There's a new sheriff in town. The role of the town will be played by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The part of the sheriff went to a new instant replay system called Table Tennis Review (TTR), but not before a rigorous audition. The product of RigourTech, a Chinese technology company, TTR offers slow-motion replays from multiple angles. The goal is to give officials conclusive evidence to settle contested calls. During the beta phase, TTR was secretly tested at the 2019 ITTF Men’s World Cup in Chengdu, China. India's Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, the world #30 who also holds an engineering degree, was also deployed at the World Cup. He sees TTR as a positive step for table tennis. "It’s a good concept, good for the spectators, stakeholders and players," says Gnanasekaran. "It will give us players a fair idea of what is going wrong. It should be encouraged." After its successful trial run, TTR's first official test came at the recent ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Zhengzhou, China. Players were granted two challenges per match, which they retain if successful. It did not take long for TTR to be called to adjudicate its first international dispute. During a men's doubles match between China and Chinese Taipei, the umpire faulted Lin Gaoyuan for tossing the ball more than 30 degrees from vertical during his service. Upon review, the call stood. Neither would it take long to run into TTR's first problem. In the men's singles, China's Ma Long was faulted for illegally hiding his service. The review was inconclusive, neither damning nor vindicating the living legend, as his legions of fans voiced their displeasure. "It’s a newborn baby, so complaining so early on won’t be fair," pointed out Gnanasekaran. "It has some issues, but the important thing is to get started. All the other sports have it, so why not table tennis?" Indeed, every other major sport in the world turns to technology when human perception reaches its limits. Such analysis offers more than just a way to settle squabbles, Gnanasekaran points out. While he is a huge part of table tennis' growing popularity in his native India, Gnanasekaran sees TTR as a way not only to improve the quality of the sport but to promote its growth with new fans and players. "People get to know more about the sport," he says. "It allows them to watch more closely, with 'slo-mo' and different camera angles." As Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and his Indian team prepare for the Tokyo 2020, he succinctly summarized his feelings about using TTR to maintain order at the Olympics and other international competitions: "Fantastic." Scofflaws, beware: The new, all-seeing sheriff is fixing to clean up this here town.

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