Fan Zhendong imitates the goal celebration of French soccer star Kylian Mbappe after winning a gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics. [Photo/Xinhua]
After clinching two gold medals in men's table tennis at the Paris Olympic Games, Fan Zhendong is not yet ready to think about the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
"I do feel quite tired after these Olympics, so I need a good rest," said the 27-year-old Chinese paddler in a recent interview.
"Right now, I'm not thinking about the next Olympics. As for the future, let's entrust it to time," he added.
Fan dispatched Truls Moregard of Sweden 4-1 to capture the men's singles title in Paris, becoming the 11th player overall to have achieved a career "Grand Slam" — winning titles at the Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup — before teaming up with Ma Long and Wang Chuqin to pocket the team gold.
But, his journey to the top step of the podium was not smooth sailing. In the quarterfinals, he was 0-2 down against Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto, and it would have proved costly for team China if Fan were eliminated, as top seed Wang Chuqin had already crashed out in the round of 32.
"That match put me under the most pressure I've felt at an Olympics. If I had lost, many records, or the past glory of the Chinese team, would have slipped from my hands," he recalled.
During a short break, Fan, accompanied by his coach Wang Hao, changed into a fresh shirt before returning to the court.
"It helped adjust my tempo. Before the match, I told my coach that I had prepared three shirts, and we would change one if I felt the match was going the wrong way," Fan reflected. "It might be a tiny adjustment, but I wanted to make it to see if there was any chance of changing the game."
Fan managed to achieve a superb comeback win over the full seven games to advance to the last four. "Although it was just a quarterfinal, and I was not sure about winning the title, at the time I felt that I had achieved success and that I had won a battle with myself."
Ahead of his golden glory at the Paris Olympics, Fan hit a low ebb, losing in several World Table Tennis (WTT) tournaments and the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Cup.
"Nothing is impossible until the final point is played. I finished second place in almost every competition in the past, but for me, the runner-up is also a treasure," Fan said.
Since the opening of the Paris Olympics, Chinese authorities have ramped up their efforts to crack down on the overzealous behavior of "fan circles" in sports. The Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) recently issued a statement, expressing its firm support for the authorities' efforts.
Fan, who has been impacted by the fan circle culture himself, echoed the CTTA, saying: "I hope to grab the limelight on the court, but I don't want to be in the spotlight off it. That should be normal for an athlete. But, now, you will find some things off the field have been amplified and given excessive attention, which brings about too much pressure and makes you uncomfortable."
"I have experienced some things. Sometimes you feel that you cannot lose (for fear of online abuse), but, sometimes, if you win, it can also be bad. It will only do harm to myself, to table tennis, and to the unity of the whole team," he added.
Online clampdown
The Chinese government and sporting bodies have condemned fans for using social media to attack and spread rumors about the country's Olympians, and said the behavior had an extremely negative impact on athletes, coaches and their families.
The Ministry of Public Security said it would crack down on "illegal and criminal acts of 'fan circles' as part of its internet security measures" and urged people not to "spread rumors, nor attack or slander others".
It highlighted four cases where it had taken action against fan groups for their treatment of athletes who competed at the Paris Olympics, including some fans who had "insulted and defamed table tennis players and coaches".
CTTA said the "chaos" of fan groups had interfered with the team's training and competition.
The public security ministry said that another case centered around gymnasts being insulted on social media.
At the weekend, the Chinese Gymnastics Association said athletes, coaches and managers had been the targets of rumors and insults, negatively impacting their work, lives and families.
The statements came after swimmer Pan Zhanle, 20, who broke the world record in the 100m freestyle, disbanded his only fan group page on social medial platform Weibo and told state broadcaster CCTV that he preferred to keep a low profile.
"A bad thing about being famous is that too many people surround me," he said. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind if my performance had been less exceptional, if it meant I could return to training in peace."
China delivered its best performance at a Summer Olympics since the 2008 Beijing Games on home soil, tying with the United States for the most gold medals won at Paris 2024.
The delegation's 40 golds were an all-time high for a Games held outside China, and were achieved despite immense pressure and heightened scrutiny resulting from a doping row involving some of its swimmers.
