After Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, and Chen Meng announced their withdrawal from the world rankings, Chairman Liu Guoliang was asked in an interview with CCTV: Can we still see these three players compete for the country in future international competitions? Liu Guoliang clearly stated: Of course, based on their achievements and contributions, I believe they can participate in any major competition with a wild card. However, less than two weeks after Liu Guoliang's statement, he was proven wrong. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) did not give any face, although it was not explicitly stated, but Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, and Chen Meng are likely to miss the 2025 Doha World Championships.
As is well known, after Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, and Chen Meng announced their withdrawal from the world rankings, they were unable to participate in WTT World Table Tennis Federation competitions. However, events such as the Olympics, World Championships, and World Cup differ from commercial competitions, as each association can arrange participating players according to its own circumstances, and there are also wild card spots available. It was precisely because of this that when Chairman Liu Guoliang stated in an interview that Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, and Chen Meng could participate with a wild card, many fans believed it to be true, thinking that Chairman Liu Guoliang would really arrange for the three to represent the national team in the competition. The imagination is beautiful, but the reality is bony, and the actual situation is completely different from what Chairman Liu Guoliang said.
Recently, the ITTF announced the latest news about the Doha World Table Tennis Championships on its official website. The 2025 Doha World Championships include 128 men's and women's singles positions and 64 pairs of men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles positions, with no wild card players participating! Without a wild card at the Doha World Championships, Chairman Liu Guoliang's promise to the three becomes impossible to fulfill, and the promise of Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, and Chen Meng to participate in the competition with a wild card becomes an empty check. As for whether the three can represent the national team in the World Cup and the Olympics, it may or may not happen. However, judging from the current situation, Ma Long and Chen Meng are unlikely to have much chance.
Ma Long and Chen Meng are already at the end of their careers, and even if they did not announce their withdrawal from the world rankings, it would be difficult for them to obtain entry qualifications for competitions of this level! However, even so, Ma Long and Chen Meng have little to regret. Ma Long has participated in three Olympic Games and won a total of six Olympic gold medals, becoming the athlete with the most gold medals in the history of the national table tennis team, and Ma Long is also the only double Grand Slam winner in the national table tennis team.
As for Chen Meng, although she did not achieve a Grand Slam during her career, she also won two singles gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics and Paris Olympics! Looking at the history of Chinese table tennis, only Chen Meng has won the women's singles championship at two consecutive Olympic Games. Unlike Ma Long and Chen Meng, Fan Zhendong is currently at the peak of his career, and considering the unpredictable situation of the men's national table tennis team, Fan Zhendong still has the possibility to continue representing the national team in competitions.