Preview to 2008 with ITTF President Adham Sharara
Sharara: “It Will Be a very Exciting Year”
The year 2008 is going to be an important one for the International
Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The two most important events
will be held in the Peoples Republic of China, the table tennis
country par excellence.
The World Championships in the city of Guangzhou will take
place from 24 February to 2 March; the Olympic Games in Beijing
will see table tennis events from 13 to 23 August.
Interview with ITTF President Adham Sharara (CAN), on top
of the ITTF since 1999
Marius Widmer: Mr. Sharara, what do you think of
when you see the numbers 2-0-0-8?
Adham Sharara: Of course the first reaction is to think of
Beijing and the Olympic Games. This will be a very special
occasion where our sport will be a feature sport at the Games
based on its immense popularity in China.
And what else?
Before the Olympic Games we have what I think will be a superb
World Championship in Guangzhou. I am sure it will set a new
standard for future World Championships. We have all this,
plus the seventeen Pro Tour events and the ever-growing World
Junior Circuit. It will be a very exciting year.
Events in China for the Good of Table Tennis
Some fans are bored of the Chinese domination in
table tennis. Is it for the good or for the bad of table tennis
to have the most important events in China this year?
I think it is good for table tennis. In the past the “underdog”
would go and challenge the best in their own territory. Now
it seems this is not the approach. So, it’s good to
have many events in the country that dominates the sport so
others can see what the top level is all about and how to
counter it.
But what about the Chinese dominance?
Of course it’s very boring to see the same nation win
over and over, but this is the challenge. The others must
rise to the challenge and find new ways to defeat the best.
It has been done before, so why not again?
The Coaches Must Find Innovative Ways
What do you personally expect of the Chinese players
in 2008 regarding their performances?
The Chinese are currently far ahead of all others. They
dominate the sport completely and until their opponents find
new ways on how to play them and beat them, China will continue
to dominate. You cannot beat the Chinese by playing like them,
or by playing like ten years ago. The coaches must find innovative
ways to deal with this challenge.
What do you expect of their worldwide popularity
and their function of figureheads of the sport?
In China the Chinese players are very popular and are stars.
Outside China they do not play the same role due to their
often lack of knowledge of foreign languages and perhaps due
to some cultural differences.
New Developments and Promotion
Do you have an idea yet how the year 2009 will look
like? Are you afraid of a sinking interest?
No, I am not afraid because all happens in cycles. We will
have a new glue rule and that may shake things around and
perhaps bring new players into the forefront. In the early
1980s China was omni-present and dominated totally, then the
Swedes were able to change things. Perhaps we could see some
new developments in the future.
What are the most important things to develop the
sport of table tennis within the next decade?
In this era if you do not promote, your product it will go
unnoticed. But once you get attention, then you must have
a good product to sustain the interest. I am counting very
much on our Global Junior Programme to help push our sport
forward over the next decade.
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"Source:
ITTF Press Release