Fan Zhendong

Fan Zhendong
Personal information
Native name樊振东
Nickname(s)"Xiao Pang" (Little Fatty)
Born (1997-01-22) 22 January 1997 (age 27)
Guangzhou, China[1]
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Weight77 kg (170 lb)[2]
Table tennis career
Playing styleRight-handed, shakehand grip
Equipment(s)Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC with DHS Hurricane 3 National (Blue Sponge) (FH, Black), Butterfly Dignics 09c (BH, Red)[3]
Highest ranking1 (April 2018)[4]
Current ranking2 (18 August 2024)[5]
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 3 1 0
World Championships 9 2 2
World Cup / Cup Finals 9 2 0
Total 21 5 2
Men's table tennis
Representing  China
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Singles
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Team
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Singles
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Tokyo Team
Gold medal – first place 2016 Kuala Lumpur Team
Gold medal – first place 2017 Düsseldorf Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2018 Halmstad Team
Gold medal – first place 2021 Houston Singles
Gold medal – first place 2022 Chengdu Team
Gold medal – first place 2023 Durban Singles
Gold medal – first place 2023 Durban Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2024 Busan Team
Silver medal – second place 2015 Suzhou Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2017 Düsseldorf Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Suzhou Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Budapest Mixed doubles
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2015 Dubai Team
Gold medal – first place 2016 Saarbrücken Singles
Gold medal – first place 2018 London Team
Gold medal – first place 2018 Paris Singles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Tokyo Team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Chengdu Singles
Gold medal – first place 2020 Weihai Singles
Gold medal – first place 2023 Chengdu Mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2015 Halmstad Singles
WTT Cup Finals
Gold medal – first place 2021 Singapore Singles
Silver medal – second place 2023 Doha Singles
ITTF World Tour Grand Finals
Gold medal – first place 2017 Astana Singles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Zhengzhou Singles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Zhengzhou Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2015 Lisbon Singles
Silver medal – second place 2016 Doha Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Dubai Singles
Military World Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Wuhan Team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Wuhan Singles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Wuhan Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Wuhan Mixed doubles
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Incheon Team
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Singles
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Team
Gold medal – first place 2022 Hangzhou Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2022 Hangzhou Team
Silver medal – second place 2014 Incheon Singles
Silver medal – second place 2014 Incheon Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2022 Hangzhou Singles
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Busan Team
Gold medal – first place 2015 Pattaya Team
Gold medal – first place 2015 Pattaya Singles
Gold medal – first place 2015 Pattaya Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2015 Pattaya Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 2017 Wuxi Team
Gold medal – first place 2017 Wuxi Singles
Gold medal – first place 2017 Wuxi Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Yogyakarta Team
Gold medal – first place 2023 Pyeongchang Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2023 Pyeongchang Team
Silver medal – second place 2019 Yogyakarta Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2023 Pyeongchang Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Busan Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Yogyakarta Singles
Asian Cup
Gold medal – first place 2018 Yokohama Singles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Yokohama Singles
Silver medal – second place 2014 Wuhan Singles
Silver medal – second place 2015 Jaipur Singles
Silver medal – second place 2017 Ahmedabad Singles
East Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2013 Tianjin Singles
Gold medal – first place 2013 Tianjin Team
Silver medal – second place 2013 Tianjin Doubles
Youth Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Nanjing Singles
Gold medal – first place 2014 Nanjing Mixed team
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2012 Hyderabad Singles
Gold medal – first place 2012 Hyderabad Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 2012 Hyderabad Team
Silver medal – second place 2012 Hyderabad Doubles
Asian Youth Games
Gold medal – first place 2013 Nanjing Singles
Asian Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2012 Jiangyin Singles
Gold medal – first place 2012 Jiangyin Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2012 Jiangyin Team

Fan Zhendong (Chinese: 樊振东; pinyin: Fán Zhèndōng, pronounced [fǎn ʈʂə̂ntʊ́ŋ]; born 22 January 1997) is a Chinese professional table tennis player.[1] After joining the Chinese national table tennis team in 2012 as the youngest member of the team, he went on to become the youngest ITTF World Tour Champion and the youngest World Table Tennis Champion.[6][7] In April 2018, he achieved the top spot in the world rankings after holding position No. 2 for 29 consecutive months, starting from November 2015.[8] He won the Olympic gold medal in men's singles at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, becoming just the 6th male player (and 11th player overall) to achieve a Grand Slam.[9]

Fan's attacking style of play involves explosive footwork and powerful forehand loops.[10] His thick-set build has led fans and commentators to affectionately refer to him as "Little Fatty" (Chinese: 小胖; pinyin: Xiǎo Pàng).[11] His continuous rise to becoming one of the top table tennis players in the world has garnered him a large fanbase worldwide, with over half a million followers on Chinese social media site Weibo. In 2016, he won the ITTF Star Point Award, and he was nominated for the Best Male Star Award every year between 2013 and 2016.[12]

Fan studied at Shanghai Jiao Tong University[13]

  1. ^ a b "Table Tennis: FAN Zhendong". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Athlete's Profile". 2014 Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee. Archived from the original on 3 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Fan Zhendong equipment and playing style". pingsunday.com. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Ranking History". results.ittf.link. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Senior Men's Singles".
  6. ^ "Fan Zhendong – Table Tennis' Rising Star". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Fan Zhendong set on the 2017 World Championships". International Table Tennis Federation. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  8. ^ "April 2018 World Ranking Analysis: Fan Zhendong Tops the Chart". International Table Tennis Federation. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  9. ^ "China's Fan Zhendong wins table tennis singles gold, French teenager Felix Lebrun takes bronze". The Straits Times. 4 August 2024. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  10. ^ "I haven't reached my best: Fan". DOHA Stadium Plus. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Will Fan Zhendong be the Next Grand Slam Champion?". Team USA. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  12. ^ "Fan Zhendong: I have not reached my best". International Table Tennis Federation. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  13. ^ "FAN Zhendong". Olympics. Retrieved 3 August 2024.