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Chinese dominance seems the only apparent reason for the possible removal of table tennis from the Olympics. China has won all gold medals in Olympic table tennis games except in 1992 when Swedish player Jan-Ove Waldner won the men’s singles at the Barcelona Olympic Games and in 2004 when South Korean player Ryu Seung-Min won the men's singles at the Athens Olympic Games. Even the use of larger balls and adoption of an 11-point scoring system did not change China’s overwhelming dominance in the sport.
According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is downsizing the Olympics, a sport must be widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries or regions and on four continents and by women in at least 40 countries regions and on three continents to be played in the Olympics.
In fact, Europeans have long had a fairly dominant say in the IOC. Horseback riding, bicycle motocross, kayaking, and fencing are mainly popular in Europe, and are no better than other sports in terms of global popularity.
It is unreasonable to kick table tennis out of the Olympics simply because of Chinese dominance. By the same logic, should basketball also be excluded due to U.S. dominance?
Liu Guoliang, head coach of the Chinese men's table tennis team, is confident that the sport will stay in the Olympics. “There are many criteria for an Olympic sport, including the membership of its international governing body, television ratings, and sponsorship from large companies. As far as I am concerned, table tennis easily meets these criteria,” Liu said.
Liu has good reason to be confident. The International Table Tennis Federation has 257 member states, and is the world’s second largest international sport federation only behind the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). Table tennis tickets were almost sold out during the London Olympic Games, according to the London Olympic Organizing Committee.
There is no doubt that table tennis is popular worldwide, particularly in populous China, hence the consistently high TV ratings for table tennis matches at all Olympic Games. The IOC cannot afford to lose the huge Chinese market.
Admittedly, there is something wrong with the promotion of table tennis. The rival-fostering project for promoting table tennis worldwide has not paid off, and the China Table Tennis Super League has failed to attract a big audience or increase the influence of the sport like the National Basketball Association (NBA) did.
Yao Zhenxu, former chairman of the ITTF Technical Committee and vice chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, said that what should be discussed now is not whether table tennis will be removed from the Olympics, but how China can help improve other countries’ table tennis level more effectively.
While table tennis and badminton are in danger, China’s wushu is likely to become a new Olympic sport in September next year.
Wushu was shortlisted for inclusion in the 2020 Summer Olympics at a recent IOC Executive Board meeting. So far, 177 IOC members have expressed their support for wushu to be played at the 2020 Olympic Games, making it the most likely candidate of eight sports considered for inclusion in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Read the Chinese version: 乒球：一家独大不足为凭
Source:People's Daily Overseas Edition , author:Zhu Kai.
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