Fan Zhendong facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fan Zhendong |
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Native name | 樊振东 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | "Xiao Pang" (Little Fatty) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Guangzhou, China |
22 January 1997 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing style | Right-handed, shakehand grip | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Equipment(s) | Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC with DHS Hurricane 3 National (Blue Sponge) (FH, Black), Butterfly Dignics 09c (BH, Red) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Highest ranking | 1 (April 2018) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current ranking | 2 (18 August 2024) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 77 kg (170 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Fan Zhendong (Chinese: 樊振东; pinyin: Fán Zhèndōng) is a professional table tennis player from China. He was born on January 22, 1997. He joined the Chinese national team in 2012, becoming its youngest member.
Fan Zhendong quickly rose to fame. He became the youngest ITTF World Tour Champion. He also became the youngest World Table Tennis Champion. For over a decade, from December 2013 to December 2024, he was ranked among the top five players in the world. This is the longest streak in men's table tennis history!
Fan is the current Olympic gold medalist in men's singles. He won at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. This win made him one of only six male players to achieve a "Grand Slam" in table tennis. A Grand Slam means winning the singles titles at the Olympics, World Championships, and World Cup. He has also won two Olympic team gold medals. He is a two-time World Champion and a four-time World Cup champion in men's singles.
Fan's playing style is very exciting. He uses quick footwork and powerful shots called "loops" with both his forehand and backhand. Because of his strong build, fans and commentators sometimes call him "Little Fatty" (Chinese: 小胖, meaning "chubby boy"). He has many fans around the world, with over half a million followers on Chinese social media. In 2016, he won a special award called the ITTF Star Point Award. He was also nominated for the Best Male Star Award several times.
Fan Zhendong studied at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Contents
How Fan Zhendong Plays
Fan Zhendong is a right-handed player who uses the shakehand grip. He plays an attacking style of table tennis. He uses his fast footwork and strong, well-placed loops to beat his opponents.
He uses special equipment to help him play his best. He uses a Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC blade. For his forehand, he uses a black DHS Hurricane 3 neo National Blue Sponge rubber. For his backhand, he uses a red Butterfly Dignics 05 rubber. Butterfly, a famous table tennis brand, officially signed Fan Zhendong in 2021.
Fan Zhendong's Amazing Career
Fan Zhendong has had an incredible career in table tennis. Here are some of his biggest achievements year by year.
Early Career: 2013-2016
In 2013, at just 16 years old, Fan Zhendong surprised everyone. He finished second in a big competition in Paris. This showed he was a rising star.
In 2014, he became the youngest male World Champion in table tennis history! He was only 17 years and 103 days old when his team won the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan. He also won the men's singles title at the ITTF World Tour Japan Open in 2016. In that same year, he made a "magic save" in a match that became very famous. It even won him the "Star Point of the Year" award!
Becoming a Top Player: 2017-2020
In 2017, Fan Zhendong continued to win many titles. He won the men's doubles at the World Championships in Düsseldorf. He also won the men's singles and team events at the Asian Championships.
By 2018, he was a dominant force. He won the men's singles at the Hungarian Open and Qatar Open. He also won the Asian Cup and the World Cup singles title. He continued his winning streak in 2019, taking home more World Cup and ITTF World Tour Grand Finals titles. In 2020, he won the Men's Table Tennis World Cup for the fourth time.
Olympic Journey and Grand Slam: 2021-2024
In 2021, Fan Zhendong played in the Tokyo Olympics. He reached the men's singles final, where he won a silver medal. Later that year, he won the gold medal in men's singles at the World Championships. He also helped his team win gold at the China National Games.
In 2023, Fan Zhendong had an amazing year. He won five major titles, including double gold medals at the Singapore Smash. He also won both the men's singles and doubles at the World Championships. He was named the ITTF "Male Player of the Year" for his outstanding performance.
In 2024, Fan Zhendong achieved his biggest dream. He won his first individual Olympic gold medal at the Paris 2024 Games. This victory completed his career Grand Slam, meaning he has won the singles titles at the Olympics, World Championships, and World Cup. He is only the sixth male player ever to do this! A few days later, his Chinese team also won the men's team gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
Fan Zhendong's Tournament Results
This table shows Fan Zhendong's performance in major tournaments.
W | F | SF | QF | #R |
(W) won; (F) finalist; (SF) semi-finalist; (QF) quarter-finalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1
(S) singles event; (MD) men's doubles event; (XD) mixed doubles event; (T) team event
Tournament | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
World Championships | S | 3R | SF | F | 4R | W | W | ||||||
MD | F | W | QF | W | |||||||||
XD | SF | ||||||||||||
T | W | W | W | W | W | ||||||||
Olympic Games | S | F | W | ||||||||||
T | W | W | |||||||||||
World Cup | S | F | W | W | W | W | QF | ||||||
T | W | W | W | W | |||||||||
ITTF Finals / WTT Finals | S | SF | F | F | W | QF | W | F | W | QF | F | ||
MD | W | SF | |||||||||||
Asian Games | S | F | W | F | |||||||||
MD | F | W | |||||||||||
T | W | W | W | ||||||||||
Asian Championships | S | QF | W | W | SF | F | |||||||
MD | W | W | F | W | |||||||||
XD | SF | W | |||||||||||
T | W | W | W | W | W | ||||||||
Asian Cup | S | F | F | F | W | W | |||||||
Year-end ranking | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Images for kids
See Also
In Spanish: Fan Zhendong para niños
- List of Youth Olympic Games gold medalists who won Olympic gold medals