Recently, Paris Olympic men's and women's singles champions Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng announced their withdrawal from the world rankings, citing an inability to bear the WTT rule of fining players for non-participation. Subsequently, the WTT World Table Tennis Association denied that this was a new regulation and stated that it always places the interests of the athletes at the core. However, Fan Zhendong refuted this, claiming that he had never been officially informed that withdrawing from a match would result in a fine!
During the days when Fan Zhendong was in conflict with the WTT World Table Tennis Association, CCTV and many authoritative media outlets clearly expressed their support for the athletes' rights protection. Foreign association athletes were also inspired by Fan Zhendong's spirit of fighting to the end regardless of his future, and they all condemned the unfairness of the WTT World Table Tennis Association! Surprisingly, Liu Guoliang, as the head of the WTT World Table Tennis Association, has remained aloof and has not publicly responded so far, which has led to more speculation.
According to Swedish Sports Television, ITTF President Petra Sorlin responded to the Fan Zhendong incident, saying she was caught off guard by the withdrawal of the two Olympic champions but has yet to receive an official response from the Chinese Table Tennis Association. It is worth noting that several days have passed since the application for withdrawal and the public release of the athletes' statements. The table tennis world has become chaotic, and even the ITTF president has been forced to speak out. Why are Liu Guoliang and the Chinese Table Tennis Association still keeping silent? It seems that this matter is very difficult to handle!
For Liu Guoliang, now his direct superior Petra Sorlin has cleared the relationship, meaning that they will at least wait for the Chinese Table Tennis Association's response before taking further action. They must also respect the opinions of the associations where Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng are located. But if Old Liu does not take a stance, then the ITTF will not be the first to step forward to court trouble!
Therefore, even if Liu Guoliang continues to remain silent, he needs to give an official response through the official channels of the Chinese Table Tennis Association to Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng's responses. He cannot continue to remain silent. After all, everyone now knows that the Chinese Table Tennis Association is not taking action! From the WTT World Table Tennis Association's statement being refuted by Fan Zhendong to Petra Sorlin's disavowal of responsibility, Liu Guoliang is in a dilemma both internally and externally. Previously, his image was so healthy and positive, so why did he fall into such a state after the Paris Olympics?
The semi-finals of the Men's Team Table Tennis Super League are about to start. If Fan Zhendong wins the championship again at that time, does Liu Guoliang plan to stay away from the award ceremony?
