China Olympic champions Fan Zhendong, left, and Chen Meng, right, have withdrawn from the International Table Tennis Federation rankings. -- Photo: Xinhua
BEIJING (Agencies/SCMP): Olympic champions Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng stunned Chinese table tennis fans by announcing that they were withdrawing from the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings on Friday, barely five months after winning Olympic gold.
Fan and Chen, who at the Paris Games won gold in the men’s and women’s singles respectively as well as in team events, said the decision to step away was because of rules that fines would be imposed on players who did not take part in international tournaments.
Fan, 27, made the announcement on his Weibo page at 11am but reiterated it did not mean retirement and that he would still compete at the National Games in November despite sharing a letter to the sport’s governing body that said “retirement notification”.
"I am still me, I won't retire, I will continue to work hard to participate in more different competitions," added the three-time Olympic gold medallist, who took the singles title in Paris this year.
Fan Zhendong announcing his withdrawal from ITTF world rankings on his Weibo account. -- Photo: Weibo/樊振东
Fan did not compete in the recent WTT Finals held in Japan in November and has not played in WTT competitions since June.
Chen, 30, shared the same letter bearing her name three hours later.
“I had already anticipated that Paris might be my last Olympics, and I would go all out to fight for my country,” Fan said.
“After successfully completing the Olympic mission, due to the huge psychological effect of the Paris cycle, I had not yet made specific plans for my future career except for the next National Games.
Chen, Olympic women's singles champion in Tokyo and Paris, said she would also pull out of the world circuit.
"Because my body is unable to withstand high-intensity competition, out of respect for the international organisation, I signed the form on Monday and made the choice to withdraw from the world ranking," she said on Weibo.
As defined in the ITTF Statutes, the ITTF-sanctioned events include the events sanctioned by WTT.
Chen Meng is Olympic women's singles champion in Tokyo and Paris. - Photo: Olympics.com
Fan, the reigning men's singles champion of the Paris Olympics, also had shared the news earlier this morning. He stated that he is unable to comply with WTT's new regulation, which imposes fines on players for not participating in events, reports Xinhua.
However, he emphasised that this decision does not signal his retirement from the sport. Instead, Fan plans to continue competing in various tournaments and contributing 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, announced her withdrawal from the world rankings in the afternoon.
Chen noted that WTT's new regulation regarding fines for withdrawing from competitions posed a tough choice for her, with her ongoing physical challenges that make it impossible for her to compete in every high-intensity tournament.
Both Fan and Chen delivered excellent performances at the Paris Olympics, winning gold medals in both singles and team events, but neither has participated in any international competitions since their Olympic triumph.
The ITTF rankings, which are updated dynamically, rely on players' performances across a rolling schedule of sanctioned events.
