Table tennis team disbands fan groups

The Chinese national table tennis team has made the decision to disband all official fan groups on social media platforms to address the proliferation of unhealthy fan culture, China Sport Daily quoted the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) as saying Saturday.

The team had become ensnared in extreme fan sentiments, leading to privacy breaches and online bullying, significantly disrupting the players’ training routines and daily lives, the report said.

Although Chen Meng won the women’s Olympic singles title in August 2024, her social media channels were inundated with derogatory comments and curses directed at both her and her coach.

In a troubling incident from April 2023, former world No.1 Fan Zhendong, the Olympic gold medalist in men’s singles, found an unidentified female fan had illicitly entered his hotel room, prompting Fan to report the case to the police.

Olympic gold medalist Wang Chuqin, part of the mixed doubles winning team, confirmed the disbandment of his fan group. “I will now dedicate myself more diligently to training and competitions, focusing on my role as an athlete. My fan group has been disbanded,” he confirmed.

Sun Yingsha, another Olympic mixed doubles gold medalist with a huge fan following, urged her supporters to shift their attention towards her performance on the court. “My mission is to give my all and strive for honor... Please concentrate on the competitions and our on-court performances,” Sun noted.

Beijing-based sports commentator Zhang Bin praised the move, suggesting that it would enable athletes to concentrate on their athletic endeavors. “The athletes have been under immense psychological strain due to fan rivalries. These online conflicts have significantly diverted their focus from competitions,” Zhang reflected. He also indicated that other sports management bodies in China may adopt similar measures.