Liu Guoliang's Embarrassment: Doha World Table Tennis Championships Announce Participation Rules, Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng Denied Entry
Do you still remember the promise Liu Guoliang made to the public after Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng officially announced their withdrawal from the world rankings and WTT events? At that time, facing public pressure, Liu Guoliang claimed that as the chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, he would spare no effort to support athletes in defending their rights. He fully understood and respected the decisions of Fan Zhendong, Chen Meng, and Ma Long. He also believed that some rules of the WTT were questionable. Most importantly, when CCTV reporter Li Wujun asked, "Can we still see them compete for the country on the international stage in the future?" Liu Guoliang clearly stated, "Of course! With their achievements and contributions, I believe they can participate in any major event with a wild card."
This statement was interpreted by the public as a commitment from Liu Guoliang to Fan Zhendong, Chen Meng, and Ma Long: as long as you are willing, you can participate in any international event with a wild card. However, surprisingly, less than a week after his statement, the Doha World Table Tennis Championships announced the participation rules and the number of players, leaving Liu Guoliang embarrassed.
The 58th World Table Tennis Championships will be held in Doha, Qatar from May 17 to 25, 2025. The International Table Tennis Federation recently updated the latest news on its official website and grandly launched promotional photos featuring representatives from the five continents for the Doha World Table Tennis Championships, with Wang Chuqin appearing in the C position as the representative of Asian players.
The article clearly states that the 2025 Doha World Table Tennis Championships include 128 singles slots for men and women, as well as 64 doubles slots for men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles, with no wild card players participating. In other words, the commitment made by Liu Guoliang, the chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, that "as long as they are willing, they can participate in international events with a wild card" has been broken. We will not be able to see Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng at the 2025 Doha World Table Tennis Championships for the time being. Ma Long, who explicitly stated after the 2024 China Grand Slam that he would not appear on the international stage in the future, is also expected to miss the Doha World Table Tennis Championships.
Speaking of the most regrettable person, it is definitely not Fan Zhendong but Chen Meng. Chen Meng turned 31 on January 15. So far, she is only one World Table Tennis Championship women's singles title away from achieving the Grand Slam. However, this failure to participate in the World Table Tennis Championships with a wild card will undoubtedly have a significant impact on her table tennis achievements and her status in the table tennis world. If Chen Meng wants to win the women's singles title at the 2027 World Table Tennis Championships, it will be extremely difficult! Therefore, it is highly likely that Chen Meng's career will fail to achieve the Grand Slam dream.
As for Fan Zhendong, in terms of personal achievements, it really doesn't matter anymore. So far, Fan Zhendong is the first super Grand Slam winner in the history of world table tennis. He is the first male player to win singles championships in the Olympics, World Table Tennis Championships, World Cup, World Military Games, WTT Grand Slam, Asian Games, Asian Championships, Asian Cup, ITTF Tour Finals, National Games, National Championships, WTT Finals, and WTT Champions. Therefore, for Fan Zhendong, love for table tennis is now the only reason he is reluctant to leave the court.
Finally, another thing to mention is that in the meeting where representatives of the International Table Tennis Federation met with executives of the Qatar Table Tennis Association to discuss important matters regarding the Doha World Table Tennis Championships, Liu Guoliang, the first vice-chairman of the International Table Tennis Federation, did not show up. Notable media personality He Xiaolong claimed on January 9 that "After the Paris Olympics, the furthest place Liu Guoliang went to was Macau (September 2024). Starting from the Asian Championships in Kazakhstan in October 2024, including the WTT Fukuoka Finals in November and the 53rd anniversary of China-US Ping Pong Diplomacy in December, he did not attend!" This statement has been interpreted by netizens as a suspected restriction on leaving the country. What do you think about this?