Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng announced their withdrawal from the world rankings two weeks ago, and related topics are still fermenting! At first, many athletes did not speak out due to various reasons. Although several CCTV channels successively broadcast Fan Zhendong's highlights to support him, no one explicitly named Liu Guoliang, who was at the center of the storm.
It wasn't until recently that Look News and sports industry bigwig Yang Yi directly pointed out the key issues, once again pushing Liu Guoliang into the limelight.
The host of Look News pointed out incisively the objectivity of WTT's self-examination, the depth of the investigation, as well as financial report issues and shareholding issues.
The host asked, "In 2022, relevant information showed that ITTF's shareholding in WTT dropped from 100% to 85%. Where did the remaining 15% go? Why hasn't the 2023 financial report been published yet?"
The host gave a sharp suggestion to WTT, claiming that this organization should consider what it can do for the athletes, rather than sending blessings every day on time.
As the deputy editor of "Sports Weekly," Yang Yi dares to speak up and is probably the boldest figure in the sports circle right now.
Yang Yi stated that WTT currently has the following major problems:
Firstly, it is very unreasonable to deduct points from the mother association ITTF if an athlete does not participate in WTT commercial events, affecting the athlete's world ranking.
Secondly, fines are even more unreasonable, which will affect athletes from various countries participating in their own national competitions, after all, their energy is limited.
Yang Yi said that for such unreasonable rules of WTT, China Table Tennis Association and World Table Tennis Federation should have opposed them, but both not only did not oppose, but also expressed support.
Yang Yi believes that the reason for such a situation is that someone has too much power, holding a pivotal position in the three associations, and everything is decided by him, ultimately leading to a situation where he can cover the sky with one hand and breed evil laws.
If an athlete does not listen to this person, they will be fined, lose points, or even be unable to participate in international competitions.
Yang Yi directly revealed that these three associations are one, which is also a topic that netizens have been discussing and questioning. However, no one dared to say it so affirmatively and clearly before.
Yang Yi's remarks hit the nail on the head for netizens. Many viewers expressed regret over Fan Zhendong's decision to withdraw from the world rankings. If he had endured a little longer and waited another four years to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics and win another singles Olympic gold medal, he could have achieved a double grand slam and caught up with Ma Long's achievements.
At that time, Fan Zhendong would only be 31 years old. If he could achieve it smoothly, he would be five years ahead of Ma Long in achieving a double grand slam, making it even more precious.
However, Fan Zhendong made a decision that surprised everyone. Although it was regrettable, everyone chose to support him, thinking that he was brave, daring to rebel, and very remarkable.
As these things were exposed, some netizens hoped that the relevant organizations would make changes under public pressure and restore Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng's points and world rankings.
This wish was good at the time, but many netizens held a pessimistic attitude. After all, words spoken are like water spilled, hard to take back, let alone decisions made by such influential international organizations.
At 9:30 am on January 7th, WTT announced the new world rankings on time. Previously, they were always announced at this time, but only during the second stage of the just-concluded Super League, they delayed the announcement time, choosing to announce it just a few hours before Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin's match.
WTT has thus once again sparked dissatisfaction and doubts.
What do you think about this? Welcome to leave your comments and discuss!