Recently, famous reporter He Xiaolong made a bold statement on social media claiming that Liu Guoliang, chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, has been fired. In conjunction with He Xiaolong's posts on social media, fan culture may have become the catalyst for this situation. The news quickly sparked heated discussions and attention from fans and the media.
We all know that Liu Guoliang is an absolute hero of the Chinese table tennis team. As a player, he helped the Chinese table tennis team win their first men's singles gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He also became the first grand slam winner for the Chinese table tennis team. After retiring and becoming a coach, Liu Guoliang also achieved remarkable success. Players like Ma Long, Zhang Jike, Li Xiaoxia, and Ding Ning all achieved great results under his guidance! Even after becoming the chairman of the Table Tennis Association, Chen Meng and Fan Zhendong, among others, have also received guidance from Liu Guoliang. Honestly, in terms of achievements and contributions, Liu Guoliang has already accumulated numerous honors! So why does the famous reporter He Xiaolong say that Liu Guoliang has been fired? Don't worry, please continue reading!
We all know that over the past six months, fan culture within the Chinese table tennis team has become increasingly severe! Before the Olympics, the competition for the women's singles qualification between Chen Meng and Wang Manyu ended with Chen Meng winning at the last moment. However, throughout the Paris Olympic cycle, Chen Meng's performance was not as good as Wang Manyu's. Therefore, some fans felt aggrieved for Wang Manyu. They displayed banners in support of Wang Manyu during matches. Some fans even went to the sports bureau gate to hang banners in protest for Wang Manyu. There were even fans who advertised in New York's Times Square to call for justice for Wang Manyu. Honestly, the actions of the fans were a bit excessive! And during the Olympics, when Chen Meng won the women's singles title by reversing against Sun Yingsha, she did not receive congratulations from the fans but instead faced rumors spread by some fans, which is truly speechless. Is Chen Meng not Chinese?
In addition, during the recent China Table Tennis Super League, fans surrounded Fan Zhendong at the hotel where the players were staying, and there were also fans attacking and insulting Ma Long and Sun Yingsha online. Such incidents frequently occur, yet as the chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, Liu Guoliang did not take any specific measures to stop or deal with the situation. After the mixed team world cup in Chengdu, Liu Guoliang seemed to disappear! As the head of Chinese table tennis, with fan culture becoming so serious, Liu Guoliang did nothing, and in He Xiaolong's view, Liu Guoliang should have already been fired!
If Liu Guoliang is fired, will the national table tennis team boycott again this time? In 2017, when Liu Guoliang was removed from his position as the head coach of the national table tennis team, Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, and Xu Xin withdrew from the ongoing Chengdu Open, openly boycotting the event. Later, Liu Guoliang became the vice-chairman of the Table Tennis Association, and Ma Long and Fan Zhendong apologized on social media. Will a similar scene be repeated? Let's wait and see! What do you think about this?