Malaysia avoids ping pong ban after Israeli withdrawal

By P Prem Kumar

KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysia claims it no longer faces a ban on hosting international table tennis after Israel pulled its team from the sport's world championships in Kuala Lumpur following a row with the Malaysian government over entry visas.

The sport's secretary-general in Malaysia, Chan Foong Keong, told Anadolu Agency by phone on Sunday that it would now not be penalised by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) for the row, as Israel -- with which Malaysia has no formal diplomatic relations -- had taken up its right not to participate.

ITTF chief executive Judit Farago had insisted Israel must be allowed to compete or Malaysia could be banned from hosting future tournaments.

"Forget about Malaysia delaying the entry visa for them, it was Israel's prerogative to decide on withdrawing from the championship," Chan said.

"It will not be fair if Malaysia is penalised for their action. I don't think it would be that way."

The Table Tennis Association of Malaysia said that it is common for teams to pull out of international sporting events at the last minute, thus it's not fair to blame Malaysia.

Farago had also threatened that the World Championships will be scrapped, and Malaysia would foot the cancellation costs if the visas were not issued.

Malaysia and Israel have no formal diplomatic relations, due to Israel's ongoing actions against the Palestinian people. It has frequently highlighted what it calls the "intrusion" of Israel into the Palestinian heartland and the "brutal actions" it has taken to conquer Palestine, whose people Malaysia says have lived in fear and danger for many decades.

In December, an Israeli team also chose to miss the Youth Sailing World Championships in Malaysia's island state of Langkawi, after the government placed restrictions on them prior to issuing entry visas.

Under the conditions, Israel's two athletes competing were not allowed to use their national flag or symbols on windsurfing outfits and the Israeli national anthem would not be played if either were to win the gold medal.

The Israeli team declined to adhere to the regulations and decided to opt-out of the competition.

Israel is among three teams -- Peru and Azerbaijan -- who have decided not to participate in the table tennis championships in Kuala Lumpur, scheduled for Feb. 28.