The 2003 ITTF Women's World Cup table tennis tournament will be held in Hong Kong, China from December 17-19, the Hong Kong Table Tennis Association said on Tuesday.

The World Cup, which has a total prize money of 85,000 US dollars, will feature the world best 16 female players, organizers said.

Defending champion Zhang Yining of China, along with champion of six continents, earns automatic qualification for the event.

Apart from these continental champions, top six players in the ITTF rankings can also take part in the World Cup.

The sport's world governing body ITTF granted wild cards to China's Wang Nan and Kim Hyong-hui of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, while the hosts gave the last wild card to local player Liu Xufei.

The 16 players will be drawn into four groups and top two finishers of each group qualify for the quarter-finals.

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