| The head coach of China's national men's table tennis team is criticizing recent changes to international competition rules. Liu Guoliang said Adham Sharara, president of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), had the right intentions in changing the rules but only made things worse.
Last month, the ITTF limited the number of singles entries each country will be able to send to the 2012 Olympics from three to two players. The new regulation also reduced the World Championships singles and mixed doubles down to two players and two pairs, respectively.
Liu sees the new rule as an attempt to break China's domination in the sport.
"I understand him on this point because monopoly is not good for the development of a sport," Liu said. "But Sharara did not find a good way to do that. He just reduced candidates and kept changing rules. This is not the fundamental way to settle the problem."
Sharara has received criticism for changing many table tennis rules in the past decade, including a move to a larger ball size and a new scoring system.
Liu said he is confident that the Chinese table tennis team will adapt best to the new rule, while players from other countries will face even greater challenges. He said contrary to the reform's intent, the gap between China and other countries will become even larger. |
