Saudi Smash 2024

[zeio]

Well, he should've played less in that case, Watson. If that's eating into his bottom line, then he could consider retirement from international competitions and turn to the various leagues only. Tough luck he was not born in East Asia.

 

[NextLevel]

Well, he should've played less in that case, Watson. If that's eating into his bottom line, then he could consider retirement from international competitions and turn to the various leagues only. Tough luck he was not born in East Asia.

But playing less now impacts his ranking and his ranking is built into his opportunities to play and make money even if it isn't his primary source of revenue. So he will not make as much money if his ranking is reduced. It's definitely not straightforward.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

this armchair wants everyone to retire? anyone has this list over the past 10+ years ?? lol

well, Aruna is playing less, and guess what happens?? lol
this guy is choosing to ignore facts to suite his agenda. Aruna is getting into trouble from ITTF/WTT for playing less

and when he "withdraws" from these internationals - he is not allowed to play club table tennis....
so he is forced to go, and so is everyone else.
its okay if it is 4 to 6 force a year... but it is getting more and more and more.
hence that is why I said, too many tournaments

your comment on East Asia is just a sour and stupid remark.
You know how many born in East Asia wants to jump ship and play outside of East Asia? haha
if you have anything with Africans (haven't seen you said a good thing about them), Europeans are also affected in the same situation as Aruna. That is why Aruna has so many European players supporting his cause.

 

[zeio]

But playing less now impacts his ranking and his ranking is built into his opportunities to play and make money even if it isn't his primary source of revenue. So he will not make as much money if his ranking is reduced. It's definitely not straightforward.

It's unfortunate but that's his problem. He can't blame that on WTT. Ever since the World Ranking Reform in 1/2018, the new system has been designed to force players to participate.

Another factor is the continental points from which he's benefited since then. Has he considered the handicap Asian players are forced to work with?

Other than SYB (adjusted for her age, she played almost as much as Hirano did at 19), Szocs, Felix and Miwa, the other top players below have also NOT played more since WTT took over. 2019 was a jam-packed year because everyone was fighting to stay ahead before the Olympic year.

Number of events over the years for:
F. Lebrun (for reference only)
2024 7 as of 2024/4/26
2023 14
2022 14
2021 7 (Start of WTT)
2020 1
2019 6
2018 6 (New World Ranking System)

LYJ
2024 7 as of 2024/4/26
2023 12
2022 10
2021 5 (Start of WTT)
2020 4
2019 18
2018 14 (New World Ranking System)
2017 10
2016 7
2015 6
2014 7
2013 3
2012 1

Calderano
2024 6 as of 2024/4/26
2023 15
2022 11
2021 7 (Start of WTT)
2020 5
2019 16
2018 12 (New World Ranking System)
2017 8
2016 12
2015 9
2014 14
2013 11
2012 15
2011 12
2010 8
2009 1

Harimoto
2024 7 as of 2024/4/26
2023 15
2022 9
2021 5 (Start of WTT)
2020 5
2019 19
2018 16 (New World Ranking System)
2017 13
2016 10
2015 10
2014 2

QD
2024 8 as of 2024/4/26
2023 13
2022 11
2021 7 (Start of WTT)
2020 3
2019 17
2018 10 (New World Ranking System)
2017 10
2016 8
2015 3
2014 6
2013 8
2012 8
2011 8
2010 7
2009 2

Moregard
2024 7 as of 2024/4/26
2023 13
2022 10
2021 6 (Start of WTT)
2020 2
2019 17
2018 11 (New World Ranking System)
2017 8
2016 8
2015 8
2014 4
2013 2

----------------------
Hayata
2024 5 as of 2024/4/26
2023 17
2022 7
2021 6 (Start of WTT)
2020 1
2019 19
2018 14 (New World Ranking System)
2017 12
2016 13
2015 12
2014 9

SYB
2024 7 as of 2024/4/26
2023 20
2022 7
2021 6 (Start of WTT)
2020 2
2019 15
2018 12 (New World Ranking System)
2017 8
2016 5
2015 6
2014 5

Harimoto Miwa (for reference only)
2024 5 as of 2024/4/26
2023 16
2022 12
2021 1 (Start of WTT)
2020 2
2019 6
2018 2 (New World Ranking System)

Diaz
2024 5 as of 2024/4/26
2023 16
2022 12
2021 9 (Start of WTT)
2020 5
2019 18
2018 15 (New World Ranking System)
2017 13
2016 13
2015 14
2014 10
2013 10
2012 4
2011 4
2009 1

