[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]The 2017 China Open just finished with the big story being the top 3 highest world-ranked players from China, Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, and Xu Xin, all withdrawing from the tournament as a protest.
The #4 player, Zhang Jike, voted China’s most popular athlete out of all sports last year, withdrew after playing one game. The public reason given was a hip injury but perhaps that was a protest too. They are apparently unhappy or upset and doing the protest because their long-time men’s team head coach Liu Guoliang was no longer in his position. The public statement states that he was apparently “promoted” to a vice president position but sources say he was actually dismissed.
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Pictured with long-time Chinese men’s head coach Liu Guoliang (in blue) and Chinese women’s team head coach Kong Linghui (in white) in the 1990s. Kong became World Men’s Singles Champion in 1995 and Olympic Men’s Singles Champion in 2000. Liu became Olympic Men’s Singles Champion in 1996 and World Men’s Singles Champion in 1999. They have been long-time Chinese national team head coaches since retiring from playing but now are no longer.The long-time women’s team head coach, Kong Linghui, was suspended in the middle of the recent World Championships in Germany and sent home to China due to gambling charges. One source indicates that he has been proven innocent of those charges since. However, now both Kong Linghui and Liu Guoliang are no longer head coaches for China which is the position they held for a long time. The Chinese Association says they are reforming the Chinese system with a team of coaches and no head coach. Why would they want to reform something proven so successful and why are Kong Linghui and Liu Guoliang no longer even part of the Chinese coaching team when their players have excelled so greatly?
According to sources, all the protesting players have had their social media accounts deleted, phones shut off, and apparently have been told to not talk to the media. Through the Chinese Association, the players have apologized through a written statement but my guess is they were forced to apologize and those words did not come from them. The ITTF also issued a statement condemning the actions but I think the ITTF does what is best for their officials and not the players. If the ITTF doesn’t check with the players when they make rule changes, who are they making the rule changes for?
In China, the government controls everything and I’ve heard scary stories of what happens to people who go against the government even if the government is not correct. However, this situation is far different than normal as these are sporting heroes in China where table-tennis is the national sport. They have won many World and Olympic Championships for their country and now they are going against the government.
Olympic and World Champion legends Wang Nan and Zhang Yining, two of the most decorated women’s players of all-time, sounded regretful of their careers. After they retired, Wang Nan said she wouldn’t let her kids play table-tennis for China and Zhang Yining said she wishes she were an engineer. You have to work so hard your whole lives to be table-tennis player in China and especially when you get on the Chinese national team. I’m not sure if Chinese table-tennis players get to enjoy their lives like top athletes in the US, Europe, and elsewhere. There is lots of pressure, coaches are super-strict, and younger players are looking to grab your spots. There is one US coach who I heard wanted to retire from the Chinese national team but she wasn’t allowed to. She then started faking injuries that didn’t “allow” her to play so they finally let her retire. If the players with Olympic and World gold medals sound regretful, what about the millions of table-tennis players in China who have dedicated their whole lives to the sport with no important matches but just training all day? I think the Chinese table-tennis system doesn’t work for the welfare of humans.
These current Chinese athletes are protesting in the primes of their careers against the government reform. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. My guess is the players won’t be allowed to express their views publicly and ITTF will probably issue a suspension for the players as the players withdrew from the premier event in China for the year. This hurts the ITTF’s viewership and sponsors and so, less money for the ITTF. I don’t know all the details but I doubt the full truth will ever come out. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
