Recently, the event of Fan Zhendong withdrawing from the world rankings has caused a sensation in the sports world, attracting widespread attention and heated discussions from all sectors.
On the eve of New Year's Day, December 30, 2024, the Chinese Table Tennis Association solemnly issued a statement on its official website, expressing full understanding and respect for the decision of three athletes, Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, and Chen Meng, to withdraw from the world rankings, and that all relevant procedures have been handled in an orderly manner.
It should be noted that this decision means that the scope of events they can participate in will be greatly restricted in the future. They have little hope of participating in various events organized by WTT, and their future choices may be limited to domestic table tennis super leagues or National Games.
Even the opportunity to represent the national team at the Olympics, such a supreme moment of glory, has become very slim.
In response to the withdrawal of the three Olympic champions from the national table tennis team, Liu Guoliang finally made his first response amidst much anticipation and attention. As chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, he is firm and clear in his stance, stating that he fully supports the athletes in defending their rights and protecting their personal interests.
Liu Guoliang also emphasized that if they choose to return to the international arena at some point in the future, the Chinese Table Tennis Association will spare no effort to provide them with comprehensive support and assistance to participate in competitions.
In addition, former national table tennis Olympic champion Zhang Jike has also been closely following the development of this incident. He unleashed his fiery remarks during a live broadcast, speaking sharply about his views. He said, "There are those in the national team who are blindly confident, I won't name names. It's just blind confidence, actually without that strength. Fans, don't be offended, results represent everything. When you're blindly confident, you need to be a little more solid and improve your skills a bit more. If you have the skills but lack confidence, you need to learn from those who are blindly confident. (Blindly confident) People like this find it hard to control their emotions, don't be offended, but this can't be named. I used to be like this too, sometimes blindly confident, but later I realized that blind confidence doesn't work, you need to improve your skills when you don't win, so grasp this degree."
Zhang Jike's comments were like a bombshell, quickly causing a huge stir online. Soon, this comment by Zhang Jike topped the hot search list.
Many netizens participated in the discussion, with some expressing, "The strong are right, you can't be blindly confident," showing agreement and support for Zhang Jike's views. Other netizens praised him as "a person who really speaks with strength."
Zhang Jike's achievements in the field of table tennis are glorious. He is the fastest athlete in table tennis history to achieve a grand slam, using only an astonishing 445 days.
He has had incredibly brilliant moments, leaving a bold mark on the stage of table tennis, and in the past, Zhang Jike's relationship with Fan Zhendong was quite good.
They honed and supported each other in training and competition, contributing to the development of China's table tennis cause together. This good relationship not only reflects the unity and harmony within the Chinese table tennis team but also sets an example for fans and young athletes.