Szocs
2024 6 as of 2024/4/26
2023 19
2022 12
2021 7 (Start of WTT)
2020 7
2019 17
2018 14 (New World Ranking System)
2017 11
2016 14
2015 15
2014 4
2013 9
2012 10
2011 13
2009 10
2008 5
2007 1
2006 1

Ito
2024 4 as of 2024/4/26
2023 11
2022 8
2021 4 (Start of WTT)
2020 5
2019 16
2018 14 (New World Ranking System)
2017 13
2016 19
2015 18
2014 15
2013 12
2012 7
2011 3
2010 1

CIC
2024 7 as of 2024/4/26
2023 14
2022 12
2021 5 (Start of WTT)
2020 5
2019 19
2018 14 (New World Ranking System)
2017 12
2016 13
2015 12
2014 10
2013 13
2012 14
2011 14
2010 13
2009 5
2008 7
2007 9
2006 9
2005 2

Hirano
2024 4 as of 2024/4/26
2023 12
2022 7
2021 5 (Start of WTT)
2020 3
2019 21
2018 16 (New World Ranking System)
2017 14
2016 12
2015 18
2014 13
2013 14
2012 5
2011 3
2010 1

 

[zeio]

Making a separate post regarding penalties. Penalties have been around since 1/2018, lenient at first and increasingly strict.

2018 (New World Ranking System)
https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/World_Ranking_description_2018.pdf_0.pdf
https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/WR_penalties_2018.pdf
2019
https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/World-Ranking-description-2019-25Mar-3.pdf
https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/WR2019_Summary-of-changes-V3_2503.pdf
2020
https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ITTF-World-Ranking-Regulation-2020_20200915.pdf
https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/upl...gulation-2020-Summary-of-Changes_20200915.pdf
2021 (Start of WTT)
https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/upl...-Tennis-World-Ranking-Regulation-20210617.pdf
https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/upl...-Tennis-World-Ranking-Regulation-20210921.pdf
https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/upl...nis-World-Ranking-Regulation-FAQ-20210414.pdf
2022
https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/upl...nnis-World-Ranking-Regulations-20221212-1.pdf
2023
https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/upl...Tennis-World-Ranking-Regulations-20230303.pdf

 

[NextLevel]

It's unfortunate but that's his problem. He can't blame that on WTT. Ever since the World Ranking Reform in 1/2018, the new system has been designed to force players to participate.

Another factor is the continental points from which he's benefited since then. Has he considered the handicap Asian players are forced to work with?

Other than SYB (adjusted for her age, she played almost as much as Hirano at 19), Szocs, Felix and Miwa, the other top players below have also NOT played more since WTT took over. 2019 was a jam-packed year because everyone was fighting to stay ahead before the Olympic year.

Number of events over the years for:
F. Lebrun (for reference only)
2024 7 as of 2024/4/26
2023 14
2022 14
2021 7 (Start of WTT)
2020 1
2019 6
2018 6 (New World Ranking System)

LYJ
2024 7 as of 2024/4/26
2023 12
2022 10
2021 5 (Start of WTT)
2020 4
2019 18
2018 14 (New World Ranking System)
2017 10
2016 7
2015 6
2014 7
2013 3
2012 1

Calderano
2024 6 as of 2024/4/26
2023 15
2022 11
2021 7 (Start of WTT)
2020 5
2019 16
2018 12 (New World Ranking System)
2017 8
2016 12
2015 9
2014 14
2013 11
2012 15
2011 12
2010 8
2009 1

Harimoto
2024 7 as of 2024/4/26
2023 15
2022 9
2021 5 (Start of WTT)
2020 5
2019 19
2018 16 (New World Ranking System)
2017 13
2016 10
2015 10
2014 2

QD
2024 8 as of 2024/4/26
2023 13
2022 11
2021 7 (Start of WTT)
2020 3
2019 17
2018 10 (New World Ranking System)
2017 10
2016 8
2015 3
2014 6
2013 8
2012 8
2011 8
2010 7
2009 2

Moregard
2024 7 as of 2024/4/26
2023 13
2022 10
2021 6 (Start of WTT)
2020 2
2019 17
2018 11 (New World Ranking System)
2017 8
2016 8
2015 8
2014 4
2013 2

----------------------
Hayata
2024 5 as of 2024/4/26
2023 17
2022 7
2021 6 (Start of WTT)
2020 1
2019 19
2018 14 (New World Ranking System)
2017 12
2016 13
2015 12
2014 9

SYB
2024 7 as of 2024/4/26
2023 20
2022 7
2021 6 (Start of WTT)
2020 2
2019 15
2018 12 (New World Ranking System)
2017 8
2016 5
2015 6
2014 5

