On the evening of March 17, the WTT Singapore Grand Slam ended, and the national table tennis team won all five championships. During the competition, Fan Zhendong, the world number one in men's singles, was out of the game in the second round. After losing the game, the video of Fan Zhendong going to watch the concert before the game flowed out. Some people questioned that this was the reason that affected his state and led to the defeat of the game. In this regard, Fan Zhendong responded to this matter through social media on March 17, "I have never been slack in winning honor for my country for more than ten years on the court, but I am just an ordinary youth with normal personal hobbies and interpersonal relationships." (Guangming on March 18)
In my opinion, the netizens' accusations contain criticism of Fan Zhendong's failure to reach the final or win the championship, which actually reflects the harsh demands on national athletes.
Admittedly, table tennis plays an important role in Chinese sports. Over the years, every important international event has always seen the words "champion", "overall", "early locking" and so on in the reports of table tennis events. However, we can't deny the fact that "winning or losing is a routine thing for soldiers". We can't regret that national athletes play poorly at one time. This is not only a neglect of their efforts in the field and their achievements in previous competitions, but also gives them competition pressure, which makes athletes bear an immeasurable burden of struggle. Everyone's success is not eternal, which is applicable to ordinary people, as is Olympic champion Fan Zhendong.
In addition, some netizens set the causal relationship between "losing the competition" and "watching the concert" in a far fetched way, which is actually a way to magnify the "star aura" of Olympic champions without giving them private space.
When Fan Zhendong responded to this matter on social media, he also uploaded the vlog of watching the concert. What we saw in the video was not the scene of an Olympic table tennis champion struggling to swing, but the vivid moment of a 27 year old young man who bought tickets at his own expense and sang with many singing friends at the concert of Taylor Swift, the idol. Just as many fans were excited when watching Fan Zhendong's match on the spot, Fan Zhendong also expressed the same love and respect for his idol at the concert. Returning to ordinary people in private life, being bold and free, does not conflict with the establishment of athletes' public image.
As far as I know, Malone is a fan of Jolin Cai and Xu Xin is a fan of Zongwei Yang. They were also discussed by netizens when they were chasing stars. In fact, we might as well be glad that the athletes are still showing their true and vivid selves. We are glad that they have not become "sports machines" that can only play table tennis, volleyball and swimming, but actively pursue their dreams and lives like all ordinary people.
The champion is also an ordinary person. At the end of the response, Fan Zhendong said that he would "continue to be true to himself on the premise of abiding by the law and discipline", which is the commitment of Olympic champions and also shows their expectations as ordinary people. Understanding and respecting is probably the best response to Fan Zhendong.
