In a bolt from the blue, one of the Lebrun brothers' main opponents threatens to leave the world table tennis circuit

Chinese Olympic table tennis champions Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng announced their intention to quit the WTT World Tour on Friday, refusing to pay fines for non-participation in tournaments.

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“The WTT recently announced the imposition of fines for non-participation in tournaments,”, Fan Zhendong wrote on Chinese social media site Weibo. “I can't afford this and, if I respect this international organization, I can only decide to quit the world rankings,”, he continued, adding that he had officially informed the Chinese federation and the WTT of his decision this week.

“After the Olympics ended and the intensity of physical training and mental stress that accumulated and reached its peak, I needed a period to get back in shape and make decisions for the rest of my career based on my physical condition,”, Chen Meng said on Weibo.

“Due to the new rules on non-participation and fines decided by the WTT and the fact that my body can no longer support the intensity of high-level competition, out of respect for the international organization, I signed the document on Monday and made the decision to withdraw from the world circuit,”, she added.

Felix Lebrun's opponent at the Olympics

Fan Zhendong, 27, is a triple Olympic gold medalist, notably at the last Paris Games, where he beat Frenchman Félix Lebrun in the semi-finals. He is also a nine-time world champion. Chen Meng, 30, is a quadruple Olympic gold medalist, notably winning gold in singles and team events in Paris. She also has six world champion titles.

Fan Zhendong did not participate in the recent WTT Finals held in Fukuoka (Japan) in November and has not participated in WTT competitions since June.