Changsha, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Reporter's note: Fan Zhendong did this before "Eagle Eye" intervened.
Xinhua News Agency reporter Tan Chang.
After completing more than 10 days of coverage of the World Table Tennis Championships team competition in Busan, South Korea, the reporter returned to Changsha, where he was stationed. On the 27th, the International Table Tennis Federation released a decision that the "Eagle Eye" system will enter the 2025 World Table Tennis Championships, which brought reporters' thoughts back to the men's team final three days ago.
In accordance with the decision of the ITTF Executive Board, the 2025 World Table Tennis Championships will introduce a table tennis replay system ("Eagle Eye"), which will provide real-time video replays related to the disputed ruling, allowing the tournament to review and potentially overturn the ruling based on concrete evidence.
On the table tennis field, it is inevitable that there will be controversies such as serving, wiping the edge, and wiping the net, and the intervention of the "Eagle Eye" system is conducive to fair play. At the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan, which has not yet been equipped with the "Eagle Eye" system, Fan Zhendong took the initiative to create a fair competition environment for his opponents, which left a deep impression on reporters.
In the second set of the men's team final, world No. 1 Fan Zhendong played against France's Alex Lebrun. The latter is nicknamed the "King of Hurry" by some Chinese fans, meaning that he has a fast serve and sometimes ignores whether his opponent is prepared. In the quarterfinals on the 22nd, Portuguese player Freitas refused Lebrun's serve several times, and imitated the opponent's eager serve, spreading his hands and questioning: "Will I serve like this?" ”
Lebrun was even more fast-paced in the final. Fan Zhendong adjusted his rhythm through pauses, serves, wiping sweat and other opportunities, gradually controlled the situation, and finally won 3:2. Under heavy pressure, Fan Zhendong insisted on respecting the rules and respecting his opponents.
In the middle of the first game, Fan Zhendong led 8:4, and the opponent returned the ball slightly and landed on the ground. The referee changed the score to 9:4 for the first time and recorded the 1 point on Fan Zhendong's head. And Fan Zhendong did not hesitate, pointing to the table several times, indicating that the opponent should score the edge ball. The referee listened and changed the score to 8:5. After that, the opponent overtook the score and won the first game 11:9.
At the post-match press conference, the reporter asked Fan Zhendong to recall this scene. "For athletes, it's all about going all out to win on the field," he said. However, there is a lot more to winning than that, including respect for the rules, respect for the opponent. I think that's a recognition that can make this project better and better. ”
Fan Zhendong admitted frankly that he scored a sideline goal, and Lebrun also took the initiative to signal. "It's very precious for everyone to have moments like this on the pitch. He said.
In fact, throughout the event, reporters have seen athletes on more than one occasion actively signaling their opponents to score points. And the party that benefits through the "balloon" will generally extend its hand to greet at the first time.
We applaud the Hawkeye system, which helps reduce controversy on the field, and the sportsmanship of players like Fan Zhendong. (ENDS).