The withdrawal of Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng from the international rankings has caused a stir, ultimately boiling down to an endless game of blame-shifting. Neither the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) nor the World Table Tennis Corporation (WTT) wants to take responsibility, leaving Liu Guoliang caught in the middle with a tough position. This matter appears simple on the surface, but it's actually quite complex. It all boils down to money. Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng were happily participating in competitions until they were suddenly informed that non-participation would result in fines. Who could be happy about that? WTT claims that the rules have been in place for a while, yet Fan Zhendong directly refuted online, stating that no one had ever told them about potential fines. This makes the situation even more intriguing. Determining whether these rules are new or old is unclear at this point, but the athletes are undoubtedly the ones caught in the most uncomfortable position. The ITTF is not backing down either. President Sörling spoke up, expressing surprise at the withdrawal of the two Olympic champions and claiming that they hadn't received an official response from the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA). This statement may sound ordinary, but it's actually putting pressure on the CTTA. After all, the withdrawal of such prominent athletes should warrant an official response from the association. Currently, the athletes want to compete but don't wish to be bound by these rules. However, not following the rules isn't an option, leaving them in a difficult situation. One wonders if the…