ATHENS, Aug. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Adham Sharara, president of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), said here Monday that the ITTF is not planning any new changes to the rules of the sport in the coming four years before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

    "No, we're not planning any new changes to the rules," said Sharara at a press conference in the Galatasi Olympic Hall of Athens, venue for the Olympic table tennis tournament, shortly before the start of the men's singles final.

    "Now we are focusing on how to present the sport in a better way," said the ITTF president.

    He said the ITTF would make efforts to create a more TV-friendly environment in table tennis competitions, which includingnew tables, brighter colors and better lights.

    In the past four years since the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, the ITTF has introduced a series of major changes to the table tennis rules, including 40mm large balls, the 11-point scoring system and the all-to-see service.

    Asked whether these rule changes were intended to undermine China's dominance in the sport, Sharara denied immediately, sayingthat the changes were definitely "not against China".

    "These changes were made to make our sport more attractive, andto update it to make it more modern," he explained.

    But he conceded that "of course any changes in any sport will always affect the best players", and that "any change that we madein table tennis for sure will first affect China".

    "But today China is still winning, so these changes were not against China, but to improve the sport as a whole," he said.

    He also pointed out that the three major rule changes were supported by more than 90 percent of the table tennis associationsworldwide. China was the one which proposed the large-ball changeand also supported the 11-point system, though it was against the new service rules, he stressed. Enditem