The change of balls made by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) for next year’s Team World Cup in London has raised doubts among Chinese ping pong fans.
The ITTF announced its agenda for the London tournament on its official website on Wednesday. It can be seen that the game-use balls have been changed to Double Fish V40+ – a completely new model for the world-level event.
(image credit to ITTF)
For Chinese athletes, this is not good news, since it will take a while to adapt to the new balls.
Changing game-use balls has become a common practice of the ITTF in recent years. Balls used at the recent World Cup, World Championships, and the ITTF World Tour were all different.
A Chinese netizen commented on social media that the ITTF is just trying to weaken China’s dominance of the sport by frequently changing the balls. However, the net user was doubted by another netizen who said that every athlete has to adapt to the new balls, not just Chinese.
(image credit to ITTF)
Some said table tennis is the only sport that sees such a high frequency of equipment changes and even a subtle change could influence the performance of the athletes.
The ITTF might bring on the shots for table tennis games in the future, a netizen joked.
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Yokohama F. Marinos advanced to the Asian Champions League final for the first time on Wednesday after a 5-4 penalty shootout win over against Ulsan HD of South Korea in a dramatic semifinal that ended 3-3 on aggregate.
The Japanese team's 3-2 home win erased a 1-0 deficit from last week’s first leg and forced extra time and then penalties.
The five-time J League champion, coached by former Leeds and Liverpool winger Harry Kewell, will face Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates in May’s final.
Yokohama raced into a 3-0 lead in front of its home crowd on a rainy evening at Yokohama International Stadium.
Asahi Uenaka reacted quickly to shoot home from close range in the 13th minute to level the aggregate scoreline. Anderson Lopes made it 2-0 eight minutes later and Uenaka curled home his second goal in the 60th minute to put Yokohama 3-1 up on aggregate.
Ulsan, continental champion in 2012 and 2020, got back in the game within five minutes when Matheus Sales headed home a corner. Soon after, Yokomaha defender Takumi Kamijima handled in the area to receive a red card and Ulsan forward Darijan Bojanic converted the penalty to level it on aggregate.
All of the takers found the net in the shootout except for Ulsan’s Kim Min-woo, whose shot was saved by William Popp. Yokohama defender Eduardo then scored the winning penalty.
Al-Ain, coached by former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo, advanced 5-4 on aggregate over Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Yokohama will host the first leg of the final on May 11 and then travel to UAE for the return match two weeks later.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Yokohama F. Marinos' Shinnosuke Hatanaka, left, and Ulsan Hyundai's Um Won-sang, right, compete for the ball during the second leg of the AFC Champions League semifinal soccer match between Yokohama F. Marinos and Ulsan Hyundai in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Wednesday, April 24, 2024.(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Yokohama F. Marinos' Anderson Lopes celebrates his team second goal against Ulsan Hyundai during the second leg of the AFC Champions League semifinal soccer match between Yokohama F. Marinos and Ulsan Hyundai in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Wednesday, April 24, 2024.(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Ulsan Hyundai's Darijan Bojanic scores a goal during the second leg of the AFC Champions League semifinal soccer match between Yokohama F. Marinos and Ulsan Hyundai in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Wednesday, April 24, 2024.(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Players of Ulsan Hyundai react after team was defeated by Yokohama F. Marinos during the second leg of the AFC Champions League semifinal soccer match between Yokohama F. Marinos and Ulsan Hyundai in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Players of Ulsan Hyundai react after team was defeated by Yokohama F. Marinos during the second leg of the AFC Champions League semifinal soccer match between Yokohama F. Marinos and Ulsan Hyundai in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Players of Yokohama F. Marinos celebrate after defeating Ulsan Hyundai after the second leg of the AFC Champions League semifinal soccer match between Yokohama F. Marinos and Ulsan Hyundai in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Yokohama F. Marinos' Asahi Uenaka, left, celebrates his goal with teammate Anderson Lopes, right, during the second leg of the AFC Champions League semifinal soccer match between Yokohama F. Marinos and Ulsan Hyundai in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Wednesday, April 24, 2024.(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Players of Yokohama F. Marinos celebrate after a penalty kick against Ulsan Hyundai during the second leg of the AFC Champions League semifinal soccer match between Yokohama F. Marinos and Ulsan Hyundai in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Players of Yokohama F. Marinos celebrate after a penalty kick against Ulsan Hyundai during the second leg of the AFC Champions League semifinal soccer match between Yokohama F. Marinos and Ulsan Hyundai in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
