Sports body presses for apology after table tennis prodigy pulled from tournament

Taipei, June 1 (CNA) Taiwan's Sports Administration on Sunday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July.

Taiwan's top sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas.

The Sports Administration said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh's coach, Chuang Chih-yuan (莊智淵).

The Sports Administration said it will send an official letter to the association, suspend all subsidies until an apology is issued and replace the secretary-general of the association if necessary.

In a statement released Saturday, the table tennis association said that Yeh and several other players were advised to prioritize the Asian Youth Championships in Uzbekistan over the WTT United States Smash in Las Vegas due to scheduling conflicts.

As a member of Taiwan's national U19 team, Yeh is expected to represent the country in four designated youth tournaments, including the Asian Youth Championships -- but not the WTT tournament in the U.S., the association said.

Yeh's coach, Chuang, said he informed the association as early as April that Yeh intended to focus on three open-age international events, including the WTT U.S. Smash, and not participate in the youth championships.

Despite this, the association passed a resolution in early May requiring the 17-year-old to take part in the Asian Youth Championships.

Chuang said the young player, who won the U19 women's singles title at the WTT Youth Star Contender in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 4, received an invitation to compete in the Las Vegas tournament later in May.

According to Chuang, CTTTA Secretary-General Yeh Kuo-chin (葉國欽) said he would respect the player's decision not to compete in the Asian Youth Championships, but the association would still not send her to the WTT tournament.

Chuang only found out Yeh had been left out of the WTT U.S. Smash after the tournament draw was released and did not include her.

The mother of the young player told CNA on Sunday that the CTTTA secretary-general should apologize for the mistake and promise such incidents would not be repeated.

"The association should be on the players' side and help them," she said.