Table tennis ruling seen as restrictive

When Chinese-born table tennis player Li Jiawei lost the match for a bronze medal at the Athens Olympics four years ago, many in her adopted home of Singapore wept with her.

The wave of emotion and support across the island city-state for Li, then 23, was understandable. A win would have ended a 44-year Olympic medal drought for the country. Singaporeans like myself had also grown with the paddler, from the time she arrived in the country in her early teens, to becoming a full-fledged citizen and rising up the game's top 10 world rankings.

Many will no doubt weep again, at the recent move to restrict Chinese-born paddlers from playing for other countries at international events.