More characters and personalities needed in pro table tennis!?

[Levels TT]

Nice to be here tt folks, my first post.

Was just thinking today whilst I was watching a Conor McGregor (UFC fighter) interview. That there's no real characters anymore in table tennis. The whole Chinese national team couldn't have less boring public personas if they tried. Just look at the OLYMPIC FINAL!!! Ma Long and Zhang Jike were even knocking up beforehand! What's going on there?! Anyone else agree or am I being unfair?

I think it could be a huge reason, other than Chinese dominance, as to why TT is struggling to get mainstream publicity these days.

 

[Gourav Acharya]

I don't think it's lack of character on part of players. Sure JOW was like a cocky player and all, and he lived up to his cockiness. But in this era of tt hardwork is what will help you succeed. As for publicity goes, some countries are good at it(China, some European countries) while others aren't. I feel the sport at a professional level doesn't pay enough as compared to other sports. This could be a main reason for low exposure and interest for playing tt. But don't get me wrong, I love table tennis. But still in many parts of the world you will hear" It's just a backyard hobby not a sport" . I really wish we could change these mindsets of people.

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[LordPippington]

For those in china or in the know, how popular are the top chinese players?

 

[TTHopeful]

If China didn't dominate table tennis I think we would see a whole different version of table tennis.

 

[Xylit]

I am quite satisfied with the different characters professional table tennis offers. Boll, Ovtcharov, ZJK, XX, Samsonov, Mizutani, Gauzy, Joo, Fegerl, Calderano, Muramatsu, the Swedes, Gionis, Shibaev, Aruna, the Englishman... quite unique personalities to me. And much more.

Also loved the Chinese back then, Wang Liqin, Ma Lin, Wang Hao etc. or Michael Maze, Chen Weixing, Christian Süß, Persson, Waldner etc. but I would not say that their personalities made TT more popular.

 

[Baal]

For those in china or in the know, how popular are the top chinese players?

Last time I was there (2016), I saw ZJKs picture all over the place. He is popular, that is for sure. In WLQ's prime he was also an iconic figure in China, was used a lot in ads, and he dated famous movie stars and so was often found in the Chinese equivalent of gossip pages. Also, the Chinese team was used in a lot of China Telecom ads you saw all over the place around 2007-8, especially Ma Lin and Zhang Yining.

My impression is that TT at this moment is not quite as popular as it once was in China, but everyone still knows who Ma Long is, even people who don't care about sports. Perhaps a bit like baseball in the US. TT had a huge television viewership in China during the Rio games. People there expect perfection from Chinese TT.

As for Conor McGregor.... well I just don't have much to say. I like our sport better. This comes up a lot in conversations about other sports too. Is Roger Federer simply too nice a guy (compared to his predecessors like Connors, McEnroe and the execrable Ilie Nastase)? What will golf do without Tiger Woods and is Bubba Watson the answer?

 

[SFF_lib]

I am quite satisfied with the different characters professional table tennis offers. Boll, Ovtcharov, ZJK, XX, Samsonov, Mizutani, Gauzy, Joo, Fegerl, Calderano, Muramatsu, the Swedes, Gionis, Shibaev, Aruna, the Englishman... quite unique personalities to me. And much more.

Also loved the Chinese back then, Wang Liqin, Ma Lin, Wang Hao etc. or Michael Maze, Chen Weixing, Christian Süß, Persson, Waldner etc. but I would not say that their personalities made TT more popular.

Diversity!! That's what TT used to have in the 38mm era.

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[Baal]

Diversity!! That's what TT used to have in the 38mm era.

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It definitely hurts the sport that there has not been any challenge to Chinese dominance. It tends to coincide with the change in ball size, although that may not be the reason why.

 

[SFF_lib]

It definitely hurts the sport that there has not been any challenge to Chinese dominance. It tends to coincide with the change in ball size, although that may not be the reason why.

China was already dominant in the 38mm era. I think TT as a whole has been decreasing in popularity worldwide for a while. But in China it is still a hugely popular sport while TT is disappearing fast in other countries.

I can confirm it is the trend in New Zealand. Our club used to run 3 times a week with 300+ players. Currently we are only doing it once a week with barely 100 players.

Single sport as a whole is losing popularity in this century whereas team sports are gaining popularity. I wonder what we can do to attract new popularity especially the younger people??


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