Chinese Domination - Healthy or Not?

[Loopy]

Bearing in mind the Olympics that are on the way having won every title going at the world table tennis championships earlier this month, China -- as widely predicted -- wrapped up the Sudirman Cup world team badminton championships on Sunday in equally emphatic fashion.

That after Chinese athletes pocketed 51 gold medals at last year's Olympics to finish top of the medals table for the first time.
Outside China, players, coaches and fans agree that, as the Asian country grows richer, it is likely to increasingly dominate sports such as badminton and table tennis, in which it has traditionally been strong.
But what they cannot agree on is whether this is good for the sports themselves, while even the Chinese are beginning to wonder if, in some disciplines at least, they have become just too good.
"It's dangerous," Cai Zhenhua, the country's most senior table tennis official, said after seeing China secure yet another clean sweep at the world table tennis championships, in Yokohama, Japan this month.
"If one association keeps winning everything, it's good for that association but it's not good for the sport."


Even before China saw off South Korea 3-0 to win badminton's biennial Sudirman Cup -- they have now won the prestigious trophy three times in a row -- there was disquiet about their supreme domination in that sport as well.
"I don't think anybody thinks that domination's a good thing," said Tom Bacher, president of Badminton Europe. "I believe it would be beneficial for the sport for there to be a better spread."


But Bacher said he did not think China's rapid development would automatically lead to further sporting success, saying that the rising standard of living could lessen the incentive to pursue a sporting career.
Raphael Sachetat, chief editor of the Badzine.info website, said he feared badminton would lose popularity if China continued to dominate -- and ultimately that may mean the sport being thrown out of the Olympics.
The poor crowds at the Guangzhou Gymnasium in southern China, where the Sudirman Cup was held last week, do not bode well -- the championship is supposed to be one of the biggest dates in badminton's calendar.
However, Sachetat conceded that China's success could only improve levels of play throughout the sport as other nations worked harder to catch up.
Maijol Mahap, Malaysia's usually reticent badminton team manager, said on Saturday after seeing his side taken apart by China that he feared the game would become "boring" if the Chinese kept on winning.
China has countered similar comments in the past by saying that it is prepared to send its coaches abroad to pass on the secrets of its success but Mahap said he had seen little evidence of its expertise being shared.
But not everyone agrees China's supreme domination in badminton is negative.


Several players at the Sudirman Cup from lower-ranked nations said the Chinese players could not be blamed for raising the bar and that it was up to the rest to try to catch up.
"We are really in awe of the Chinese players' ability so it is not a negative thing, it's up to us to train harder and to learn from them," said Scotland's Gordon Thomson, 23, a singles player.


Terry Yeo, 20, who plays for Singapore, said China's success was partly due to its huge pool of players, while the Chinese also train very hard.
One glimmer of hope for the chasing nations is offered by Cai Zhenhua, the table tennis official, who said success carries with it responsibility.
"It's our duty to offer the secret of our success to the world," he said.


I have seen and read articles on this story in a few papers but is it un-healthy for the sport to have the Chinese so dominant ? The poll is to be answered.

[Powerhouse]

Several players at the Sudirman Cup from lower-ranked nations said the Chinese players could not be blamed for raising the bar and that it was up to the rest to try to catch up.
"We are really in awe of the Chinese players' ability so it is not a negative thing, it's up to us to train harder and to learn from them," said Scotland's Gordon Thomson, 23, a singles player.

The problem is a good one if other Countries have the same attitude as the statement above but some authorities are not so forward thinking. The ETTA dont seem to be catching up or near to catching up. There must be a plan in place for numbers to firstly increase to ensure we not only catch up but get of the starting blocks?

I am seeing less and less numbers in my area but the there seems to be no forward thinking in relation to schools programs and other things to get the grass roots started.

I would be interested in Alex Murdoch's stance and ideas in relation to how we are to catch up or develop the kids and encourage Table Tennis in Schools, which it always was when i was at that age.

