The state of athletes is the same as life. It is normal to have ups and downs. Photo/Xinhua News Agency
On the evening of March 17, the wtt (World Table Tennis Professional League) Singapore Grand Slam ended, and the national table tennis team won all five championships. During the competition, the world's number one men's singles player Fan Zhendong was upset in the second round. The men's doubles team-up between him and Wang Chuqin also missed the opportunity to defend his title. Some people questioned that Fan Zhendong lost the championship in both games because he went to a concert before the game, which affected his condition. In this regard, Fan Zhendong responded to the matter through social media on March 17, "I have been bringing glory to the country for more than ten years on the field and have never slackened off, but off the field I am just an ordinary young man with normal personal hobbies and interpersonal relationships."
Fan Zhendong is a fan of Swift, just like Ma Long is a fan of Jolin Tsai and Xu Xin is a fan of Yang Zongwei, it is an open secret. The Singapore Grand Slam will be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, which is only more than 100 meters away from the venue where Swift's concert will be held. The team members can walk there after training.
Two days before the start of the game, Fan Zhendong went to watch Swift's concert with Chinese Taipei player Lin Yunru. The live video of the concert that he shared privately with a few people was accidentally leaked. As Fan Zhendong suffered an upset loss to Lin Shidong in the second round, some fans began to question whether his attending a concert before the game affected his condition.
Fan Zhendong watched Swift's concert live. Screenshot of Fan Zhendong's Weibo video
A 27-year-old young man bought a resale ticket at his own expense and went to see an idol's concert after his busy work. This was very much like an ordinary person in life. A completely normal thing. After all, table tennis is just a job for Fan Zhendong. Like each of us, he deserves to have respected and protected private leisure time.
html On February 10, the first day of the Lunar New Year, Fan Zhendong once said on social media: "Recently, I have been hinted from time to time that as long as I am a living person, I will be scolded." As Fan Zhendong said, he is an athlete trained by the country, and his job is to win glory for the country. I haven't slacked off for several years. Every fan who is familiar with him should know that he is a responsible and responsible athlete. In the semi-finals of the Busan World Table Tennis Championships that ended last month, Fan Zhendong turned the tide and scored two points to help the Chinese team beat the South Korean team 3-2, and finally won the men's team championship. He himself was also named the best male athlete of the World Table Tennis Championships.On the field, Fan Zhendong defended the honor of the national football team; off the field, in his limited private time and space, he was just an ordinary young man with normal hobbies and interpersonal relationships.
In addition to table tennis, Fan Zhendong also likes football, basketball, music, etc. in life. During the Frankfurt Championship last year, accompanied by his big brother Bol, he watched Dortmund's match against Bayern and interacted with Bayern star Muller. More than a month ago, Fan Zhendong posted a message to support the release of his good brother Peng Yuchang's new film, and he will also canvass votes for NBA star Curry All-Star. Nowadays, besides training and competition, I can go to an idol’s concert and be true to myself. What’s wrong?
Of course, Fan Zhendong is a well-known athlete, and his words and deeds will influence many young people. From the fans' perspective, they have expectations for the athletes' public image, but this does not affect the athletes' freedom of personal life, and there should not be any conflict between the two.
Fortunately, Fan Zhendong is not a basketball nerd who "turns his back on what's going on outside the window and only focuses on playing table tennis." We should be fortunate to have athletes with distinctive personalities and vivid images like Fan Zhendong. He not only expands the influence of table tennis in the international sports world, but also shows the sunshine, diversity and vitality of the new generation of Chinese athletes. This is what sports is. The essential connotation and multi-dimensional presentation of beauty. Written by
/Beijing News Sports Commentator Sun Haiguang
Editor/Wang Chunqiu
Proofreader/Wang Xin