Harimoto Miwa (for reference only)
2024 5 as of 2024/4/26
2023 16
2022 12
2021 1 (Start of WTT)
2020 2
2019 6
2018 2 (New World Ranking System)

Diaz
2024 5 as of 2024/4/26
2023 16
2022 12
2021 9 (Start of WTT)
2020 5
2019 18
2018 15 (New World Ranking System)
2017 13
2016 13
2015 14
2014 10
2013 10
2012 4
2011 4
2009 1

Szocs
2024 6 as of 2024/4/26
2023 19
2022 12
2021 7 (Start of WTT)
2020 7
2019 17
2018 14 (New World Ranking System)
2017 11
2016 14
2015 15
2014 4
2013 9
2012 10
2011 13
2009 10
2008 5
2007 1
2006 1

Ito
2024 4 as of 2024/4/26
2023 11
2022 8
2021 4 (Start of WTT)
2020 5
2019 16
2018 14 (New World Ranking System)
2017 13
2016 19
2015 18
2014 15
2013 12
2012 7
2011 3
2010 1

CIC
2024 7 as of 2024/4/26
2023 14
2022 12
2021 5 (Start of WTT)
2020 5
2019 19
2018 14 (New World Ranking System)
2017 12
2016 13
2015 12
2014 10
2013 13
2012 14
2011 14
2010 13
2009 5
2008 7
2007 9
2006 9
2005 2

Hirano
2024 4 as of 2024/4/26
2023 12
2022 7
2021 5 (Start of WTT)
2020 3
2019 21
2018 16 (New World Ranking System)
2017 14
2016 12
2015 18
2014 13
2013 14
2012 5
2011 3
2010 1

Not entirely sure I agree, 2020 and 2021 were Covid affected, and the last two years have been the first full periods of the WTT with the current year having more activity bundled in than than most of last year. There has always been some degree of continental bonus in the system, Quadri has been at the top of Africa with Omar Assar for a decade and would always have opportunitiesfl for that reason, the ranking goals in contracts are not agnostic of the ranking system limitations. The issues are now more related to fairness.

There are many issues that Quadri is dealing with that are partly related to how Nigeria relates to the ITTF which he had no real control over. The main thing is that the tour should stop pretending it is the primary source of players' income when it isn't. It is making the kinds of requests that make sense if it was paying much more money and paying it on time. Maybe such a policy approach might make sense to you, but it doesn't make sense to anyone who has familiarity with Western notions of fairness.

Given that, everyone is trying to make things balance, but when a documented medical excuse is 100% at the discretion of WTT based on time of submission and not merit, that is BS. Especially when they are not paying on time and are making demands of athletes while not fulfilling the promises that WTT was built om. A lot of what the WTT was built on was expecting TT government funding to keep life going, but good luck with that.

 

[zeio]

There is SYB who played almost as much in 2023 (20 events, 15 WTT series plus 5 ITTF and ATTU) as Hirano did in 2019 (21 events).

Senior events regardless of conflicts for:
2024
WTT Series
23 (contains WTT F Men Doha from 2023 calendar)
Feeder Series
17
ITTF
3 (WTTC, WCup and OG)

2023
WTT Series
21
Feeder Series
15
ITTF
1 (WTTC)

2022
WTT Series
14 (contains WTT Macao which was an exhibition event and optional)
Feeder Series
11
ITTF
1 (WTTC)

2021
WTT Series
7
Feeder Series
1
ITTF
2 (OG and WTTC)

2020 (as planned)
14 ITTF WT/WTP/WTGF
15 ITTF Challenge/Challenge Plus
1 WTTC
1 WCup

2019
14 ITTF WT/WTP/WTGF
15 ITTF Challenge/Challenge Plus (18 planned but 3 canceled)
1 WTTC
1 WCup
2 T2 Diamond

 

[NextLevel]

The thing is this: let's hear how the top players make money and on that basis decide whether it makes any sense for us to compare someone whose primary source of funding is his/her government or corporate sponsorship and probably has no children to someone like Quadri, who has to manage his brand, maximize his P&L while he is in his prime playing condition and feed his wife and children. If someone can play 20 events as a very young woman sponsored by Japan or Korea as part of Olympic preparation and we want to use that as a benchmark for a guy who probably has sponsored as many players as his country for various events, often paying hos own ticket to tour events which now mandate that you use tournament hotels, and whom through hard work has managed to be the exception in turning TT into a professional endeavor in Nigeria, then we can do that. But let's do it with an attempt to be nuanced. Table tennis is by and large a sport for wealthy teenagers in many countries given the cost of coaching, the exceptions being athletes with family traditions or countries where coaching is embedded in the public system.

