Fan Zhendong announced that he would withdraw from the world rankings and would not retire for the time being, and would participate in the National Games

On December 27, Fan Zhendong, the men's singles champion of the Paris Olympics and a table tennis "Grand Slam" winner under the age of 28, announced on his personal Weibo that he would withdraw from the world rankings, but would not retire for the time being.

(Photo source: Fan Zhendong's Weibo)

In the latest issue of the world rankings released on the 24th of this month, Fan Zhendong's men's singles world ranking has dropped to sixth place due to his failure to participate in international competitions since the Olympics.

Fan Zhendong said: "After successfully completing the Olympic mission, due to the huge psychological drain left behind by the Paris cycle, I have not yet launched specific plans for my future career except for the confirmation of participating in the next National Games. Recently, the WTT issued a new rule imposing fines for not participating in the competition. Individuals are really unable to bear it but still respect international organizations, so they can only choose to withdraw from the world rankings. In accordance with the requirements of the International Table Tennis Federation and China Table Tennis Association, the report has been submitted this week." At the same time, he also posted the application submitted on Weibo.

In addition, Fan Zhendong also wrote that in May this year,"I already expected that Paris might be my last Olympic Games." At the same time, he also said that he would not retire,"I am still me, will not retire, and will continue to work hard to participate in more different venues. I won't stay away from table tennis, let alone leave sports." After the Paris Olympics, Fan Zhendong participated in the national championships and the Table Tennis Super League, and showed a good competitive state.

Just the day before, on the evening of the 26th, WTT had just announced some of the entries for the first high-level event in the new year-the Singapore Grand Slam. Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, who ranked first in the world in singles, were both included. The competition will be held from January 30 to February 9, 2025. The main players of national table tennis do not need to participate in the qualifying round and will make their appearances in the main round starting on February 2.

According to the relevant regulations of the WTT (World Table Tennis Professional League), its events have mandatory regulations for high-ranking players to participate in the competition, and corresponding penalties will be imposed for failure to participate for no reason. This measure is similar to the more professional tennis and badminton events. At the World Badminton Federation World Tour Finals held in Hangzhou earlier this month, two-time Olympic champion Anseron had a "big argument" with the World Badminton Federation over withdrawing from the competition. The latter strongly demanded Anseron provide an injury certificate. The hot-tempered Danish star directly said publicly: "Send me the ticket!"