
Why China has opted out of the ATTC
China shocked the world when they came up with a strong finish in the Tokyo Games. However, the nation struck hard with their call to pull out their players from the Asian Table Tennis Championships.
The Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) came up with the call to cancel China’s bid for the ATTC. The team will not join the said event that is set to be played in September 2021. That means that a top pick in the tourney will be taken out of play.
For many nations, this is a huge win. China, on the other hand, takes a hit out of this one. It seems to be a questionable and poor call given that they still managed to come out on top of almost every table tennis game in the Tokyo Games.
With that said, the ATTC will see China out of the play for this year’s edition. This might hurt China’s reputation in the game as one of the best teams in the sport. The team has seen a lot of success over the years.
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The lack of preparation for the event
China claimed that there isn’t enough time for them to prepare for the said games with only a month to go to play there. This means that the team will have to come up with a goal of winning the other tourneys they will play.
As CTTA secretary-general Qin Zhijian said, China will need to come up with a tight process from the Games before letting their players play in the 14th National Games. The team will then go and play at the World Championships in Houston, U.S. and then play in the China Table Tennis Super League.
‘As the table tennis competition of the National Games will be held between September 17 and 26, and the Asian Championships will start on September 28, there is limited intermission between the two tournaments’, Qin said. ‘Taking international flights into consideration, it's quite difficult for the team to arrive in Qatar on schedule to participate’.
There is so much risk when it comes to travel. This means China is just taking all the steps they need to ensure that they do not put their health at risk at this point.
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They need to adjust the time for training
Missing the ATTC will not have a big impact on China’s chances and stance in the sport. The team simply does not need to play anyway since they are already booked for the competition. They are the hosts of next year’s World Team Championships.
It is the best choice for China considering the fact that they need to adjust and get a few training sessions going as well. This is China’s move and it is a smart one after all. They are picking the games they need to play and win at.
China is ready for the bigger games soon. Skipping the ATTC means success for them. The team has made an effort to build back some of their losses in the Tokyo Games, notably the mixed doubles. The team needs to come up with a strong show in the next few months.
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Words: Paul Daniel Flores
Image: PA