[Tinykin]

Is it bad for the sport that [England] is so dominant in [snooker]?
Is it bad for the sport that [England] is so dominant in [Darts]?
Is it bad for the sport that [USA] is so dominant in [baseball]?
Is it bad for the sport that [USA] is so dominant in [basketball]?
Add any country and sport in the brackets:
Is it bad for the sport that [ ] is so dominant in [ ]?

[Jase]

It is interesting this one.
Recently I spent the day with the National team on sheffield and they actually have a Chinese player over here as a training partner for the top players, in particular Drinkhall.
This shows they are very aware of the need to train against players with this style, maybe also to learn from them in relation to technique, diet, lifestyle etc.
We are a long way away though imo, when you watch the top chinese play they really are light years away!!:fcb:

[Annie]

Maybe it's in the rice? :resent:

[Dave Robson]

The problem is a good one if other Countries have the same attitude as the statement above but some authorities are not so forward thinking. The ETTA dont seem to be catching up or near to catching up. There must be a plan in place for numbers to firstly increase to ensure we not only catch up but get of the starting blocks?

I am seeing less and less numbers in my area but the there seems to be no forward thinking in relation to schools programs and other things to get the grass roots started.

I would be interested in Alex Murdoch's stance and ideas in relation to how we are to catch up or develop the kids and encourage Table Tennis in Schools, which it always was when i was at that age.Firstly i dont think it's bad for any Country to dominate any sport providing the others are doing their utmost to be as good or at least moving in the right direction to further the cause. Wether the ETTA have a structure in place for the Schools development is another matter, i think Richard Yule was in charge of that side of things but stand to be corrected if wrong. How far the programme has brought the kids through is questionable given the lack of kids in some or most areas. I often think Table Tennis displays, of which i have done many of create interest and certainly bring the kids to the halls to play but the retention is then anther matter and does your area have a system in place when kids do turn up to play ?


Is it bad for the sport that [England] is so dominant in [snooker]?
Is it bad for the sport that [England] is so dominant in [Darts]?
Is it bad for the sport that [USA] is so dominant in [baseball]?
Is it bad for the sport that [USA] is so dominant in [basketball]?
Add any country and sport in the brackets:
Is it bad for the sport that [ ] is so dominant in [ ]?


Hmmmmmmmmmm

Lets think of a sport and a Country that Dominates it as heavily as China does Table Tennis ..........

Michael Phelps - has dominated swimming i suppose but the guy has my utmost respect for his achievements, this however should encourage others to achieve the same level of success.

[HarryBelafonte]

Is it bad for the sport that [England] is so dominant in [snooker]?
Is it bad for the sport that [England] is so dominant in [Darts]?
Is it bad for the sport that [USA] is so dominant in [baseball]?
Is it bad for the sport that [USA] is so dominant in [basketball]?
Add any country and sport in the brackets:
Is it bad for the sport that [ ] is so dominant in [ ]?

Scotland have the current world snooker champion,and hendry won 7

holland have on a percentage basis more darts players and more strength in depth than england,take away taylor and it is very close.taylor just lost to king in premier league. holland has van gerwin,klassen,van der vart,barnveld stompe,who all have won big tourneys,last year part who is canadien won world title.

america dominate in baseball,but a lot of the top top stars are hispanic and japanese.

basketball,I think of the top of my head they lost the two olmpics before bejing but sent a top team to win it this time.
but they do dominate,but again some of the top stars,(not superstars )are foreign.

Yes other sports have a certain level of dominance but tt china is to dominant.

In the good old days europe had about ten players who could beat the top chinese.now only 1 has a chance.(boll)
I suppose we were spoilt in the late 80s early 90s and to be fair we did not complain about swedish dominance.
I suppose what goes around comes around,just ask newcastle supporters..:covereyes:

[Tinykin]

Know-it-all.
Anyway, that's all true about the other sports. We do have non-Chinese TT superstars. It's just that they don't win much when the Chinese are around.
I think that their dominance doesn't matter. There's a bias on our part simply because they are not European. The players all know that our best sportsmen don't play TT that's the main reason we don't win. So why should we expect to win internationally when our efforts as a country or Continent are almost nothing in comparison to the Chinese.

