For current well-known athletes, world ranking is the passport to world championships and also a guarantee of commercial value! Therefore, world ranking is very important for athletes. Once they lose their world ranking, their commercial value will normally shrink. However, for Olympic champion Fan Zhendong, withdrawing from the world ranking has instead increased his commercial value. This has also attracted heated discussions and attention from fans and media.
We all know that recently, China's three major Olympic champions Fan Zhendong, Chen Meng, and Ma Long have successively withdrawn from the world ranking. The main reason is that they cannot accept the new rule of being fined if they do not participate in competitions. The actions of these three Olympic champions have also caused turmoil in the world table tennis arena. However, Fan Zhendong's behavior has been supported by fans. There are two main reasons for this. First, fans believe that athletes are too hardworking. We all know that table tennis events nowadays have dense schedules, leaving many professional athletes with little time to rest and adjust. Athletes are human beings, not machines. Moreover, even machines can break down one day. Second, the ratio of athletes' efforts to returns is not proportional. According to media reports, in current WTT events, athletes must reach the quarter-finals to ensure that they do not lose money by participating. Nowadays, competitions are global. Athletes need to travel around the world. Travel and accommodation expenses are considerable. Athletes also need to support their families. And according to WTT rules, if an athlete does not participate, they will be fined. And it's quite a heavy fine.
The thoughts of the fans are almost the same as Fan Zhendong's. After winning the championship at the Paris Olympics, Fan Zhendong achieved his grand slam. Withdrawing from the world ranking is not Fan Zhendong showing off! Instead, he is fighting for more benefits for athletes. Therefore, many famous athletes are also supporting Fan Zhendong. Obviously, Fan Zhendong has become a role model for many players. Perhaps because of this, Fan Zhendong's commercial value has not decreased but increased! Media has exposed Fan Zhendong's eight major backers worldwide.
These eight major backers are MLB Major League Baseball, German travel brand Rimowa, Japanese table tennis brand Butterfly, Redmi mobile phones, Yili milk, sports brand Anta, beverage Heytea, and Cadillac. MLB Major League Baseball and Cadillac are Fan Zhendong's latest new endorsements. It can be seen that withdrawing from the world ranking has not reduced Fan Zhendong's commercial value.
Of course, like Yili milk, sports brand Anta, beverage Heytea, and Redmi mobile phones, these four are Chinese enterprises. After Fan Zhendong withdrew from the world ranking, these four companies did not abandon Fan Zhendong, and therefore received praise from fans.
Congratulations to Fan Zhendong! Looking forward to the next stage, Fan Zhendong can continue to create his own glory! Go for it!