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Table tennis ruling seen as restrictive

By Alexis Hooi (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-20 07:19

When Chinese-born table tennis player Li Jiawei lost the match for a bronze medal at the Athens Olympics four years ago, many in her adopted home of Singapore wept with her.

The wave of emotion and support across the island city-state for Li, then 23, was understandable. A win would have ended a 44-year Olympic medal drought for the country. Singaporeans like myself had also grown with the paddler, from the time she arrived in the country in her early teens, to becoming a full-fledged citizen and rising up the game's top 10 world rankings.

Many will no doubt weep again, at the recent move to restrict Chinese-born paddlers from playing for other countries at international events.

International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) officials voted three weeks ago for a ruling to bar future players aged 21 and older from playing for their adopted countries in world title championships, excluding the Olympics.

Players aged 15 to 17 must wait five years before competing for their new country, while those aged 18 to 20 will need to wait seven years. Those under 15 will have to wait three years.

The restriction is targeted at giving promising, local players at junior levels a shot at national teams, which tend to select those willing to leave China instead.

Indeed, Chinese-born paddlers and coaches form an important part of many national teams such as Singapore and several European countries. Ten Chinese players and 15 former Chinese players take up the women's top 30 rankings.

But many Chinese-born players, arguing that they in fact raise the standard and profile of the sport in their adopted countries, continue to be against the new ruling.

And rightly so.

Sport is about competition. It is also about learning from others who are better, pushing against one's own limits and abilities, and being part of human achievement.

And talent, in sports or any endeavor, transcends national boundaries. When you close your doors to it, you shut yourself out from an increasingly interconnected world.

While a number of Chinese table tennis players and officials have reportedly welcomed the ITTF's restrictive move, China itself has recognized the importance of foreign professionals in various fields to help in its development goals.

Ji Yunshi, director of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, said that the administration this year will focus on bringing in foreign expertise to improve people's lives, especially of those in rural areas.

The 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) on Foreign Expertise Introduction is aiming to attract 150,000 top professionals in such fields as agriculture, energy-saving and new energy, information technology, new materials and biotechnology.

The Chinese mainland has been attracting up to 200,000 foreign professionals annually in recent years.

The authorities in Singapore know too that it must keep its doors open to foreign talent if it is to survive as a country with scant resources. One in four people on the island is a foreigner.

Some Singapore citizens have voiced concerns over the approach, one being loss of jobs to foreigners.

Inevitably, a number of foreigners will work and then leave for better opportunities elsewhere. Such is the nature of the arrangement. But some will also choose to stay, develop their potential, and continue to contribute and learn from the society they have decided to be a part of.

Meanwhile, athletes such as Li Jiawei will keep on pushing the boundaries.

There are still medals at the Beijing Olympics to compete for.

E-mail: alexishooi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/20/2008 page8)