Fan remains calm about LA return

China’s Fan Zhendong returns a ball to Sweden’s Truls Moregard during the men’s team table tennis gold medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on August 9.

Fan Zhendong imitates French star footballer Kylian Mbappe’s goal celebration after winning the gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

After winning two gold medals in men’s table tennis at the Paris Olympics, Fan Zhendong is not yet ready to think about the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

“I feel quite tired after the Olympics, so I need a good night’s sleep,” the 27-year-old Chinese paddler said in a recent interview.

“At the moment I am not thinking about the next Olympic Games. As for the future, let’s leave it to time,” he added.

Fan defeated Truls Moregard of Sweden 4-1 to win the men’s title in Paris. He became the 11th player in total to achieve a career ‘Grand Slam’, winning titles at the Olympics, World Championships and World Cup. He won team gold with Ma Long and Wang Chuqin.

But his journey to the top step of the podium was not without its problems. In the quarterfinals, he was 0-2 down to Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, and it would have been costly for Team China if Fan had been eliminated, as top seed Wang Chuqin had already been eliminated in the round of 32.

“That match put me under the most pressure I’ve ever felt at the Olympics. If I had lost, many records, or the former glory of the Chinese team, would have slipped out of my hands,” he recalls.

During a short break, Fan, accompanied by his coach Wang Hao, changed into a clean shirt before returning to the field.

“It helped me adjust my pace. Before the game I told my coach that I had three shirts ready and if I thought the game was going the wrong way we would change one,” Fan reflected. “It might be a small adjustment but I wanted to do it to see if there was a chance to change the game.”

Fan pulled off a stunning comeback win over the full seven games to reach the last four. “Although it was only a quarter-final and I wasn’t sure if I would win the title, at that moment I felt that I had achieved success and that I had won a battle with myself.”

Before his golden glory at the Olympic Games in Paris, Fan fell into a slump. He lost several World Table Tennis Tournaments (WTT) and the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Cup.

“Nothing is impossible until the last point is played. I have finished second in almost every competition in the past, but for me, second place is also a treasure,” Fan said.

Since the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris, Chinese authorities have stepped up their efforts to crack down on the overzealous behavior of “fan circles” in the sport. The Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) recently issued a statement expressing strong support for the authorities’ efforts.

Fan, who has also been influenced by the fan circle culture, agreed with the CTTA, saying, “I hope to be in the spotlight on the field, but I don’t want to be in the spotlight off the field. That should be normal for an athlete. But now you find that some things off the field have been magnified and given an excessive amount of attention, which brings too much pressure and makes you uncomfortable.”

“I’ve been through some things. Sometimes you feel like you can’t lose (for fear of online abuse), but sometimes, if you win, it can be bad too. It will only be detrimental to myself, to table tennis and to the unity of the whole team,” he added.

Online Combating

The Chinese government and sports organizations have condemned fans for using social media to attack the country’s Olympic athletes and spread rumors about them, saying this behavior has an extremely negative impact on athletes, coaches and their families.

The Ministry of Public Security has said it will take stricter action against “illegal and criminal acts of ‘fan circles’ as part of Internet security measures” and urged people “not to spread rumors, nor to attack or slander others.”

Four cases were highlighted where measures had been taken against fan groups for their treatment of athletes taking part in the Paris Olympics, including fans who had ‘insulted and slandered table tennis players and coaches’.

According to CTTA, the “chaos” of the fan groups had disrupted the team’s training and competition.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, there is another case where gymnasts were insulted on social media.

Over the weekend, the Chinese Gymnastics Association reported that athletes, coaches and managers were targeted with rumors and insults, negatively affecting their work, life and family.

The comments came after 20-year-old swimmer Pan Zhanle, who broke the world record in the 100m freestyle, closed his only fan page on social media platform Weibo and told state broadcaster CCTV he preferred to remain in the background.

“One downside of being famous is that there are too many people around me,” he said. “To be honest, I wouldn’t mind if my performances had been less exceptional, if it meant I could train in peace.”

China delivered its best performance at the Summer Olympics since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, equaling the United States for the most gold medals at Paris 2024.

The delegation’s 40 gold medals were an all-time record for Games held outside China. They were achieved despite enormous pressure and stricter controls following a doping scandal involving several swimmers.