The Chinese table tennis team is currently participating in the Doha Star Challenge. For this event, the Chinese team did not send their main players, focusing instead on younger athletes. Everyone hopes that these young players will strive for good results in this competition. Following this, it is likely that China's main players will appear at the Singapore Grand Slam.
Previously, WTT had stipulated that if an athlete does not participate in a tournament, they may face a fine. This rule was resisted by Olympic champions like Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng, who found it very incomprehensible. Of course, this rule applies not only to Chinese athletes but to other players as well. However, there have been withdrawals from the Singapore Grand Slam.
As of now, North Korea's Kim Gyeong-yong and Byeon Song-gyong have withdrawn from the tournament. These two North Korean stars will not participate in this event. For these two North Korean athletes, not participating is quite normal, as many North Korean athletes typically only compete in international competitions and rarely in commercial events. With the withdrawal of Kim Gyeong-yong and Byeon Song-gyong, WTT has once again come under scrutiny.
According to regulations, if an athlete withdraws, they will be fined 5,000.DoesWTTdaretofineKimGyeong−yongandByeonSong−gyong5,000 each? 10,000equals882.4millionKoreanwonaccordingtotoday′sexchangerate.ItisreportedthattheaveragemonthlywageforworkersinPyongyangisabout200RMB,orapproximately24,500Koreanwon.5,000 is equivalent to 180 months of income for an average person in Pyongyang, which is 15 years' worth of income. Two major North Korean star players withdrew from the tournament! According to convention, a fine of $10,000! Dare WTT impose it? Netizens: 15 years' salary.
Seeing that according to convention, a total fine of $10,000 should be imposed on the two individuals, some netizens ask if WTT dares to impose it? After all, netizens believe this amounts to 15 years' salary for ordinary people in North Korea. Fans once again express their confusion over this WTT regulation. However, WTT has not yet made a public statement, and everyone is waiting for further developments.
In fact, the table tennis Grand Slam events are also commercial events, and athletes can choose to withdraw. It is unclear why WTT insists on imposing a mandatory measure of fining athletes for non-participation, which offers no benefit to the athletes. Everyone hopes that such controversies will not arise in the future, as what truly matters is that the athletes perform well in their matches.