Fan Zhendong facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fan Zhendong |
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Fan in 2017
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| Native name | 樊振东 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | "Xiao Pang" (Little Fatty) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 22 January 1997 Guangzhou, China |
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| 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) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | FC Saarbrücken-TT (Bundesliga) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Fan Zhendong (born January 22, 1997) is a professional table tennis player from China. He joined the Chinese national team in 2012. He was the youngest player on the team at that time.
Fan quickly became the youngest champion in both the ITTF World Tour and the World Table Tennis Championships. From December 2013 to December 2024, he was always ranked among the top five players in the world. This amazing eleven-year streak is the longest in men's singles history.
Fan Zhendong is the current Olympic gold medalist in men's singles. He won at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. This victory made him the sixth male player 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 fast 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" (Xiao Pàng). He has many fans around the world, with over half a million followers on the Chinese social media site Weibo. He won the ITTF Star Point Award in 2016. He was also nominated for the Best Male Star Award every year from 2013 to 2016.
Fan Zhendong studied at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Contents
Fan's Playing Style and Equipment
Fan Zhendong is a right-handed player who uses the shakehand grip. This is a common way to hold the paddle. He plays an attacking style of table tennis. He uses his quick footwork and strong, well-placed loops to win points. When he was 16, he was seen as a very talented young player. His style is often compared to his older teammate, Ma Long.
Fan has been trained by national team coaches. He also received special training from famous players like Wang Hao and Ma Lin. His matches against experienced players on the Chinese national team are always highly anticipated. His brave playing style and skills allow him to challenge and sometimes beat top players.
Fan holds his elbow higher on his shots than some other players like Ma Long and Xu Xin. This helps him switch between backhand and forehand shots very well. However, it can make his middle area a bit more open. In 2021, German player Timo Boll said that he and Fan played a similar style, but that Fan was better.
Fan used to be sponsored by Stiga. Later, he switched to Butterfly equipment. He uses a Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC blade. For his forehand, he uses a black DHS Hurricane 3 neo National Blue Sponge. For his backhand, he uses a red Tenergy 05. During the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships, he started using the new Butterfly Dignics 05 on his backhand. Butterfly officially announced that Fan Zhendong joined their team on November 1, 2021.
Fan's Amazing Career Highlights
Early Career: 2013-2014
In January 2013, when Fan was just 16, he traveled to Paris with the Chinese table tennis team. He surprised everyone by beating many famous players and finishing second in a competition. This made him a "dark horse" – someone who unexpectedly does very well.
In May 2014, the Chinese team won the men's team championship at the World Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan. Fan Zhendong was part of this winning team. At 17 years and 103 days old, he became the youngest male world champion in table tennis history. He broke the record previously held by Ma Long.
Rising Star: 2015-2017
In 2015, Fan won the men's team championship at the Dubai World Cup. He played alongside other great players like Zhang Jike, Ma Long, Xu Xin, and Fang Bo. That same year, he set a new record in the China Table Tennis Super League. He won 24 games in a row, beating Ma Long's previous record of 23 wins.
In June 2016, Fan won the men's singles title at the ITTF World Tour Japan Open. During this tournament, he made an incredible "magic save" shot in a match against French player Simon Gauzy. This amazing shot made him even more popular and earned him the "Star Point of the Year" award at the ITTF Star Awards.
In 2017, Fan continued his success. He won the men's team championship at the Asian Table Tennis Championships. He also reached the singles final at the World Championships in Düsseldorf, where he played a thrilling match against Ma Long.
World No. 1 and Olympic Dreams: 2018-2021
By January 2018, Fan Zhendong was dominating. He won the Hungarian Open, the first ITTF tournament of the year. He defeated fellow Chinese player Wang Chuqin in the final. In April 2018, he officially became the world's number one ranked player.
In 2019, Fan won all 11 of his matches in a special tournament to qualify for the World Table Tennis Championships in Budapest. This earned him the top seed spot.
In November 2020, Fan won his fourth men's singles title at the World Cup. He beat Ma Long in a close 4-3 final.
In 2021, Fan was chosen to represent China in the men's singles event at the Tokyo Olympics, alongside Ma Long. In the Olympic final, Ma Long defeated Fan 4-2, and Fan earned a silver medal. Despite the loss, Fan showed great sportsmanship. He praised Ma Long and called him the greatest player of their generation. Later that year, Fan won two gold medals at the China National Games: one in the team event and one in men's singles.
Continued Dominance and Grand Slam: 2023-2024
Fan Zhendong had an incredible year in 2023, winning five major titles. He won double gold (singles and doubles) at both the Singapore Smash and the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships. He was named the ITTF "Male Player of the Year" for his outstanding performance, winning 81% of his singles matches and reaching seven finals.
In 2024, Fan helped the Chinese men's team win their 11th straight World Team Championship title. He won all 8 of his matches during the tournament.
On August 4, 2024, Fan Zhendong achieved a huge milestone at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He defeated Sweden's Truls Möregårdh 4-1 to win his first individual Olympic gold medal. This victory completed his career Grand Slam, meaning he had won the singles titles at the World Championships, World Cup, and Olympics. He is only the sixth man in history to achieve this feat. A few days later, on August 9, he helped China win another gold medal in the men's team event at the Paris Olympics.
In December 2024, Fan Zhendong announced his retirement from all events sanctioned by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). He also withdrew from the world rankings.
Images for kids
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Fan in 2017
See also
In Spanish: Fan Zhendong para niños
