Cheng I-ching, the 34-year-old who is Taiwan's highest-ranked woman at the 2026 World Team Table Tennis Championships, has spoken publicly about an incident at the London venue in which she says a security check involved inappropriate physical contact.
The ITTF has confirmed that an investigation is underway. The security staff member involved has been removed from duty. Organisers have apologised.
The alleged incident occurred on Saturday at the Copper Box, the women's competition venue, during a screening process for the Taiwan team as they entered to prepare for that day's matches. Cheng said in her own statement that what happened during the check went beyond the standard physical screening for accreditated athletes entering an international venue.
"These are not just my experiences, but challenges faced by countless female athletes around the world," Cheng said.
Taiwan's Ministry of Sport, which has been in formal contact with the ITTF, issued its own statement on the case. "Ensuring all athletes compete in a fair, safe and respectful environment is a fundamental bottom line," the ministry said.
The ITTF, in a brief written response to media questions, confirmed it had been notified and described its position. "We recognise that the UK is currently operating under heightened security threat levels, which necessitates stringent entry protocols," the federation said, while adding that it was "deeply troubled" by the allegation and would investigate.
The Taiwan Table Tennis Association formally protested with the tournament organisers, and the federation's officials at the London venue raised the matter immediately through the championships' organising committee. Within hours of the complaint, the staff member involved had been removed from duty and an apology had been delivered to Cheng and the Taiwan camp.
The story has resonated past the table tennis press. Cheng is a multi-Olympics veteran and a senior figure in the Chinese Taipei programme. Her public statement, with its explicit framing of the incident as connected to wider patterns affecting female athletes, has reframed what could have been a local incident as part of a broader conversation.
The ITTF's reference to the United Kingdom's heightened threat level reflects the period in which the championships fall — there has been an elevated security posture across major sporting venues in London during this calendar year — but the federation has not suggested that heightened protocols permit physical contact beyond the standard accreditation check.
The investigation has been opened. The championships continued on schedule, with both Taiwan teams competing through the remainder of the tournament. Cheng's words, in their straightforwardness and their refusal to localise the experience, will be quoted past the dates of the tournament itself.
