After the Paris Olympics, three main players of the national table tennis team, Fan Zhendong, Chen Meng, and Ma Long, gradually withdrew from the competition field. Ma Long only participated in the Beijing Grand Slam, while Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng have not been in any competitions!
Initially, fans thought that they were too tired from playing too many games and wanted to rest for a while to recuperate. However, this rest turned out to be half a year, and there was no intention to return to the competition. Recently, Fan Zhendong dropped a bombshell by announcing his withdrawal from the world rankings.
Fan Zhendong's absence from competitions made the International Table Tennis Federation very unhappy, as they intended to penalize him. According to the world ranking system, if Fan Zhendong did not participate, he would face a fine. Faced with the ITTF's difficulties, Fan Zhendong had no choice but to announce his withdrawal from the world rankings. This way, the ITTF could no longer find a reason to penalize Fan Zhendong.
Following Fan Zhendong, Chen Meng also announced her withdrawal from the world rankings, which greatly surprised the fans. After winning the Paris Olympics championship, Fan Zhendong achieved his goal of becoming a grand slam champion, but Chen Meng did not. So what is a grand slam in table tennis? A grand slam refers to winning the championships of the three major events: the World Cup, World Table Tennis Championships, and the Olympics.
On November 10, 2010, Chen Meng defeated Sun Yingsha 4-1 in the final of the ITTF World Cup held in Weihai, Shandong, securing her first World Cup title. The following year on July 29, Chen Meng won her first Olympic singles championship by defeating Sun Yingsha 4-2 in the Tokyo Olympics final. Three years later at the Paris Olympics, Chen Meng once again defeated Sun Yingsha in the final, successfully defending her Olympic singles title.
Having already won the World Cup and Olympic titles, Chen Meng was just one World Table Tennis Championships title away from becoming a grand slam champion. However, with her withdrawal from the world rankings, it means she is no longer eligible to participate in the World Table Tennis Championships. Of course, there are other ways to participate in the World Championships, but considering Chen Meng's current situation, it seems she doesn't care much about the World Championships title anymore. Achieving the Olympic singles title defense is already remarkable, leaving a significant mark on her table tennis career!