGY), Saisurya Prasanna Kumar (ENG), Daniel Casquero (ESP), Arthur Xian Xiao (FRA), Lakshay Kumar (IND), Ryan Li (IRL), Gabriel Alejandro Utilla Rimalova (MEX), Umar Olawale Ayoola (NGR), Lucas Alexandre (NZL), Matome Mongalo (NZL), Samin Salvador Lora Morales (PER), Rabeah Al-Kuwari (QAT), Vladimir Filimon Romanescu (ROU), Chothirun Nantachaiwut (THA), Joseph Francis Sebatindira (UGA).