China’s domination of global markets like critical minerals has caused angst among Western nations including Australia, not least because of the potential implications for their national security.
Her case relates to stringent eligibility rules brought in by the ITTF to counter the proliferation of players, many from China, who changed their nationalities to compete for other countries, standing in the way of locally developed athletes. Liu is banned for seven years from the Olympics and world titles because she was over the age of 18 when her registration by Australia was accepted by the ITTF in 2022.
French President Emmanuel Macron plays table tennis while Paris 2024 Olympics Organising Committee President Tony Estanguet looks on at a pre-Games event in Paris.That alternative timeline means that even if she does win in her legal tilt, Liu still wouldn’t be able to join the Australian Olympic team in Paris.
The provisions don’t refer specifically to China, where table tennis is the national sport. But Chinese players outside its national team have migrated to play under other flags with such abundance over the years that they were the subject of an academic study released last year., said that of the 811 athletes to play table tennis at the Olympics since it first featured in Seoul in 1988, 127 were Chinese-born players representing other nations.