36-year-old Ma Long is the world’s best player of all time with six Olympic golds and 14 World Cup golds. As recently as last summer, he was part of the men’s team that defeated Sweden in the final in Paris.
His name was crossed out when the world rankings were released today. For the first time, the Chinese Table Tennis Association CTTA (Chinese Table Tennis Association) is now commenting on the withdrawals due to being forced to fine when withdrawing from WTT events on the world tour.
The CTTA writes that it approved the defections and carried out the necessary administration and praises them for the efforts they have made for the Chinese national team and “bringing glory to the nation”. according to Ecns.cn.
Discussions to resolve the issue
The association will support the players in their continued careers regardless of whether they choose to return to international tournaments or only play at home.
The Chinese Federation states that it has been in contact with the International Table Tennis Federation, the ITTF, and the WTT to push for reasonable adjustments to the competition rules and protect the legitimate rights of the athletes.
Möregårdh and Källberg up two places
According to the ITTF, the rules are not new but have been the same since the WTT tour was formed in 2019.
The ITTF has reportedly promised to explore solutions through special meetings and the establishment of a special task force.
In the new rankings released today, Truls Möregårdh was seventh after advancing two places while Anton Källberg was 16th after also rising two places. This at the expense of Fan Zhendong and Ma Long.