If we can't speak to such nuances in our arguments, let's not go too far with this discussion. It is not fruitful to compare apples and oranges and ignore all nuances.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

The thing is this: let's hear how the top players make money and on that basis decide whether it makes any sense for us to compare someone whose primary source of funding is his/her government or corporate sponsorship and probably has no children to someone like Quadri, who has to manage his brand, maximize his P&L while he is in his prime playing condition and feed his wife and children. If someone can play 20 events as a very young woman sponsored by Japan or Korea as part of Olympic preparation and we want to use that as a benchmark for a guy who probably has sponsored as many players as his country for various events, often paying hos own ticket to tour events which now mandate that you use tournament hotels, and whom through hard work has managed to be the exception in turning TT into a professional endeavor in Nigeria, then we can do that. But let's do it with an attempt to be nuanced. Table tennis is by and large a sport for wealthy teenagers in many countries given the cost of coaching, the exceptions being athletes with family traditions or countries where coaching is embedded in the public system.

If we can't speak to such nuances in our arguments, let's not go too far with this discussion. It is not fruitful to compare apples and oranges and ignore all nuances.

have vs have nots
minority vs the majority
apple vs oranges indeed.

it amazes me how common sense doesn't prevail when majority of the players are having issues.
in a large extend, Germany players are part of the majority too.
I was shocked to hear on how many events are covered from the MA and how many are self funded

z thinks using few players example sets a norm for the majority.
in his logic, East Asia should be the only players pitching at WTT, but then he wishs to retire half of those that could pitch 🤣

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

There are many issues that Quadri is dealing with that are partly related to how Nigeria relates to the ITTF which he had no real control over. The main thing is that the tour should stop pretending it is the primary source of players' income when it isn't. It is making the kinds of requests that make sense if it was paying much more money and paying it on time.

this is very important to note for forum members here

since all admin is via the MA and not the player
ie, Aruna gets automatically entered.
Aruna CANNOT deal directly with WTT,
Aruna needs to ask the MA to withdraw him and MA needs to then action this with WTT
In the event where MA faces challenges or execute slowly
WTT can punish Aruna directly

so how is the irony of that?
you are right, if there is a lot of money at stake, then maybe it is acceptable.
but it is not, and the player is actually in the mercy of many and what I see as, the victim too.
but then also the center piece of entertainment value of the whole WTT

Maybe such a policy approach might make sense to you, but it doesn't make sense to anyone who has familiarity with Western notions of fairness.

I think this is very important to know, since z is obvious raised in you know where. and the entire system of table tennis is yes sir only approach. You not really allowed to raise your disapproval. While the rest of the world, it is acceptable to disagree with the president.

Given that, everyone is trying to make things balance, but when a documented medical excuse is 100% at the discretion of WTT based on time of submission and not merit, that is BS. Especially when they are not paying on time and are making demands of athletes while not fulfilling the promises that WTT was built om. A lot of what the WTT was built on was expecting TT government funding to keep life going, but good luck with that.

Indeed good luck with that
players have never been so unhappy before

 

[zeio]

The issue of fairness has never been the crux here.

Aruna gets 2 ZPP (zero-point penalties) and fined because he failed to comply with the rules. Could he have worked it out with WTT in private? Not necessarily as he's shown, but taking it to his social platforms and escalating it to racial discrimination and enslavement? That's incitement of public pressure on WTT by populism. He even called on other players to come to his aid and support the cause.

A similar event that was truly and totally out of the players' hands happened to YOSHIDA Kaii and many other former players from China (some of them never entered the CNT), collectively known as the Overseas Legions, after the Swiss Table Tennis proposition under the rationale of fairness that targeted them back in 2008. Yoshida was very vocal as well, threatened legal action, and ultimately never played in the Olympics (was the reserve player at Beijing 2008). As of 2024, he is doing well and is still playing in the various leagues around the world. So what's stopping Aruna from doing that as well even if family is in the way?

國際乒聯今表決限援新例 (ITTF to vote on new rule over naturalized players)
海外兵團 醞釀法律對抗 (Brewing legal confrontation from Overseas Legions)
http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/sport/20080227/20080227014008_0000.html

吉田海偉大罵「唔合法」
正因「海外兵團」日益壯大，ITTF擬施「封殺令」惹來眾多討伐聲音，日本前中國球手吉田海偉表現得異常激動：「不可能（通過），這是犯罪！要是真的通過了，一定要告他們（國際乒聯）。」祖籍河北、原名宋海偉的吉田又說：「國內機會那麼少，（出去）還不是為生計，如果只能打俱樂部比賽，『海外兵團』就是死路一條。」