[HarryBelafonte]

cheers...:happy:

[HarryBelafonte]

sponsored by anarok of sports .com:rocker:

[Dave Robson]

Lets face it there training regime is quite strong and even scary .............

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[HarryBelafonte]

I think she missed 1.. , not really good enough,,,ha ha,,,,:covereyes:

[JKC]

What it doesn't show is that she is actually 25 and playing on a giant table.

[Mr Wilko]

they do some qulaity food tooo !!!!!!!!! :happy::happy:

[NielsA]

It's not neccesarily healthy or Unhealthy for the sport, it might be partially because Tabletennis is a very dominant sport aswell, as in more asian country's, plus the size of the country, China has a way larger pool than Europe in it's entirety to select players from, plus they have harder/more effective training methods.

The Chinese Style also seems to be more effective than the Europian style, as they ( comebined with their training ) seem to combine the same amount ( or even better ) consistensy as most Europian players with the power they get from the different rubbers/Different strokes.

You probably have noticed that the Chinese stroke is way longer than the Europian stroke ( Mostly Forehand Topspin, that is ), thus generating more spin/power, and combined with certain level of consistency and the tremendous footwork they all seem to possess ( The top-chinese all seem to have amazing footwork, especially compared to most europian players ).

It seems quite scary that the Next-Generation chinese ( Ma Long, Xu Xin, Zhang Jike ) seem to possess this amount of footwork aswell, combined with a great backhand aswell (well Ma Long/Zhang Jike in particular, seeing Xu Xin doesn't have an as powerfull RPB as Wang Hao has ), and there seems to be no such next-generation Europian players lining up, that can rise up and have the potential to beat these Chinese youngsters.



I think i let myself drag this a bit too far, though I don't think it's unhealthy at all, it just shows us we have a lot to work on before we can counter the chinese dominance.

[HarryBelafonte]

After see the japanese live at the open,maybe these are the nearest to the chinese as they have 3-4 players arouind the same age and with lots of potential.
The chinese though im sure will work out their styles and overcome them.
the japanese were the best to watch for me at the open.
lets hope the japanese can continue to improve and compete...

[FantasyCheeseBasin]

ah but can they make great cheese,i think not

[Wiggy63]

I think that one of the reasons that the Chinese are so dominant and will continue to be so without much of a challenge, is that since the ball has changed to 40mm it suits their style of play/training. It also seems to me unlikely that the opportunity for innovation in style/equipment is going to present its self to any challengers as the game is chanelled into ever narrower margins of diversity.

[RMaxwellUSN]

I think its terrible. The game suits their style, and the europeans only seem to hold on through better tactics. I wish the US will produce a decent play like we did in the 70s and 80s.

[JessicaKloser]

I think Its fine if other Countries are aware and trying to be as good. They dominate the tennis world as they work hard and I think other countries should learn a lesson from them and should show their hard work and talent to the world as the chines people do.. :happy:

[Dave Robson]

I agree with the comments and would go along with the Chinese deffinitely work harder it seems towards the ultimate goal of World status in the sport of Table Tennis........... they do however sometimes sail close to the wind when training with younger children bordering on torture it seems in that quest but maybe this is the way and not "nice and soft" as we often do in the UK?

[Werewolf]

what do you base that on Dave. I watched children training in China when I was there and it was a fun session they all seemed to love it. They worked hard too but you could see they wanted to and there was definitely no fear. A couple of youngsters got upset when they lost just as you would expect anywhere but unlike here in my experience no recrimination just some support and then back to the table.

[Werewolf]

One thing though all still glued wasnt even aware of rule change as did all the french players that were there

[Dave Robson]

This picture tends to reflect why they are so dominant ................. could this happen here though is the question?

Also this seems to be an ongoing regular thing, which makes it no wonder they are where they are in the World Table Tennis stakes

616

[Chopfloat]

I don't think that I could play there. The courts aren't separated! Do you think that Teessport could send them some more barriers?

[Big Geordie]

Almost like the halls at Cramlington..........