Table tennis world championships on the brink as ITTF chief mulls scrapping individual event
- Head considers replacing worlds proposing to name champions via new ‘Grand Smash’ mega tournaments
The world championships were held for the first time in 1926 and individual titles have been decided every year since the team events were hived off into a separate tournament in 2003.
In a wide-ranging open letter, largely addressing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the sport, Dainton suggested keeping the team championships and Olympic tournaments as they were but doing away with the individuals.
“The idea is simply that ... we plan to eventually have three to four ‘Grand Smashes’ per year,” he wrote.
“These events will be equal to or larger than a world individual championships (so) we would be overstretching and confusing the calendar and market if we also have a world individual championships.
“The three to four major events held on the international stage throughout each year will reach a larger audience and will perform much better than once every two years.