吉田海偉告狀？憑甚麼？ITTF新聞執行官米德森一語道破：「提案存在法律漏洞。」某圈內人士分析謂，最要命的「漏洞」是剝奪了「海外兵團」工作權利，假如實行新例，會纏上很多官司。

「海外兵團」新例提案
‧21歲以上「轉籍」運動員，不能參加世界盃、奧運會等世界大賽。

‧15至18歲「轉籍」運動員，須在新協會註冊滿3年才可獲參賽資格。

‧18至21歲「轉籍」運動員，須在新協會註冊滿5年才可獲參賽資格。

Yoshida Kaiwei scolded "unlawful"
Due to the growing strength of the "Overseas Legions", the ITTF's plan to impose a "ban" has attracted many voices of criticism. Japan's YOSHIDA Kaii, a former Chinese player, was extremely agitated: "It is impossible (to pass), this is a crime! If it really gets passed, I will sue them (ITTF)." Yoshida, whose ancestral home is Hebei and whose real name is Song Haiwei, said: "There are so few opportunities in China, and (going out) is simply for a living. If you can only play league matches, it will be a dead end for the 'Overseas Legions'."

YOSHIDA Kaii to sue? On what basis? ITTF News Executive Officer Midson put it bluntly: "There are legal loopholes in the proposal." An insider analyzed that the most serious "loophole" is to deprive the "Overseas Legions" of the right to work. If the new regulation is implemented, the ITTF will face many lawsuits.

New Regulation Proposal Targeting "Overseas Legions"
‧Athletes who have "transferred" their nationality over the age of 21 cannot participate in world competitions such as the World Cup and Olympic Games.

‧Athletes aged 15 to 18 who have "transferred" must register with the new association for 3 years before they can be eligible to compete.

‧Athletes aged 18 to 21 who have "transferred" must register with the new association for 5 years before they are eligible to compete.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2008-03/11/content_6525438.htm

The new ITTF rankings are packed with Chinese-born players in the men's and women's top 30. Ten Chinese players and 15 former Chinese players make up the women's top 30, leaving only five spots for the rest of the world.

"Take a look at the US team right now. You'll find all five players are from China," former US table tennis chief Tim Boogan said. "US players have fewer opportunities to compete in big events. Some of them train really hard but they won't get a chance to play against top players in the world. This is the number one problem we have."

But Sharara said the move is not against China in particular.

"We are not going against any association specifically," he said. "I understand how Chinese fans react to this restriction. I think it is like when (basketball governing body) FIBA have a new policy, everybody thinks it goes against US or NBA players, because they are the best in the world.

"But it is not the case. As the governing body of a sport, we just want to make table tennis better and stronger."

Cai Zhenhua, China's former head coach and now a senior official in the country's sports regime, said the move is just the beginning of the possible cooperation between ITTF and the Chinese Table Tennis Association.

"We will have more joint efforts after the Beijing Olympics," he said. "We always would like to share our experience in developing the sport. This is a great first step, I am sure China will be able to help the rest of the world after the Games."

Overseas resistance

China may be fully on board but current Chinese-born overseas paddlers are far from happy about the new rule.

"They are trying to erase everything we've done for the world," said Austria's No 2 Chen Weixing, a former Chinese team player. "A lot of kids try the sport for the first time after watching our game on television. It is our efforts that make them love table tennis."

Top US paddler Gao Jun slammed the move as well, calling it "discouraging".

"Players should be applauded rather than discouraged," she said. "Many Chinese players represent other countries and they have brought the skill level of the sport up."

Other international players like Austria's No 1 Werner Schlager agree with Chen and Gao as well.

"Teenage paddlers should train harder if they want to get more opportunities," he said. "Limitation is not the best way to develop a sport."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAx4bqJjUYY

41歳プロ卓球選手・吉田海偉はなぜ現役を続けられるのか「プロは大変さを感じないとダメ」
https://rallys.online/person/2023yoshidakai_1/
「年齢？ただの数字でしょ」吉田海偉は今も負けた日の夜は眠れない
https://rallys.online/person/2023yoshidakai_2/
ベルギーからの一通のメール　吉田海偉に伝えたかった「一人じゃない、ファンは必ず見ている」
https://rallys.online/person/2023_yoshidakaii_3/

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

zieo, have you even read the rubbish you posted?
are you officially an ittf bunny and coming to the defense?

how did you know Aruna didn't engage with WTT in private?
did you not go and see the email he shared?
this is a very silly move from you, but I guess your agenda is to protect your masters

you posted so many things, to counter my 1 post of 18 tournaments min for 2024.
So all Top 50 players need to have this number, where in the past, a selected few has the resources to take part in that many.
you drifting a bit too much away from the topic, so I need to remind you, stay on track.
it is just stupid to expect and force so many events on any one. back in the WTT data you shared of those japanes or korean players - how many were forced?? do that comparison and you have your own number.

