I genuinely think that it is better to judge pen and paper than judging personally. I am sure he is a nice guy when you said it, but I don't think it is relevant. What is relevant to me is
(1) Tabletennis as a sport
(2) ITTF role
Samsonov:
"Since 2011 we have received some samples of plastic balls for testing. I think the introduction of new ball will be quite a big change for table tennis. There will probably be less rotation, less spin. We still haven’t received the balls that are ITTF approved so we will have to wait to acquire the real feel of the ball. My information is that the game will probably become slower. "
--> slower game (which could be good, possibly)
The problem I see, there are still no approved ITTF ball for EVEN the players within the committee to test it out. without appropriate testing --> launching in July. i mean wt the? the fate of the sports on the hands of policy makers like this.
"Slowing the game down I think is a good thing in theory especially for spectators and television audiences. The introduction of the 40mm ball was a very big change. The problem at that time was that the weight of the ball had to stay the same and I think that the quality of the 40mm ball wasn’t as good as with the 38mm balls. "
40 -> 38 is a "very big change"
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Sharara:
"I don’t think that new balls will change table tennis drastically. I asked many players and coaches about their opinions and they all have different opinion but in my opinion probably the change will be similar to the one when we changed from 38mm to 40mm ball. "
--> 40->38, so according to Samsonov, very big change, but were they trying to make it sound like it's not a big changes a few months/years ago. What is the objective
"Players were not adjusted. In practice players adjust very quickly but when it comes to matches automatic reactions will no doubt be the cause of many mistakes. I think the same will happen now because this ball is smoother and will have less spin; when the ball touches the table the friction will be less.
Also the plastic ball is also a little harder and faster so the game will be a little faster with less spin but I don’t know how that will look like compared to today; it could be good or it could be bad but we have no choice because this celluloid material is no longer available for several reasons. "
A LITTLE FASTER!? (not commenting whether it's good or bad) But it just sounds like the TT industry is diving into something without knowing what's gonna happen, and according to Sharara, "we have no choice" (could be true).
Samsonov thinks it's slower, reports say it's slower, now it could be faster. I am just disappointed, that TT is changing without getting these balls tested out, and be certain. I really am just sad how policies are made and implemented here. Even Samsonov and Sharara are saying different things.
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"We will need the help from Chinese. They have already started with some initiatives but not enough I believe. They will really have to open the door to their national team training and national coaches. I think eventually this will happen. At the moment I think the Chinese are struggling finding the right way to help. They are using their own thinking, their culture and their mentality which sometimes doesn’t work in other areas, so I am trying to advise them but of course it is difficult because they have their own ideas. "
Another point. Sharara keeps emphasizing in several interviews that the chinese are not helping enough. In my opinion, the skills and knowledge can be viewed as properties, and the Chinese has the right to not share, but I think Sharara is taking for granted. The chinese wants to promote the sports, they share, it's good for all of us, but they have the right to choose. It was not unfair. He didn't say that it's unfair, but I really am not on his side on his mentality.
I think ITTF's role is to provide a healthy and fair environment. Right now it seems that the plan is, someone other than CHN wins OG and WTTC, then the sports can climb up to the top. PASSION and INTEREST takes years, and a WTTC winner takes years to nourish. I think ITTF should focus a lot more on social media, hire more people. give more resources, and then the children would love the sports more. Rather than forcing rule changes and etc.
It's like capitalism. If you have to share the skills you have, why would you innovate as much. Let other people do it. Sharara seems to want everyone to have similar skills (everyone learning from FZD) similar equipments, similar facilities. So it would be pure chance who win the WTTC, and that's fair. The people work harder gets the rewards. This will progress the sports. like the TT did last decade.
Chinese dominance is bad, but it is fair, and they are playing really pretty table tennis imo. It is genuinely fun to watch.