In the just-concluded inaugural Mixed Team World Cup, a unique competition brought new challenges and opportunities to the mixed team event.
This is a brave innovation, but it also exposes a number of problems.
Let's analyze what is good about the changes in this event, and what needs to be improved.
Let's start by talking about the benefits of this new format.
In this tournament, the format of the small game was adjusted to a best-of-three system, giving the lagging team more opportunities to turn the tables, rather than directly determining the outcome of the game as in the previous three wins.
This new system increases the uncertainty of the game and keeps the audience looking forward and suspenseful.
For example, even if the first three games are lost 1-2, it is still possible to turn the next two games and win the whole game.
This change not only improves the spectacle of the game, but also enhances the competitiveness of the game.
However, under the aura of innovation, there are also some things to reflect on.
For example, in this competition, because the Chinese team ended the competition with the South Korean team early and won the championship, other teams that were in the qualifying round, such as the Swedish team and the Chinese provincial team, were forced to pause in the middle of the game and present awards to the Chinese team.
After the awards, they were asked to continue the race.
One can imagine how negatively this sudden interruption has on the athletes' psychology and competition status, which is also a great disrespect to the participating teams.
Looking ahead, the ITTF has announced that the Mixed Team World Cup will continue to be held in Chengdu in November next year, and Chengdu will be the home of the event for the next four years.
This proves that Chengdu's hosting capacity has been internationally recognized.
But at the same time, it also reflects an awkward reality – no other city seems to want to host such a competition.
Next, we have to mention the attractiveness of this competition.
Many of Europe's top players were not impressed, with only 13 countries initially responding to the 18 invitations that were originally issued.
In order to prevent the death of the first competition, the ITTF had to modify the rules and even give points incentives to attract players to participate.
However, even so, the main stars of the German and Swedish teams did not participate, and even the Chinese provincial teams initially had reservations about participating.
The embarrassing scene of awarding awards after the game has put a big question mark on people's enthusiasm for participating in the next competition.
So, in order to improve the situation, should the organizers do a deep reflection and apology?
In fact, neither the ITTF nor the head of WTT seemed to express due apologies for this behavior after the game.
Such an approach will undoubtedly affect the mood of the team and raise questions about whether the next edition will be able to successfully assemble 18 teams.
Overall, the inaugural Mixed Team World Cup's attempts at the format were commendable, but the mistakes in execution also exposed areas for improvement.
It is clear that the way the medal ceremony is handled needs to be reconsidered to ensure that the competition is fair and respects the rights of every athlete.
We look forward to the guidance of the ITTF and the efforts of all parties in the future, this event can be more mature and perfect, and truly attract top teams from all over the world to participate in this feast of table tennis.
Readers, what do you think about this new format and organization? What do you think could be improved in the future? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.