The pill does not work and neither do the justifications of World Table Tennis (WTT). Two days after the announcement of their withdrawal from the international table tennis circuit, motivated by the non-participation fines imposed by WTT which, according to them, imposed too high a pace on them, the two Chinese Olympic champions Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng received on
The first responded to the WTT press release, written following the decision of the 6th in the world and the 4th in the world. “This press release is not acceptable,” writes the Frenchman, in English in the text. Telling the facts without changing anything is what you do. We are losing icons of our sport because of these rules. We cannot ignore the fact that this does not help the players. It’s time for REAL change. »
In the responses to the post, Félix and Alexis Lebrun agree. The Olympic bronze medalist sends a “handshake” emoji, the second the word “true” followed by a “clap” emoji. “All behind you Che”, also replied Jules Rolland, 102nd in the world and No. 7 Frenchman, who also added: “How can we force players to play certain tournaments by imposing fines on them if they do not come not ? Who are they to do this to us? Automatic registrations must stop. »
On December 27, Gauzy had already published the following message on that I've been saying for two years. But so much the better if people finally realize that it weighs on the players. Even the very best ones. »
This Saturday, the WTT published a press release “in response to the announcement of the withdrawal of Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng”. “We deeply respect the contributions of Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng, two icons who have inspired countless fans and athletes around the world,” writes the institution, which reiterated, according to it, the merits of its rules .
“The rules mentioned by Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng are not new,” writes the WTT. These rules, which include automatic registration of players ranked in the world rankings, have been in place since the WTT's inception four years ago. (…) Penalties for non-participation are designed to support the structure of the WTT calendar, ensuring that fans, organizers, event partners and broadcast partners can count on the participation of the best players of the world. »
Table tennis, which enjoys incredible popularity in France in the wake of the success of the Lebrun brothers, is perhaps about to make its revolution in terms of pace and calendar issues with a very demanding world circuit, particularly in terms of movement.
