China's Table Tennis Selection Criteria for Asian Games Spark Online Backlash

China’s table tennis authorities have come under fire online after announcing their selection criteria for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September. The Chinese Table Tennis Association released the criteria on Tuesday, with different standards for the men’s and women’s teams. The selections will determine the five-player line-ups for the team events, with the same five players used for the five individual events: men’s singles, women’s singles, mixed doubles, men’s doubles and women’s doubles. Under the criteria for the men’s team, the top three Chinese players in the ITTF singles rankings on May 25 will be named to the squad. The highest-ranked Chinese player in the doubles and mixed doubles rankings on the same date will also be selected, provided he has not already qualified through singles. The final place will be decided by the men’s coaching staff, taking into account the Asian Games schedule, playing styles, doubles and mixed-doubles ability, development potential and expert opinion. The women’s team selection is more complicated.