title: 1981 World Table Tennis Championships – Men's team
text: # 1981 World Table Tennis Championships – Men's team
  
  The 1981 World Table Tennis Championships – Swaythling Cup (men's team) was the 36th edition of the men's team championship.
  
  China won the gold medal defeating Hungary 5–2 in the final. Japan won the bronze medal.
  
  ## Medalists
  
  | Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | | China Cai Zhenhua Guo Yuehua Shi Zhihao Wang Huiyuan Xie Saike | Hungary Gábor Gergely István Jónyer Tibor Klampár Tibor Kreisz Zsolt Kriston | Japan Hiroyuki Abe Hideo Gotoh Masahiro Maehara Seiji Ono Norio Takashima |
  
  ## Swaythling Cup tables
  
  ### Group A
  
  | Pos | Team | P | W | L | Pts |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | China | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
  | 2 | Japan | 7 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
  | 3 | England | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
  | 4 | South Korea | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
  | 5 | France | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
  | 6 | Sweden | 7 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
  | 7 | West Germany | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
  | 8 | Indonesia | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
  
  ### Group B
  
  | Pos | Team | P | W | L | Pts |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Hungary | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
  | 2 | Czechoslovakia | 7 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
  | 3 | Yugoslavia | 7 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
  | 4 | Poland | 7 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
  | 5 | North Korea | 7 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
  | 6 | Italy | 7 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
  | 7 | Soviet Union | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
  | 8 | Australia | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
  
  ## Semifinals
  
  | Team One | Team Two | Score |
  | - | - | - |
  | Japan | Hungary | 1–5 |
  | China | Czechoslovakia | 5–0 |
  
  ## Third-place playoff
  
  | Team One | Team Two | Score |
  | - | - | - |
  | Japan | Czechoslovakia | 5–1 |
  
  ## Final
  
  | China 5 | | Hungary 2 | Score |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | Shi Zhihao | lost to | Jónyer | 17–21 21–23 |
  | Xie Saike | bt | Jónyer | 21–15 21–19 |
  | Cai Zhenhua | bt | Klampár | 21–17 22–24 22–20 |
  | Shi Zhihao | lost to | Klampár | 21–13 17–21 19–21 |
  | Xie Saike | bt | Klampár | 15–21 21–16 21–15 |
  | Xie Saike | bt | Gergely | 21–17 22–24 22–20 |
  | Cai Zhenhua | bt | Gergely | 21–16 14–21 21–15 |
  