Chengdu, December 11 (Xinhua) -- The first table tennis mixed team World Cup ended in Chengdu a few days ago. ITTF President and IOC member Petra Sorin said in an interview that the event was a historic attempt and the most important thing was to convey the concept of gender equality to the world.
"We have carefully studied the format of the Chengdu Mixed Team World Cup, which can promote gender equality and improve the situation of female athletes," Sorin said. ”
In China, both men's and women's athletes are equally accepted. "I see that everyone's love for Sun Yingsha and the cheers they give her are very high, but this kind of equality between men and women is not like this in some countries and regions." We hope that through such a competition system, we can raise everyone's awareness of gender equality and promote the further development of table tennis. ”
Liu Guoliang, First Vice President of the International Table Tennis Federation and President of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, said that this groundbreaking event advocates gender equality, unity and cooperation, and maximizes the charm of table tennis that values individual ability and tests team tactics. At the same time, it requires the balanced development of male and female players and the collective wisdom and efforts, which also represents the comprehensive strength.
But any innovation is not achieved overnight, and some problems may arise and expose. Liu Guoliang said, "But it is these problems that will promote our growth, and we will continue to think and improve in the future." (ENDS).