ISKANDAR PUTERI, 27 June 2017:
The T2 Asia Pacific Table Tennis Championships (T2APAC), which opens its doors tomorrow, will become the focus of the table tennis fraternity throughout the world as a new scoring format will be introduced.
Denmark’s table tennis legend Michael Maze said the championships which will feature 24 world class players – 12 men and 12 women – from Belarus, China, England, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden and Thailand, and will use a new scoring format.
Maze said the championships to be held at the Pinewood Studios for 11 days would require players to win as many games within a 24-minute time limit.
“In the past, there was no specific time limit for players to complete a match. Therefore, matches can go on for hours. With the time limit, the players will be more focused. The game will also become more exciting.”
He said the initiative was an effort to promote table tennis more aggressively at the world stage.
The league will feature 24 world-class players (12 men’s and 12 women’s players) per match round, with players competing in separate but concurrent men’s, women’s, and mixed-team league competitions. Some players will be playing on a rotational basis during the inaugural season.
Each match in the inaugural T2APAC Table Tennis League is limited to 24 minutes, where players try to win as many games as possible within the duration.
Showcasing a unique competition model and presentation format, the league will feature a unique scoring system to ensure a level playing field and unpredictability of outcome, where audiences and fans around the world can expect edge-of-your-seat competitive excitement throughout the season.
The championships is touted as the richest competition in today’s professional table-tennis calendar – the players will be battling for an unprecedented prize purse of US$1.75 million (RM7.35 million) in the inaugural season.
“The championships is organised with the support of the International Table Tennis Federation and Asian Table Tennis Union. There are millions of players throughout the world but no one has been brave enough to bring changes to the game even after 30 years.”