 

[NextLevel]

zieo, have you even read the rubbish you posted?
are you officially an ittf bunny and coming to the defense?

how did you know Aruna didn't engage with WTT in private?
did you not go and see the email he shared?
this is a very silly move from you, but I guess your agenda is to protect your masters

you posted so many things, to counter my 1 post of 18 tournaments min for 2024.
So all Top 50 players need to have this number, where in the past, a selected few has the resources to take part in that many.
you drifting a bit too much away from the topic, so I need to remind you, stay on track

He is allowed to play devil's advocate.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

He is allowed to play devil's advocate.

yep, and i'm playing anti devil 🙃

just got fed up seeing him non stop superseding people.
and he is trying to write off PRO players unhappiness as some kind of gossip, while his minions calling for players to retire as hardcore facts

any ways, we need a relay race, some one to take over the baton now
busy with HK delegate these few days (DHK's teacher)

 

[NextLevel]

The issue of fairness has never been the crux here.

Aruna gets 2 ZPP (zero-point penalties) and fined because he failed to comply with the rules. Could he have worked it out with WTT in private? Not necessarily as he's shown, but taking it to his social platforms and escalating it to racial discrimination and enslavement? That's incitement of public pressure on WTT by populism. He even called on other players to come to his aid and support the cause.

A similar event that was truly and totally out of the players' hands happened to YOSHIDA Kaii and many other former players from China (some of them never entered the CNT), collectively known as the Overseas Legions, after the Swiss Table Tennis proposition under the rationale of fairness that targeted them back in 2008. Yoshida was very vocal as well, threatened legal action, and ultimately never played in the Olympics (was the reserve player at Beijing 2008). As of 2024, he is doing well and is still playing in the various leagues around the world. So?

國際乒聯今表決限援新例 (ITTF to vote on new rule over naturalized players)
海外兵團 醞釀法律對抗 (Brewing legal confrontation from Overseas Legions)
http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/sport/20080227/20080227014008_0000.html

Yoshida Kaiwei scolded "unlawful"
Due to the growing strength of the "Overseas Legions", the ITTF's plan to impose a "ban" has attracted many voices of criticism. Japan's YOSHIDA Kaii, a former Chinese player, was extremely agitated: "It is impossible (to pass), this is a crime! If it really gets passed, I will sue them (ITTF)." Yoshida, whose ancestral home is Hebei and whose real name is Song Haiwei, said: "There are so few opportunities in China, and (going out) is simply for a living. If you can only play league matches, it will be a dead end for the 'Overseas Legions'."

YOSHIDA Kaii to sue? On what basis? ITTF News Executive Officer Midson put it bluntly: "There are legal loopholes in the proposal." An insider analyzed that the most serious "loophole" is to deprive the "overseas corps" of the right to work. If the new regulations are implemented, many people will be entangled. lawsuit.

"Overseas Corps" New Regulation Proposal
‧Athletes who have "transferred" their nationality over the age of 21 cannot participate in world competitions such as the World Cup and Olympic Games.

‧Athletes aged 15 to 18 who have "transferred" must register with the new association for 3 years before they can be eligible to compete.

‧Athletes aged 18 to 21 who have "transferred" must register with the new association for 5 years before they are eligible to compete.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2008-03/11/content_6525438.htm


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAx4bqJjUYY

41歳プロ卓球選手・吉田海偉はなぜ現役を続けられるのか「プロは大変さを感じないとダメ」
https://rallys.online/person/2023yoshidakai_1/
「年齢？ただの数字でしょ」吉田海偉は今も負けた日の夜は眠れない
https://rallys.online/person/2023yoshidakai_2/
ベルギーからの一通のメール　吉田海偉に伝えたかった「一人じゃない、ファンは必ず見ている」
https://rallys.online/person/2023_yoshidakaii_3/

The issue of fairness is entirely the crux here. Feel free to make up your own issues or draw your own parallels but this would interest no one if they felt that what the WTT was executing was in the best interests of the players and the sport. These are not issues that I have heard voiced by Quadri for the first time, Anders Lind and Ibrahima Diaw have voiced similar issues on their channels in other contexts. Hugo won 2 Contenders early last year, after looking at all his expenses and coach expenses, had no net benefit. If a player who wins 2 contenders has no net benefit, what about the players who didn't win? And what about the feeders and other events? What is your evidence that the WTT has improved the sport and this is not a matter of fairness?

