Is China's table tennis hegemony challenged? The new rules of the International Table Tennis Federation may be a false shot
Recently, at the team World Table Tennis Championships held in Busan, South Korea, the Chinese men's table tennis and women's table tennis once again won the men's team and women's team championships, the men's team won the championship for the 12th consecutive time, and the women's team achieved the feat of 6 consecutive championships. This world-shaking achievement is really jaw-dropping. The game was intense and the fans screamed incessantly, however, just as the on-screen drama is always interrupted by controversy, this tournament is no exception.
In the match between the U.S. women's table tennis team and the Palestinian women's table tennis team, the four singles matches ended in a 2-2 draw, however, the racket of the third singles player of the U.S. women's table tennis was judged to be unqualified in the random inspection. Despite the team's victory, they were ultimately judged to lose and did not qualify for the next round. The controversy was over the referee's late announcement of the result, which was misleading and unfair to the team.
On the other hand, the Japanese men's table tennis team missed the medal due to meeting the Chinese team in advance in the competition. Tomokazu Haramoto said that due to the issue of world rankings, the Japanese team was unable to obtain a favorable signing, which prevented them from qualifying. The incident sparked post-match questions and complaints about the ranking system.
In response to this incident, the ITTF held an executive board meeting and made two major decisions: adjusting the world ranking rules and determining the launch time of the Eagle Eye system. The changes to the ranking rules will extend the point ranking calculation period by 26 weeks for regions with fewer continental competitions, so that players can be judged more fairly. The launch of the Eagle Eye system means that the replay similar to the replay in football will enter the table tennis arena, and players can challenge the referee's decision, and the referee will adjudicate through the replay. This initiative will be officially implemented at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships in Doha, Qatar, in May 2025.
These two rule adjustments have little impact on the Chinese table tennis team, but do they hide the challenge of the ITTF to the hegemony of the Chinese team? Past rule changes, such as the change of small ball to over-ball, and the change of the 21-point system to the 11-point system, were once considered a direct challenge to the strength of the Chinese team. The adjustment of the rules of the Paris Olympics has made all athletes have to participate from the first round, which is undoubtedly a challenge for the Chinese team.
However, the Chinese table tennis team still maintains a strong competitiveness with its excellent strength and unparalleled training system. In the face of various challenges and changes, they are still the most powerful presence on the world table tennis stage.
The controversy at the World Table Tennis Championships and the adjustment measures of the ITTF have demonstrated the influence and fierce competition of table tennis on a global scale. The Chinese team is undoubtedly the pinnacle of this field, but with the adjustment and change of the ITTF, they will also face more challenges and competition. However, all this will become an even stronger motivation for the Chinese table tennis team, allowing them to continue to shine in future competitions.