'Honored' Liu Shiwen unveils election pledges

Former Olympic champion Liu Shiwen of China has announced her candidacy for the International Table Tennis Federation's Athletes Commission.

"I'm honored to become one of the candidates. My declaration is 'Listen to your voice, enjoy table tennis together.' I hope that athletes' voices will be listened to, communication between athletes across different associations and ages will be enhanced, and more women will be encouraged to take part in table tennis," Liu wrote on Weibo on Monday.

Including Liu, 23 candidates have been unveiled by the ITTF for the Athletes Commission vote, which will be conducted from Nov 7 to 13. The winners will be announced on Nov 14, with a total of 10 places open for a four-year term on the commission.

All members of the Athletes Commission will be invited to the forthcoming ITTF Summit in December in Amman, Jordan. At the summit, the commission, along with IOC Athletes Commission member Ryu Seung-min of South Korea, will elect two chairs to sit on the ITTF Executive Committee. For the first time, the two chairs will be awarded to one man and one woman to ensure gender parity.

"I have always been on the frontline of table tennis since I took it up at the age of 4 or 5, and I have been enthusiastic about the sport," said Liu, who won gold in the women's team event at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, as well as scooping women's singles and mixed doubles titles at the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships.

"I thank the Chinese Table Tennis Association for offering me this opportunity, and promoting me to a new platform to experience," said Liu, adding that she is working hard on learning English in order to enhance her credentials for the Athletes Commission role.

Liu said that she had spoken with many athletes, coaches and officials during the recent World Table Tennis Champions event in Macao.

"I hope to learn more about athletes' ideas and serve as a channel between athletes and international organizations, between Asian players and those from other continents to strive for more opportunities to play matches, more ranking points and prize money for athletes," Liu explained.

She said she plans to conduct more face-to-face exchanges with players through the platform of international competitions.

"If I am elected, I will focus more on athletes' feedback toward the Athletes Commission and establish a more transparent mechanism and more effective way of communication with other members to make the Athletes Commission a truly trusted organization for athletes," Liu pledged.

"Table tennis is a charming sport, and so are the players. I hope to do my best to promote this sport and allow more people to enjoy it."

Xinhua