Table tennis stars fined over tournament no-show

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Table tennis authorities hit world number one Ma Long and two other Chinese stars – world number two Fan Zhendong and number three Xu Xin – with 20,000 US dollar fines on Tuesday after the trio quit a June tournament in Chengdu.

However, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), the sport’s ruling body, stopped short of suspending the players.

The trio, nicknamed the "Chengdu Three" for their stance, were no-shows during their second-round matches of the China Open after the removal of head coach Liu Guoliang.

In a statement on Tuesday, the ITTF said their absence occurred without immediate explanation, which prompted the group to "investigate the incident and determine appropriate sanction" by way of a disciplinary panel.

The statement added that the three players breached section 3.5.3 of the rule book, which states: “Players have to do their upmost to win a match and shall not withdraw except for reasons of illness or injury.”

Former Chinese national team head coach Liu Guoliang kisses the forehead of Ma Long during the Rio Olympic Games. /Phil Walter/Getty Images

The ITTF said their absence “let down the global fans at the China Open” and “damaged the reputation of the ITTF.” However, due to the later explanation of the players and assurances from both the players and the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) that it would not happen again, they were fined instead of being handed a one-month suspension.

The decision became effective as of October 31.

The statement did not share the reasons provided by the trio, but at the time of the event, players and coaches from China's national team posted on their Weibo accounts: “At this moment we have no desire to fight… all because we miss you Liu Guoliang!”

Liu, who had led the team since 2003, became vice president of the CTTA in a restructuring three days prior to the players’ no-show.

The CTTA later pulled the trio from the Australian Open two weeks because of “tiredness.”

The ITTF ended the statement adding that the three "icons" would be welcomed back to the sport to be "role models for the millions of table tennis players across the world."