Chinese Table Tennis Icons Fan and Chen Withdraw from Global Rankings
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Beijing, Dec 27 (NationPress) Prominent Chinese table tennis athletes Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng have chosen to withdraw from the global rankings as of Friday, due to the recent regulations put in place by World Table Tennis (WTT). In their respective announcements made on Chinese social media platforms, both athletes confirmed that they have signed a notification declaring their retirement from all ITTF-sanctioned events on Monday.
According to the ITTF Statutes, ITTF-sanctioned events encompass those sanctioned by WTT.
Earlier today, Fan, who is the current champion in men's singles from the Paris Olympics, shared this significant news. He mentioned that he cannot adhere to WTT's new regulation, which imposes fines on players who do not participate in events, as reported by Xinhua.
Nonetheless, he stressed that this choice does not indicate his retirement from the sport. Instead, Fan intends to keep competing in various tournaments and remain an active contributor to the ping-pong community.
Chen, who successfully defended her Olympic title against world No. 1 Sun Yingsha in the women's singles final at Paris 2024, disclosed her withdrawal from the world rankings later in the afternoon.
Chen remarked that WTT's new regulation concerning fines for pulling out of competitions presented a challenging decision for her, especially given her ongoing physical issues that prevent her from participating in every high-intensity tournament.
Both athletes delivered remarkable performances at the Paris Olympics, securing gold medals in both singles and team events; however, neither has taken part in any international competitions since their Olympic victories.
The ITTF rankings are updated dynamically and are based on players' performances throughout a rolling schedule of sanctioned events.
