A professional table tennis player from China has defended himself by claiming he is just a regular young man with interests. He was accused of losing an international match in Singapore because he went to a Taylor Swift concert.
At the World Table Tennis (WTT) Grand Smash in Singapore at the beginning of March, Fan Zhendong, 27, a former world No. 1 table tennis champion, lost to his teammate Lin Shidong.
He was not able to participate in the next round of the top 16 players as a result of the loss. A video of Fan singing Swift’s hit song Cruel Summer live with the crowd went viral on social media.
Several online commentators stated that rather than going out and having fun, he ought to have been training harder before the games.
Fan acknowledged on social media that he didn’t perform well in Singapore and promised to put in more effort going forward. However, he also justified spending three hours of his free time at the show.
“I bought a ticket from the second-hand market to join this big party that Swifties from all over the world dreamed of,” Fan wrote in his post.
“I am an athlete cultivated by my country. It’s my duty to fight for the country and I’ve never slacked on this for more than 10 years.
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“In my off hours, I am just an ordinary young man. I have normal hobbies and I have my social network. I will continue to be true to my heart under the premise of following the law and the rules,” he said.
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