Athlete commission complaints have gone nowhere. Generally speaking, no one likes the WTT era. Again, players used to live a low rent lifestyle doing what they loved, living in cheap motels and hotels to play table tennis as life permitted. Now they are forced to live in official hotels and the prize money is clearly trash for most events. The WTT has created a situation just as bad as what Shahara used to do from a corruption standpoint but with little or no benefits to the players. From the back channel comments I have heard, the expectation was that TT sponsorship from governments would help fund their schemes but this model is not universally viable. Maybe it makes sense for the Chinese or maybe Asians. But not for Quarri for sure. And not for Diaw as far as I can tell.

Quadri failed to comply with rules that are administered solely at the discretion of the WTT. He had a paid ticket to Busan and fell sick with diarhea and so didn't fly. So since he had purchased the ticket, and had a documented medical excuse, what is the basis for believing his excuse was false and he had no intent of attending? Again, remember that in many situations, he is the one covering his expenses. Not the NTTF.

Then for Incheon, he had scheduled club ties, with reliable income, which he now had to drop for the Incheon event. Whose interests are these in? Why is there a mandate to play on relatively short notice? What are the minimum guarantees of the WTT for that kind of compliance? People would feel differently about a lot of these things if it was clear that the interests of the players were at the heart of it.

But it was also pointed out by him that he had not been paid for the prize.money that he was owed. He shared the details of the rules that put him on a bad position. Most people on the forum agreed that those are onerous terms to meet for a organization that is not covering your primary income and health expenses. But so far he has followed them.

The executives at the WTT are probably not managing the WTT to the benefit of the players. While I suspect few people would take the job without exorbitant compensation, are they really doing everything they can to minimize expenses and run a professional tour to the benefit of the players? You know more about the WTT ledger than I do.

So bring up all the parallels you want to show your encyclopedic knowledge of TT, even as they are irrelevant as we might learn something. What ever his motive, the issues Quadri is speaking to are fundamentally about fairness and athletes welfare.

 

[zeio]

Better yet, look at the other players, namely QD, Ovtcharov, Kallberg, Jorgic, and Franziska. Some people suspect they lost in the early rounds (by 3/29) of WTT CS Incheon 2024 deliberately just so they could fly right back to play the ECL 2023/24 on 3/31. Not ideal, but a compromise, nonetheless. That way, if they were to bring WTT to court over the prize money, then they could at least convince the judge that they made every effort within their power to fulfill their end of the "contract" lest WTT makes the claim that they enter into a contract the moment they sign up for a WTT event and/or their names appear in the ITTF TTWR.

https://www.ettu.org/en/events/european-champions-league-men/schedule-results/

 

[zeio]

The fact that Aruna decided to skip WTT CS Incheon 2024 (even if he notified WTT a month ahead of time, which still violated the rules) while the others in the same situation made an appearance severely weakens Aruna's case here.

As for the WTTC 2024, he made an entry on his social media on 2/16 that he was seriously ill with food poisoning and would not take part, and according to the entry on 4/2, he was down for 5 days and the medical certificate was signed/issued on 2/26, one day after the WTTC ended on 2/25 (who knows when WTT received it). According to Steve Dainton's written response, he says WTT made the attempt to actively help him to get the medical certificate handed in. So exactly how many days did it take Aruna from start to end of the process?

2/16
https://www.instagram.com/quadriaruna/p/C3ZIQ0Xo2Ua/
4/2
https://www.instagram.com/quadriaruna/p/C5QWPHAtfj4/
Steve Dainton's written response
https://www.sohu.com/a/769658694_114977

此前阿鲁纳在社交媒体上表示，因为自己患有慢性腹泻而无法参加在韩国釜山举行的世乒赛，并因无法收到医生证明而遭到处罚。事实上，根据《2024年国际乒联乒乓球世界排名规则》第4.5条的规定，在受伤或生病的情况下，运动员可以提交相关医疗文件而免于处罚，前提是在规定时间之内。“WTT世界乒联曾就此事积极协助阿鲁纳先生提交必要的医疗文件，但令人遗憾的是，我们在赛事结束后才收到这些文件，已经错过了所规定的最后期限，”丹顿先生透露，为履行对公平和正当程序的承诺，WTT世界乒联已建议阿鲁纳就此事提起最终上诉。

 

[driversbeat]

Better yet, look at the other players, namely QD, Ovtcharov, Kallberg, Jorgic, and Franziska. Some people suspect they lost in the early rounds (by 3/29) of WTT CS Incheon 2024 deliberately just so they could fly right back to play the ECL 2023/24 on 3/31. Not ideal, but a compromise, nonetheless. That way, if they were to bring WTT to court over the prize money, then they could at least convince the judge that they made every effort within their power to fulfill their end of the "contract" lest WTT makes the claim that they enter into a contract the moment they sign up for a WTT event and/or their names appear in the ITTF TTWR.

https://www.ettu.org/en/events/european-champions-league-men/schedule-results/

Players being incentivised to lose is a good thing for our sport? 🤔 Malicious compliance should be encouraged and everyone else should just shove it even if it means risking their health/livelihood? 🤔🤔🤔 Being a professional athlete is hard enough without out-of-touch executives making brainless decisions.

