The International Table Tennis Federation has issued three statements, indicating that Liu Guoliang is considering recalling Fan Zhendong, Chen Meng, and Ma Long in hopes of their return to international competition to once again contend for world championships.
Discussing the recent stance of the International Table Tennis Federation, it is clear that there is an intention to recall the three major champions of the national table tennis team. This includes super Grand Slam player Fan Zhendong, world-class athlete Ma Long, and Chen Meng, who has won two Olympic singles titles.
The decision of three national table tennis players to withdraw from the world rankings has indeed been controversial. Now, the International Table Tennis Federation has posted articles for three consecutive days, not only praising the three players but also affirming their contributions to table tennis.
In upcoming competitions, Liu Guoliang has made an important decision: he wants to retain Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, and Chen Meng, especially Fan Zhendong, who is only 27 years old. Logically speaking, he should have no problem participating in another Olympic Games.
If Fan Zhendong teams up with Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong, it is highly likely that the national team will be able to secure gold medals in the next Olympics. However, Wang Chuqin's state is still relatively unstable, and as a 19-year-old young mainstay, Lin Shidong still has a long way to go.
Therefore, once Fan Zhendong returns to the men's team, it will provide greater assistance for future matches. Although Fan Zhendong has indeed made up his mind to retire, Liu Guoliang continues to try to retain him, which shows how much the national team needs Fan Zhendong.
At the same time, the rule updates made by WTT have indeed caused some controversy. After all, for top-ranked players, they must accept fines and be assigned zero points if they withdraw from a match, which is a great pressure on any player.
Therefore, on one hand, we hope that WTT can open a green channel for Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, and Chen Meng. On the other hand, we also hope that Liu Guoliang's call will have an effect, allowing our Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, and Chen Meng to return successively. This way, the national team will play more steadily and help the team win championships.
For the three world champions of the national team, they can also bring out the younger generation of players and cultivate excellent young mainstays to take over. They can choose to retire after the young players have become stable enough and are able to win championships successively.
I wonder if everyone agrees with Liu Guoliang's arrangements, and whether the national team will continue to sweep the gold medals in future major competitions? Welcome to share your opinions.