Table tennis chief urges nations to be 'as complete' as Chinese
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E-mail Xinhua, April 2, 2012
The Chinese teams are as usual the paddlers to beat at the 51st World Team Championships this week and the sport's boss Adham Sharara called on other associations to do more to challenge the top seeds.
"The Chinese teams do not have a weak link," the president of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) told Xinhua. "If you take away any of the team members, they remain very strong. As a matter of fact they could even enter two teams and maybe win a gold and a silver medal.
"My message to other teams like Germany and France in Europe, Japan and Korea in Asia, is to really think about how they can challenge the Chinese to make it a more interesting contest between the Chinese and the other nations."
From the 1960s onwards, China emerged as the new dominant power in table tennis. The last defeat of the Chinese men came in 2000 during the championships in Kuala Lumpur, when Sweden was crowned after beating China in the final. In the last tournament in 2010 China beat Germany to win the gold.
The Chinese men hold a record of 17 wins and the Chinese women also hold a record of 17 wins. Only in the last women's tournament in 2010 one of the biggest upsets in table tennis history occurred when Singapore stunned China with a remarkable victory in the final.
Sharara saw a significant development in recent years which underlines the difference between the Chinese system and other nations.
"The older Chinese players are starting to go down, they are not as fast as before," the ITTF president said. "However, the younger ones are getting stronger and stronger.
"For example, Ma Long has improved a lot compared to a year ago. He had more than 40 consecutive wins. He is of a very high level. But the older players, like Ma Lin, are starting to go down and they are replaced by other very strong younger players."
In countries like Sweden (Jorgen Persson) and Belgium (Jean-Michel Saive) the best players are already over 40 years old and these facts worry the ITTT boss.
"This means they have not been replaced by the younger generation, while in China they have a very good system. When the older players start to get older, not really old, I mean just barely 30, younger players are replacing them who are just as strong. And I hope the rest of the world should learn from this."
According to Sharara there are more major differences between the Chinese and the rest. "In the 1970s, Europeans had a lot of power and the Chinese were playing a more blocking game, quick but without a lot of power," he said.
"At that time the Chinese already had a very good technique, but they did not have very good equipment and did not have the best physical fitness. Also their mental abilities were a bit weaker, because they did not have confidence.
"Now the Chinese have the best physical condition, without any doubt. Compared to other countries, the Chinese are superior. They still have the best technique and they now have the best equipment as well. These three factors give them mental strength.
"The Chinese know they have the best equipment, the best coaching, the best physical condition, the best tactics, so they become very confident and very difficult to beat. So I think to be a top athlete in the world you have to be complete.
"In the past you could be talented and might not be so strong physically and still you could win. Today in every sport you have to be complete.
"And there is a new element coming in sports, which is some kind of emotional intelligence. You have mental and physical strength, there is something in between, emotional intelligence, which affects also the way your body reacts. And the Chinese are very strong at that point."
Last year during the World Table Tennis Championships in Rotterdam Sharara called upon China to open their doors so other nations and regions can profit from Chinese knowledge. Also he wanted more European and other players to move to China. The ITTF president has seen improvement.
"Definitely there is improvement," Sharara explained. "Now there are training centers in China that accept players from other countries, also you see for two years in a row that China goes to the Schlager Academy in Austria to prepare for the world championships. They are very open, train together with the Austrian players and other players who are there.
"Also some top European players are playing in Chinese league, which is a very good development. It gives them a chance to compete against Chinese players. The Chinese association is doing a lot, they are trying to open their doors, trying to bring in other players, trying to help improve the sport. This is very much appreciated by the ITTF."
Later this year the world will see a non-Chinese medalist during the Olympic Games in London, due to the fact that each National Olympic Committee (NOC) can only have a maximum of three men and three women competing, with a maximum of two men and two women in the singles events.
"The new rule is unfortunately for the Chinese because they have the three best athletes for sure," said Sharara. "They will now only be competing for two medals instead of three.
"It gives an opening and chance to the rest of the world. This is their chance to try and get a medal. So they should all be motivated and compete. They should think about the gold medal of course, but if they miss the gold medal they have the chance for either silver or bronze.
"The (Olympic) tournament cannot be dominated as before by the Chinese. The principle of the Olympics is, besides the high level, also participation. This way we have a chance to mix the two. The Chinese association understands that this is very good for the promotion of our sport."
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