CTTTA subsidies reinstated following apology over athlete's treatment

Taipei, June 4 (CNA) Taiwan's Sports Administration will resume subsidies to the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) following a public apology by CTTTA Secretary-General Yeh Kuo-chin (葉國欽) who had barred an athlete from attending a tournament, Sports Administration head Cheng Shih-chung (鄭世忠) said Tuesday.

Cheng made the remarks after a reconciliation meeting held in Taipei on the same day between the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Sports Administration and the CTTTA.

The dispute stemmed from the CTTTA's decision to cancel 17-year-old player Yeh Yi-tian's (葉伊恬) qualification for the World Table Tennis (WTT) U.S. Smash competition set to take place in July this year, citing a scheduling conflict with the 29th Asian Youth Championships due to be held in Uzbekistan.

The controversy, which emerged when the young athlete's name was missing from the WTT tournament draw, prompted the Sports Administration on Monday to suspend CTTTA subsidies not related to training or competitions.

At the meeting on Tuesday, the MOE, Sports Administration and CTTTA issued a joint public statement, which included an apology by the table tennis association's secretary-general.

According to Cheng, the apology was acknowledged by athlete Yeh Yi-tian, her coach Chuang Chih-yuan (莊智淵), and her mother.

Deputy Education Minister Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) said after the meeting that he hoped the incident would lead to "consensus between the Sports Administration and individual sports associations on creating an athlete-centered training philosophy."

In the joint statement, Yeh Kuo-chin said he made the decision to cancel the young Taiwanese athlete's participation before the registration deadline due to time constraints and a lack of consensus with the coach.

The statement also said the CTTTA would take the incident as a lesson and improve communication with players and coaches, while adhering to an athlete-centered approach promoted by the Sports Administration.