China flag row erupts after table tennis chiefs make team title merchandise gaffe

Furious Chinese fans have blasted the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) after official merchandise for the World Team Table Tennis Championships twice got the nation’s flag wrong.

Posters, T-shirts and hoodies, priced between £35 (HK$350) and £67, all celebrating the victories for the country’s men and women, initially featured a flag with six stars, not five as it should have done.

Fans first spotted the error on Friday, and flooded social media with complaints directed at the ITTF and Table Tennis England. One widely shared Weibo post drew more than 10,000 comments.

“Even something like this can happen – what is the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) doing?” one fan wrote. “If you want to make money from us, learn to show some respect first.”

“Which country has a six-star red flag?” another asked.

Hours later, the ITTF updated the image without commenting publicly. However, while the number of stars was reduced from six to five, the revised version still showed the yellow stars in the wrong position, further angering fans.

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