DUBAI, (Reuters) – China’s table tennis federation should give foreign players more access to its coaches to ease the country’s stranglehold on the sport and attract more television and sponsor interest, the head of the world governing body said.
In the men’s game, Chinese players have won seven of the past eight biennial world championships, while China’s women have claimed the last 10 titles.
“It reminds me of 20 years ago when the U.S. was dominating basketball – they (the U.S.) were able to promote the sport elsewhere and bring the top players from other countries to the NBA,” said Adham Sharara, president of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).“Today, the U.S. is still very strong but doesn’t dominate like how China dominates our sport.”
The Canadian said lesser Chinese preeminence would help attract greater sponsorship and television coverage of