In December 2024, China's sports circle experienced significant changes. The former director of the General Administration of Sport was investigated and removed from his position, and the former head coach of the men's football team, Li Tie, was sentenced to prison. Additionally, there were recent rumors that the current chairman of the Table Tennis Association, Liu Guoliang, might also face dismissal.
These rumors about Liu Guoliang's potential dismissal quickly attracted attention in the sports circle. The source of these rumors can be traced back to December 24th when well-known sports media personality He Xiaolong made a statement on social media.
He Xiaolong is a well-known figure in the sports world, and his comments have always been controversial and influential. This time, he directly named Liu Guoliang, suggesting that Liu had already been dismissed and was also a promoter of fan culture.
He Xiaolong believes that Liu Guoliang has promoted the commercialization and marketing of national table tennis athletes, often participating in entertainment activities to increase fan engagement and create fan groups, which differs from the original intentions of sportspeople.
Moreover, Liu Guoliang failed to control the pace and did not properly guide or manage the created fan groups, leading them towards the development of "fan culture."
Under uncontrolled development, these fan groups transformed national heroes like Sun Yingsha, Wang Chuqin, and Fan Zhendong into traffic stars, triggering numerous online battles among fans.
Perhaps He Xiaolong's remarks resonated with some fans, as they quickly sparked extensive discussions and attention among netizens after being posted. Many netizens followed suit, questioning the national table tennis team and Liu Guoliang.
Looking back at this year's Paris Olympics, it was an incredibly exciting competition where the national table tennis team achieved remarkable results by winning all gold medals. However, many netizens expressed dissatisfaction with the gold medal winners, suspecting foul play.
Regarding athlete Wang Chuqin, after Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin won China's first mixed doubles gold medal, everyone was still celebrating when an unexpected incident occurred with Wang Chuqin's racket.
Wang Chuqin's racket was stepped on and broken inside the venue, abruptly awakening him from his joy. Faced with such an unexpected situation, Wang Chuqin struggled to control his emotions.
The next day, Wang Chuqin was scheduled to compete in the men's singles event. With his main racket broken, it inevitably affected his psychological state and emotions.
In the following men's singles match, the news of Wang Chuqin's elimination in the round of 32 caused an outcry, leaving only teammate Fan Zhendong to defend the entire region in the men's singles competition.
Wang Chuqin's loss in the competition was undoubtedly a disappointment to many fans. Unexpectedly, the group expressing regret for Wang Chuqin was far smaller than those criticizing him.
A flood of sarcastic comments about Wang Chuqin appeared online, and people only knew him as the player who stopped at the round of 32 in the men's singles, rather than the one who won the mixed doubles gold medal for the country.
Besides Wang Chuqin, the women's singles final between Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha also drew considerable dissatisfaction from netizens. Before the Olympics, many netizens had compiled statistics on Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha's matches and external competitions.
Through investigation, we found that Sun Yingsha had an absolute advantage over Chen Meng in terms of performance, and she was in her prime, just one Olympic gold medal away from achieving a grand slam.
Therefore, this women's singles match was crucial for both Sun Yingsha and her fans. However, during the women's singles final at the Paris Olympics, some fans noticed that Chen Meng's playing style seemed to restrain Sun Yingsha.
Sun Yingsha lost points repeatedly in the same pattern, which had never happened before in previous competitions. Under Chen Meng's aggressive play, Sun Yingsha unfortunately won silver.
This women's singles match led viewers to question the fairness, as they felt it was one-sided suppression rather than a match between two top table tennis players. Given Sun Yingsha's abilities, even if she lost, it wouldn't have been so unsightly.
After the women's singles match, Ni Xiaolian shared her past experience of making concessions for the country, further fueling suspicions of foul play among netizens.
For a time, athlete Chen Meng, her head coach Ma Lin, and the current head coach of the national table tennis team, Liu Guoliang, were subjected to criticism, causing the image of the national table tennis team to decline in the eyes of netizens.
Later, during the Asian Championships, China's performance of only securing two gold medals garnered widespread attention. Many fans even chanted "Ma Lin should step down" at the women's team event.
From the end of the Paris Olympics to the Asian Championships, the cheers and actions of the fans were maliciously manipulated and exaggerated as "fan culture."
However, for the fans, they didn't think there was anything wrong with supporting their favorite sports stars. They spent money traveling to various competitions and buying tickets to watch, so why couldn't they cheer or express their opinions?
This left them puzzled. In fact, regarding the fans' thoughts, the national table tennis team should make corresponding improvements, such as the high ticket prices for table tennis matches, where even ordinary seats cost six or seven hundred yuan each.
Compared to badminton, the price difference is like heaven and earth, making it difficult for the public to accept spending such a high price without being able to cheer for their favorite athletes.
As a result, fans had long harbored dissatisfaction with the national table tennis team, and after He Xiaolong's remarks, they followed the trend, believing that Liu Guoliang had indeed been dismissed.
However, this time Liu Guoliang did not avoid the issue but chose to address the rumors head-on, revealing significant upcoming moves for the national table tennis team.
Liu Guoliang clearly stated that he is still leading the national table tennis team and that there will be changes in the new Olympic cycle.
Firstly, there will be adjustments in the configuration between coaches and athletes. Secondly, the national table tennis team will provide more opportunities for young players to compete, allowing them to grow gradually in matches, familiarize themselves with playing styles, and continuously improve themselves.
Young players need to continuously enhance their skills, while experienced players must help lead the younger ones while steadily strengthening their own abilities.
They will continue to improve and fully prepare for new challenges, ensuring they are in optimal condition for future competitions.
Everyone is looking forward to the national table tennis team's next moves, and we sincerely hope that every fan can remain rational and pursue stars rationally.
Keep a distance from their personal lives but get closer to their competitions. Working together to face the new cycle is the greatest support for the national table tennis team and the athletes.