‘Unfairly’ dumped from NZ table tennis team

A table tennis coach made one of the sport’s rising star’s cry after a disagreement over which bat she should use, sparking a spat which later saw the girl removed from the national team.

The 12-year-old prodigy was kicked out of the squad after her family refused to help pay for the coach to attend a international tournament with the girl because of the disagreement.

The Sports Tribunal found the decision, by Table Tennis New Zealand (TTNZ), was unfair and ordered the association to reinstate the girl. TTNZ must also pay $2000 towards the family’s legal costs.

The saga began in February last year after the girl was selected to represent New Zealand in Tonga.

When the girl’s grandmother found out a woman called Amy, not her real name, had been selected to coach the team, she told TTNZ Amy had upset both her and her granddaughter during a tournament in 2017.

She said Amy had taken issue with the ‘‘pimpled’’ bat her granddaughter used and told her she should use a sponge bat.

The exchange left the girl, who was aged 10 at the time, in tears.

After the grandmother raised her concerns, TTNZ suggested Amy meet the girl and her mother and grandmother to try to resolve the matter. But the meeting never went ahead.

Meanwhile, the grandmother refused to pay a contribution towards Amy’s travel costs.

Despite TTNZ informing the grandmother her granddaughter would lose her spot if the deposit was not paid in five days, she refused to back down.

TTNZ removed the girl from the team and replaced her with another player. The grandmother claimed that was unfair because her granddaughter had earned her spot through merit.

The grandmother appealed to the Sports Tribunal, which found TTNZ had failed to follow a fair process. The tribunal said the player’s spot on the team should be reinstated. The replacement player would be removed from the team.