25-04-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Fan Zhendong expected back in action soon, after naming of ‘mentor' Wang Liqin as CTTA head
The election of Wang Liqin as president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) means Olympic champion Fan Zhendong's return to the national team could be just a matter of time, sport insiders believe.
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Fan has not played since winning singles and team gold in Paris last year, and withdrew from the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) world rankings in late December.
But the appointment of Wang, who is said to be a mentor-like figure to Fan, is expected to bring the 28-year-old back to the table after the two struck up a relationship in 2022.
Having played twice for the People's Liberation Army Bayi team at the National Games in 2013 and 2017, Fan switched to play for Guangdong in 2021 after the Bayi team was disbanded.
In 2022, mainland Chinese media reported that Fan had struck a deal to represent Shanghai, and Wang was said to have played a crucial role in the move.
Former player Wang Liqin was elected chairman of the CTTA on Wednesday. Photo: IC photo
Wang revealed then that he reached out to Fan as soon as the Bayi team was disbanded in late 2020, and both parties reached an agreement about the switch.
