Chinese men's team withdrawn from Australian Open

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By CGTN's Mu Dan and updated by Wang Quan

Things have hit the fans for China’s men’s table tennis team as the past week was marked by two withdrawals from international events.

The Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) and the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) announced on Thursday that the Chinese men’s team will not participate in the Australian Open, which will get underway next week.

The news came on the heels of the withdrawal of the sport's three top-ranked men's players – world number one Ma Long, Fan Zhengdong and Xu Xin – from the China Open last week, in what was seen as a protest for the removal of Liu Guoliang as head coach of the Chinese National Team.

Screenshot from ITTF's website

All six players, including Zhang Jike, Fan Zhendong, Xu Xin, Yan An, Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan, were pulled out ahead of the game, which will get underway on July 4.

In a brief statement, the CTTA explained that participating in consecutive games has resulted in fatigue among the main members of the men’s team, noting that the players need proper rest before preparing for future games.

CTTA's announcement of men's team's withdrawal from Australian Open. / CTTA Photo

The ITTF said that the withdrawal is disappointing news for all table tennis fans around the world, since only two of the players, namely Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin, were involved in last week’s China Open forfeit.

Last Friday, Ma Long, Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin forfeited their rounds at the 2017 World Tour China Open, after the head coach of the national table tennis team Liu Guoliang was removed from his post.

Ma Long (L), Fan Zhendong (C) and Xu Xin (R) forfeited their recent China Open games. /ITTF Photo

Their decision triggered an outcry, leading all three players to post their apologies on their social media accounts.

On Tuesday, Liu, who is now vice president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, said the players’ action was moving but heartbreaking. Even though he was not aware of their decision to pull out, he felt responsible and apologized to the fans.

Liu Guoliang (2nd R) with some of his team members. /Weibo Photo

An investigation into last week's case is still underway by the State General Administration of Sport of China.

After the withdrawal from the Australian Open was announced, Ma Long, Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin took to China's Twitter-like Weibo to voice their opinions. All three agreed they were long troubled by muscle strains and noted that the withdrawal was not related to the recent incident.

Screenshot from Ma Long's Weibo account

Screenshot from Xu Xin's Weibo account

Screenshot from Fan Zhendong's Weibo account

Meanwhile, the Chinese women’s team, led by world number three Zhu Yuling, will still be competing in the 400,000-US-dollar event to be held in the Gold Coast.