World table Tennis seems to have fallen into a sort of crisis in recent days, under the backdrop of rules considered too harsh.
This is a critical moment for world table tennis. The last two Olympic table tennis champions, the Chinese Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng, have decided to withdraw from the world circuit. The reason? Rules that they consider too strict.
Indeed, the World Tennis Table, the world body for table tennis, recently decided to strengthen its rules by increasing the fines by «non-participation» starting next year. Rules that do not please everyone. Fan Zhedong and Chen Meng criticized the changes, with the Olympic champion saying: “The new rules imposed by the WTT/ITTF no longer allow you to take time for yourself”.
The WTT wasted no time in responding to these statements in a statement: “The rules mentioned by Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng are not new. They have been in force since the creation of the WTT four years ago (…) The objective of these rules is to ensure that the best players are represented at the main WTT events, to preserve the integrity of the competition world and to offer events of the highest quality to players, fans and all partners”, explains the world body.
Simon Gauzy steps up to the plate
The Frenchman Simon Gauzy hastened to respond to the WTT press release. “Statement not accepted. Stating the facts without making any changes is what you are doing. We are losing sports icons because of these rules. You can't ignore the fact that it doesn't help table tennis players. The time has come for REAL change,” affirms the Frenchman. A reaction inevitably supported by the Lebrun brothers on their social networks.
