ITTF Men's and Women's World Cup Macao 2025, 4/14-20

[Dr Evil]

yeah some people here..
same for felix, top10 in the world at 18 years old and nothing but criticism

The only player who shouldn't retire is LSD. He hasn't failed to reach #1 and hasn't failed to win Olympic singles gold yet. I'm willing to cut him a little slack for losing his last match against WCQ because he's only 19. But if he loses another match before winning gold in 3 years then he should also retire.

 

[zeio]

I don't recall issues like this at SC Goa. I wonder why they didn't use that location.

WTT SCT Goa 2023 (and 2024) was decent for a first-ever WTT event in India, but likely incurred substantial monetary losses.

 

[ThePongCommenter]

Harimoto is the prime example of what happens when you rise far too early in your career.

What is far too early and what is he the prime example of?

 

[kindof99]

He should have challenged the 9-10 serve. I would have.

I think these players should have challenged WCQ early in the match, so he would not be serving without hesitation later on.

 

[cerealKing]

Was thinking of all dear TTD EJs when the commentator started to talk about the blades and rubbers of Hugo and Harimoto.

His info was outdated tho cuz he said Hugo is using Omega 7 Tour, while Harimoto is using the regular ALC version of his blade. And, I cant believe how bad the commentating is at times, really makes you think if these guys even play the sport at all

He did not even catch that there was a problem with Harimoto‘s racket, stating that they are testing the ball when they did the short warmup mid match

The other commentators are doing alright.
Just that guy is abysmal.

Doesn't understand the sport and adds nothing. He speaks well at times but just doesn't know table tennis.

 

[NextLevel]

I think these players should have challenged WCQ early in the match, so he would not be serving with hesitation later on.

I think they have probably corrected the early round umpires and explained to them that challenges should only occur on decisions they make. It's unfortunate because it leaves everything in the hands of the umpire on critical points. But let's see how TTR evolves.

 

[mamedium]

The other commentators are doing alright.
Just that guy is abysmal.

Doesn't understand the sport and adds nothing. He speaks well at times but just doesn't know table tennis.

ITTF invited a guy who doesn't understand the sport and doesn't know table tennis to be a commentator? should we call ITTF and let them know?

 

[blahness]

Harimoto's BH opening loop against underspin has been so stale and lukewarm. I counted points where ppl pushed long to his BH with pace, and he pretty much never wins those points. The pattern is push long and then crush his BH opening loop. Hugo did it with extreme prejudice for so many points too. If he wants to improve his results, this has to be worked at. Either do early timing BH loops like what he did in his early career, use more variation (heavy topspin / no spin openings), get better placement (esp down the line opening BH loops - where is it?), or just train to open with more power. This (late timing, weak spin, mid depth) BH opening loops just ain't gonna cut it at the top level.

Hugo played well especially his FH but not amazingly well enough to warrant this degree of destruction to Harimoto...

 

[Robin0910]

I think they have probably corrected the early round umpires and explained to them that challenges should only occur on decisions they make. It's unfortunate because it leaves everything in the hands of the umpire on critical points. But let's see how TTR evolves.

Yes, I don’t think I’ve seen any challenges initiated by the opposing player since the start of the knockout stages. Regardless, umpires should fault the players more and if they think it’s unfair the player can challenge it and if it turns out to be legal then they replay the point.

 

[blahness]

Wang Manyu vs Kuai Man was a mystery - after being 2-1 up in sets and leading 8-3, she proceeds to make all sorts of weird easy mistakes on the FH loop and the loop movement starts to turn weird. Something wrong on her FH rubber?

 

[dingyibvs]

it can only be chinese fans doing the same boring thing of everyone else must retire, because you can't beat world no 1 ~ no 4

the day china is no longer top in the world, the fans will be silence
so the whole fandom bullying culture only exists, because of "other people's hard work".
I'm not sure if other sports have this sickening culture?

In basketball, I don't see American's asking Chinese players to retire.
In rugby, I don't see South African's asking Chinese to retire.
etc

Ito is still a top player in the world, but she must retire,
so far I think Miwa is the only one not on the retire list
Odo might.. since she lost to a retiree today.

Why do you have to ethnicity bait with every post? There are plenty of Chinese fans who are calling for LGY to retire too. China has a lot of fans, some of them quite vociferous, and they tend to be the loudest ones. It's not that different from any other sport. I get that you're very focused on TT, but you sound like the frog in the bottom of the well when you speak like this. It happens in every sport, many fans hate rival teams' players, and they hate their own team's players too when they're perceived to be underperforming. Sadly, you're not the only one who tries to frame this very common if unfortunate fact to fit it into your own twisted world view either.

 

[dingyibvs]

I'm not up to date with all the nicknames. I know the others, but is Small Carton, Miwa?

Yes, the second character in Miwa's first name sounds identical to the character for carton/box, and it's the same as the second character in Tomokazu's first name (oddly I guess they're pronounced differently in Japanese?). So that's why she's called the Small Carton.

I think they have probably corrected the early round umpires and explained to them that challenges should only occur on decisions they make. It's unfortunate because it leaves everything in the hands of the umpire on critical points. But let's see how TTR evolves.

I think they should modify the service rules a bit. Ball being visible at all times serves no purpose, it offers no advantage to the server as its trajectory is entirely predictable after the toss and cannot be altered. At contact though it should be visible from both corners of the table. I remember Lind's challenge which was that while the ball was visible by the camera, it wasn't visible to him as a left hander. If it has to be visible to both corners, then you can just set up a camera at each corner and then it'll be easy to definitively judge.

