BEIJING – Renowned Chinese table tennis stars Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng announced their withdrawal from the world rankings on Dec 27, citing new regulations imposed by World Table Tennis (WTT).According to their announcements on social media, both of them have formally signed a notification declaring their “retirement from all ITTF-sanctioned events” on Dec 23.As defined in the ITTF statutes, the ITTF-sanctioned events include the events sanctioned by WTT.Fan, the reigning men’s singles champion from the Paris Olympics, shared the news on the morning of Dec 27. He stated that he is unable to comply with WTT’s new regulation, which imposes fines on players for not participating in events and that he could not “afford” to pay them.However, he emphasised that this decision does not signal his retirement from the sport. Instead, he plans to continue competing in various tournaments and contributing to the table tennis community.“I am still me, I won’t retire, I will continue to work hard to participate in more different competitions,” added the three-time Olympic gold medallist.Fan did not compete in the recent WTT Finals held in Japan in November and has not played in WTT competitions since June.Chen, who successfully defended her Olympic title against world No. 1 Sun Yingsha in the women’s singles final in Paris, announced her withdrawal from the world rankings in the afternoon.She noted that WTT’s new regulation regarding fines for withdrawing from competitions posed a tough choice for her, with her ongoing physical challenges that make it impossible for her to compete in every high-intensity tournament.“Because my body is unable to withstand high-intensity competition, out of respect for the international organisation, I signed the form on Monday and made the choice to withdraw from the world ranking,” she said on Weibo.Both Fan and Chen delivered excellent performances at the Paris Games, winning gold medals in both singles and team events, but neither has participated in any international competitions since their Olympic triumph.The ITTF rankings, which are updated dynamically, rely on players’ performances across a rolling schedule of sanctioned events. The incident is similar to that in badminton of late.Two-time Olympic and world champion Viktor Axelsen lashed out at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on social media on Dec 4, noting that he was “tired of the disconnect between players and BWF”.The Danish world No. 3 had pulled out of the Dec 11-15 BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China due to a left foot injury and took issue with the world governing body’s response to his withdrawal.The defending champion shared on X that BWF had asked for his medical documents in order to waive the US$5,000 penalty for not competing in the US$2.5 million tournament. XINHUA, AFPMore on this TopicJoin ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.Thanks for sharing!

Chinese table tennis stars Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng quit world rankings

According to their announcements on social media, both of them have formally signed a notification declaring their “retirement from all ITTF-sanctioned events” on Dec 23.He stated that he is unable to comply with WTT’s new regulation, which imposes fines on players for not participating in events and that he could not “afford” to pay them.Both […]

According to their announcements on social media, both of them have formally signed a notification declaring their “retirement from all ITTF-sanctioned events” on Dec 23.He stated that he is unable to comply with WTT’s new regulation, which imposes fines on players for not participating in events and that he could not “afford” to pay them.Both Fan and Chen delivered excellent performances at the Paris Games, winning gold medals in both singles and team events, but neither has participated in any international competitions since their Olympic triumph.Join ST’s Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.More on this Topic“Because my body is unable to withstand high-intensity competition, out of respect for the international organisation, I signed the form on Monday and made the choice to withdraw from the world ranking,” she said on Weibo.“I am still me, I won’t retire, I will continue to work hard to participate in more different competitions,” added the three-time Olympic gold medallist.The Danish world No. 3 had pulled out of the Dec 11-15 BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China due to a left foot injury and took issue with the world governing body’s response to his withdrawal.The ITTF rankings, which are updated dynamically, rely on players’ performances across a rolling schedule of sanctioned events. Chen, who successfully defended her Olympic title against world No. 1 Sun Yingsha in the women’s singles final in Paris, announced her withdrawal from the world rankings in the afternoon.Fan did not compete in the recent WTT Finals held in Japan in November and has not played in WTT competitions since June.Two-time Olympic and world champion Viktor Axelsen lashed out at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on social media on Dec 4, noting that he was “tired of the disconnect between players and BWF”.BEIJING – Renowned Chinese table tennis stars Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng announced their withdrawal from the world rankings on Dec 27, citing new regulations imposed by World Table Tennis (WTT).She noted that WTT’s new regulation regarding fines for withdrawing from competitions posed a tough choice for her, with her ongoing physical challenges that make it impossible for her to compete in every high-intensity tournament.The defending champion shared on X that BWF had asked for his medical documents in order to waive the US,000 penalty for not competing in the US.5 million tournament. XINHUA, AFPAs defined in the ITTF statutes, the ITTF-sanctioned events include the events sanctioned by WTT.However, he emphasised that this decision does not signal his retirement from the sport. Instead, he plans to continue competing in various tournaments and contributing to the table tennis community.

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