Women with most medals at Table Tennis World Championships

Hungarian players have dominated the sport before China cemented their position.

The World Table Tennis Championships is a biennial table tennis competition that started in 1926. It consists of five individual events and is held in odd-numbered years. The events include men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. However, the men's and women's team events became separate competitive events in 2000. Moreover, these team championships started getting held in even-numbered years.

Just like the men's events the women's events too saw the domination of some strong Hungarian performers. In fact, Hungary ruled the game with some style. The men's team won the championship 12 times. The women too weren't lagging behind putting up splendid displays with their paddles. The Hungarian era was followed by the Japanese uprising in table tennis. They commanded the 50's. After that, it was all of China from the 1970s who are still going strong to this day. The Chinese women's table tennis team holds 21 world championship titles to date. Surprisingly they have lost only twice since 1975.

The Chinese women have left their mark on the game along with their male compatriots. The likes of Guo Yue, Zhang Yining, Li Xiaoxia among others have established China's dominance in the table tennis game. So today we are going to dive into the list of elite women players with the most medals in the world championships.

5. Gizella Farkas (27)

Gizella "Gizi" Farkas is another fine example of a Hungarian monopoly in table tennis in the 1920s. Born in Miskolc, Hungary she is recognized as one of the leading female players in the history of the sport. Farkas was a very versatile player. She won countless medals in the singles, doubles and team events.

Gizi won 27 world championship medals. It included 10 gold medals, 9 silver medals and 8 bronze medals. She won her first world championship medal in 1947 in Paris and her last in 1959 in Dortmund. Apart from this Farkas also has won four medals in the European Championships.

4. Anna Sipos (21)

Anna Sipos was another Hungarian who is still remembered today for her accomplishments. Sipos won a total of 21 medals. Her collection included 11 gold, 6 silver and 4 bronze medals in the world championships. Sipos was equally comfortable in both singles and doubles events. Anna won national singles titles in 1926,1927,1931,1935 and 1939.

Additionally, she won doubles titles consecutively from 1929-1933 to 1935 and 1939-1940. Another important facet of Anna's career was that she was the first player to introduce the penholder grip. Ironically she switched it to the stakeholder grip in 1932. She used the stakeholder grip to defeat her former doubles partner Mariya Mednyanszky.

3. Wang Nan (20)

Wang Nan is notably known for her speed of shots, her placement skills and her loop drive. Besides she is the only player on the list who is part of the modern era. Her career span was from 1997 to 2008. During which she won a total of 20 medals. That included 15 gold,3 silvers and 2 bronze medals.

Other than this Wang is also a 4 time Olympic gold medalist. Nan's style of play made her one of China's as well the world's most iconic players. Nan won her last world championship medal in her native China in 2008 in the team event.

2. Angelica Rozeanu (30)

Angelica Rozeanu started playing table tennis while recovering from scarlet fever when she was 8. Four years later she won the Romanian Cup at the tender age of 12. Three years from the Romanian cup she became the Romanian national champion. A record she held for the next 21 years (1936-1957).

After making her name at the national level she set her sights on the World Championships. She won her first world championship in 1950. She followed it up by winning the championship six more years in succession. A level of success that is still unmatched today. Moreover, she was also the last non-Asian woman to win the title.

She won a total of 17 gold, 5 silver and 8 bronze medals. The Bucharest-born Angelica was inducted into the ITTF Hall of Fame in 1995.

1. Maria Mednyanszky (28)

Finally, we come down to the numero uno on this list. Maria Medyanszky takes up the top spot with a total of 28 medals at the world championships. She holds 18 gold medals,6 silver and 4 bronze medals. That too within 10 years of her professional career. In fact, she was the first official women's world champion. Maria won the first women's singles gold medal in 1926 hosted in London.

Mednyanskzy won the title for five successive years and added 18 more world titles in the process. Only Angelica Rozeanu has won more women's singles titles than her. Mednyanszky also tasted success when she teamed up with compatriot Anna Sipos. The pair won 7 doubles titles together. Moreover, she also won three English Open titles.