 

[NextLevel]

Yes, the second character in Miwa's first name sounds identical to the character for carton/box, and it's the same as the second character in Tomokazu's first name (oddly I guess they're pronounced differently in Japanese?). So that's why she's called the Small Carton.


I think they should modify the service rules a bit. Ball being visible at all times serves no purpose, it offers no advantage to the server as its trajectory is entirely predictable after the toss and cannot be altered. At contact though it should be visible from both corners of the table. I remember Lind's challenge which was that while the ball was visible by the camera, it wasn't visible to him as a left hander. If it has to be visible to both corners, then you can just set up a camera at each corner and then it'll be easy to definitively judge.

Ball being visible throughout the toss is actually in practice very similar to being visible to both corners because it is hard to shield the ball through part of the toss without making it behind some part of your body and when a player starts putting it behind some part of their body, all they have to do is make it invisible at critical points with a different timing and we are off to the races.

Remember a lot of these rules were designed to make umpire judgment easier, but umpires just allow the player culture to dictate what should be done. Easier than actually enforcing the rules.

 

[Shine]

Can anyone explain why the SYS/WCQ fangirls have seemingly taken to supporting Kuai Man over all the other Chinese women?

Is it just because of the 'Little Buddha' aesthetic? Or is she some sort of online personality outside of her play? On the table, she appears to be the most vanilla of personalities on the women's roster.

Sometimes they just support who they like more between the two players. And not every loud girl in the stadium is a SYS/WCQ fangirl. WMY should have more support cos she's more successful, but people want what they want. There isn't always some sinister motive behind their actions.

 

[Shine]

it can only be chinese fans doing the same boring thing of everyone else must retire, because you can't beat world no 1 ~ no 4

the day china is no longer top in the world, the fans will be silence
so the whole fandom bullying culture only exists, because of "other people's hard work".
I'm not sure if other sports have this sickening culture?

In basketball, I don't see American's asking Chinese players to retire.
In rugby, I don't see South African's asking Chinese to retire.
etc

Ito is still a top player in the world, but she must retire,
so far I think Miwa is the only one not on the retire list
Odo might.. since she lost to a retiree today.

You don't watch enough football and basketball to proclaim out loud that fans do not ask players on opposition teams to retire. Fans badmouth players and other fans all the time. This clutching of pearls and always mentioning the "Chinese fans" and "fandom bullying culture" and "sick culture" especially when it's only one Chinese guy here who's of the opinion that some player should retire is bad. You see the Chinese as a monolith and dismiss them as doomed to having some bad trait. It's frankly dehumanising. I hope other people that have a stake in this community can see reason in what I'm saying, and can proffer some advice.

 

[Shine]

I think these players should have challenged WCQ early in the match, so he would not be serving without hesitation later on.

This makes it seem like WCQ cannot serve/ incapable of serving properly according to the rules. But from what I saw, his serves were clean virtually throughout the match. Opponents haven't had any issues on receive- which lends credence to the serve being straightforward. Even the long serve is debatable. Was his simple pendulum serve challenged and faulted?

 

[dingyibvs]

Ball being visible throughout the toss is actually in practice very similar to being visible to both corners because it is hard to shield the ball through part of the toss without making it behind some part of your body and when a player starts putting it behind some part of their body, all they have to do is make it invisible at critical points with a different timing and we are off to the races.

Remember a lot of these rules were designed to make umpire judgment easier, but umpires just allow the player culture to dictate what should be done. Easier than actually enforcing the rules.

If you look at TTR faults, it's almost always the head obstructing the ball before the contact. IMO it's actually very easy for the contact to be visible to both corners while passing behind the head before contact. This change in rules would have the least impact on the game while legitimately penalizing those who gain an advantage through the illegality of their services.

 

[turbozed]

Sometimes they just support who they like more between the two players. And not every loud girl in the stadium is a SYS/WCQ fangirl. WMY should have more support cos she's more successful, but people want what they want. There isn't always some sinister motive behind their actions.

Why would you suggest I was looking for a sinister reason? All the reasons I suggested were valid 'fan' reasons to support her. I'm just wondering if anyone who follows fan support had any insight. You saying 'they like what they like' doesn't really add anything to the conversation.

 

[dingyibvs]

You don't watch enough football and basketball to proclaim out loud that fans do not ask players on opposition teams to retire. Fans badmouth players and other fans all the time. This clutching of pearls and always mentioning the "Chinese fans" and "fandom bullying culture" and "sick culture" especially when it's only one Chinese guy here who's of the opinion that some player should retire is bad. You see the Chinese as a monolith and dismiss them as doomed to having some bad trait. It's frankly dehumanising. I hope other people that have a stake in this community can see reason in what I'm saying, and can proffer some advice.

To be frank, asking players to retire is like the mildest shade I've seen thrown around on sports message boards. That dude has no idea just how much vile sports fans can levy on players around the world

Why would you suggest I was looking for a sinister reason? All the reasons I suggested were valid 'fan' reasons to support her. I'm just wondering if anyone who follows fan support had any insight. You saying 'they like what they like' doesn't really add anything to the conversation.

If I had to guess, they're SYS fans and they see KM as less of a threat to their idol than WMY.

 

[SFF_lib]

Imagine Hugo wins WCQ!!