With the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) officially establishing a working group to investigate the existing regulations of the World Table Tennis (WTT), the turmoil caused by Fan Zhendong, Chen Meng, and Ma Long's withdrawal from the world rankings and WTT events has temporarily subsided. However, behind the incident, Liu Guoliang, who holds three positions, has become the true target of public scrutiny. WTT, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the ITTF, is ostensibly used by the ITTF to host commercial events, with the hope that WTT will follow the model of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments in the future. It should be noted that WTT organizes commercial matches unrelated to the Olympics, World Cup, and World Championships, which are the three major international events. However, what has deeply angered many table tennis players is the high correlation between WTT's rules and the eligibility of players to participate in world-class competitions.
WTT stipulates that the top 100 ranked athletes in the world must participate in WTT events. If they fail to attend without justifiable reasons, they will not only be fined but also assigned zero points. These points directly determine a player's world ranking, and without sufficient points, it directly affects their opportunity to participate in major international events. This is the real reason why Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng have opposed WTT, and it is also why many foreign association players have strongly supported them. In this context, Liu Guoliang, not only the chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA), the chairman of the WTT board of directors, but also the first vice-chairman of the ITTF, has remained at the center of public opinion during this period.
On the evening of January 6th, Beijing time, on the program "You Qiu Bi Ying," well-known basketball commentator Yang Yi openly criticized the WTT rules and directly pointed out Liu Guoliang for being "all-powerful, breeding evil laws." Yang Yi claimed that WTT, as a commercial event, is unreasonably highly correlated with the ITTF's player points and world rankings. Moreover, the rule of fining players for not participating in voluntary commercial events is also unreasonable. Yang Yi further criticized the rule of deducting money and points for non-participation, which greatly affects the schedules of national leagues and international events for table tennis players from various countries. He used the example of China's Super League, which originally had a long schedule, plenty of time, and numerous opportunities for players. However, this year, everyone can see that the Super League was hurriedly completed in just two weeks. Yang Yi even described the current state of the Super League as "rushing to a market," questioning why it has come to this. The reason is that national team players need to participate in WTT events and no longer have the energy or time to cope with the Super League.
Thus, Yang Yi pointed out the first key issue: logically speaking, from the perspective of Chinese table tennis players, the CTTA should oppose WTT, especially multiple national team veterans who are forced to play WTT commercial events immediately after the Olympics and then rush back to play in the Super League. Additionally, from the ITTF's perspective, it should also oppose WTT because a commercial event requires mandatory participation from athletes, penalizing them with point deductions that directly affect their world rankings, thereby impacting their chances of participating in the three major events. Therefore, according to common sense, both the CTTA and the ITTF should oppose WTT's rules. However, in reality, the ITTF not only supports WTT's rules but the CTTA also cooperatively follows them, leading Yang Yi to bluntly say, "The greater the power, the more it breeds evil laws!"
Subsequently, Yang Yi pointed out the second issue and targeted Liu Guoliang, claiming that in these three associations, one person makes all the decisions. When an individual wields unchecked power, they breed evil laws! Similar to setting a rule that others must follow, those who do not comply will have their money deducted and points penalized, and if they do not listen, they might even be barred from playing in the future. He has the authority to do so, and excessive power breeds such evil laws! It must be said that Yang Yi is truly courageous; his words elicited laughter from several guests present.
Although Yang Yi's main profession is a basketball commentator, as a well-known domestic sports media figure, he is involved in many sports fields. In recent years, the real reason for Yang Yi's growing fan base is his willingness to speak out on issues that others dare not address. From the perspective of table tennis, Yang Yi's words are reasonable and well-founded. In recent years, dissatisfaction with WTT's rules has extended beyond Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng. However, previous criticisms from table tennis players lacked their level of influence, which is why multiple foreign association athletes voiced their support after Fan Zhendong officially announced his withdrawal.
Originally, the ITTF should stand with global table tennis players and protect their interests, while the CTTA should stand with Chinese players and safeguard the interests of national team athletes. However, due to the excessive concentration of power in one individual across the three associations, players have become the most helpless and vulnerable party. Ironically, the players who contribute the most end up receiving the least income. It seems that it is time for change.