Organizers said Tuesday that the 2003 Volkswagen Korea Open table tennis tournament will kick off in the southern island of Jeju Thursday, drawing hundreds of the world's top players to the four-day international event.

The Korea Table Tennis Association said a total of 127 players from 22 different countries will compete for victory in singles and doubles matches.

Among the participants, 22 players are ranked among the men's and women's top 20.

In the men's competitions, China will send Ma Lin (3rd in the 2003 world rankings), former world champion Wang Liqin (6th), Kong Linghui (7th) and Wang Hao (8th) to the Jeju event.

Taiwan's Chuan Chih-Yuan (5th) and Chiang Peng-Lung (10th), along with Greece's Kalinikos Kreanga (9th) will also be competing.

Joo Se-hyuk, a silver medalist in this year's World Table Tennis Championships, Ryu Seung-min, Oh Sang-eun and veteran Kim Taek-soo will represent South Korea at the event.

In the women's section, China's Niu Jianfeng, Guo Yue and Li Nan, and Hong Kong's Lin Ling and Tie Yana are the favorites to lift the title.