 

[zeio]

Players being incentivised to lose is a good thing for our sport? 🤔 Malicious compliance should be encouraged and everyone else should just shove it even if it means risking their health/livelihood? 🤔🤔🤔 Being a professional athlete is hard enough without out-of-touch executives making brainless decisions.

Once again, don't ask me. Ask them.

As I wrote in that post, it's "not ideal but a compromise, nonetheless." The question is why the ETTU couldn't avoid the conflict, when CTTA, JTTA, KTTA et. al. could.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

The issue of fairness is entirely the crux here. Feel free to make up your own issues or draw your own parallels but this would interest no one if they felt that what the WTT was executing was in the best interests of the players and the sport. These are not issues that I have heard voiced by Quadri for the first time, Anders Lind and Ibrahima Diaw have voiced similar issues on their channels in other contexts. Hugo won 2 Contenders early last year, after looking at all his expenses and coach expenses, had no net benefit. If a player who wins 2 contenders has no net benefit, what about the players who didn't win? And what about the feeders and other events? What is your evidence that the WTT has improved the sport and this is not a matter of fairness?

Athlete commission complaints have gone nowhere. Generally speaking, no one likes the WTT era. Again, players used to live a low rent lifestyle doing what they loved, living in cheap motels and hotels to play table tennis as life permitted. Now they are forced to live in official hotels and the prize money is clearly trash for most events. The WTT has created a situation just as bad as what Shahara used to do from a corruption standpoint but with little or no benefits to the players. From the back channel comments I have heard, the expectation was that TT sponsorship from governments would help fund their schemes but this model is not universally viable. Maybe it makes sense for the Chinese or maybe Asians. But not for Quarri for sure. And not for Diaw as far as I can tell.

Quadri failed to comply with rules that are administered solely at the discretion of the WTT. He had a paid ticket to Busan and fell sick with diarhea and so didn't fly. So since he had purchased the ticket, and had a documented medical excuse, what is the basis for believing his excuse was false and he had no intent of attending? Again, remember that in many situations, he is the one covering his expenses. Not the NTTF.

Then for Incheon, he had scheduled club ties, with reliable income, which he now had to drop for the Incheon event. Whose interests are these in? Why is there a mandate to play on relatively short notice? What are the minimum guarantees of the WTT for that kind of compliance? People would feel differently about a lot of these things if it was clear that the interests of the players were at the heart of it.

But it was also pointed out by him that he had not been paid for the prize.money that he was owed. He shared the details of the rules that put him on a bad position. Most people on the forum agreed that those are onerous terms to meet for a organization that is not covering your primary income and health expenses. But so far he has followed them.

The executives at the WTT are probably not managing the WTT to the benefit of the players. While I suspect few people would take the job without exorbitant compensation, are they really doing everything they can to minimize expenses and run a professional tour to the benefit of the players? You know more about the WTT ledger than I do.

So bring up all the parallels you want to show your encyclopedic knowledge of TT, even as they are irrelevant as we might learn something. What ever his motive, the issues Quadri is speaking to are fundamentally about fairness and athletes welfare.

Let me change my approach, and say how to make quadri in the wrong.

1) The CS incheon was announced 1 year ago (hm.. it wasn't, it was few weeks only and WTT expect the whole world to stop everything)
okay, i'm done, I can't think of ways to help WTT out of this mess.

the short schedule/change of schedule has been a constant issue for many players.
if the scheduling was fair:
- proper notice, so people can plan
- do not change

then maybe it would be easier for Pros to plan and play the 20+ events a year
but how do you do it when you get a whole bunch of event coming up less than 2 months notice.
what doesn't make sense is, short notice on schedule and then new format or rules on how to play that tournament. These things have been unprecedented in table tennis history. We all have witness history in the making in the past 6 months.

I have seen jokes of tournaments where it is so delayed that earlier rounds were best of out 5s, and finals best out of 3s, but that is some very low resources national tournament in 3rd world tt countries.
ITTF/WTT should be able to delivery scheduling at 5 star levels,