Recently, Fan Zhendong, the men's singles champion and Grand Slam winner of the Paris Olympics, was asked whether he would participate in the next Olympics during an event. He expressed that he indeed needs to think about it carefully.
When discussing his future plans, Fan Zhendong believes:
Honestly, this Olympics (referring to the 2024 Paris Games) left me exhausted and fatigued. In the end, I achieved such results (men's team gold + men's singles gold), which I feel is quite lucky. In 2024, I felt like I participated in a bustling Olympics in Paris, where I experienced the charm of the Olympics, gained everyone's support, and understood the meaning of fighting for the country.
Now, with these matters coming to a close, I need to better reflect and settle down. This includes thinking about how I can become better and what I can bring to Chinese sports or society, moving in this direction. This is roughly my plan for the future.
It can be seen from this dialogue that Fan Zhendong has not given a clear answer as to whether he will participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but there seems to be a tendency that he probably will not participate.
Firstly, Fan Zhendong has already won the Olympic singles gold medal and even the Grand Slam, only one singles gold medal away from a double Grand Slam. Therefore, he has already established himself in terms of honor, leaving little room for further improvement.
Secondly, given the tense situation with the International Table Tennis Federation, World Table Tennis Federation, and the Table Tennis Association, if the conflicts cannot be resolved well, it will be difficult for him to enter the national table tennis team's participant list. Of course, when preparing to withdraw from the world rankings, Fan Zhendong must have considered this matter, and it will not affect his decision.
From his remarks, it can be seen that although Fan Zhendong does not have a strong desire to continue participating in the Olympics in the future, his love for sports remains unchanged. He hopes that through his influence, more people will fall in love with sports and become better versions of themselves. Compared to becoming an Olympic champion, this is clearly a better pursuit!