Chinese paddler Fan Zhendong celebrates after winning the table tennis men's singles title in Paris on August 4, 2024. Photo: VCG

Chinese olympic gold medalist Fan Zhendong has joined the Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), the first professional table tennis league in the US, as a strategic investor, the league announced on Wednesday evening.

"Breaking news: Welcome to MLTT, Fan Zhendong!" the league wrote on social media. "The reigning Olympic gold medalist is joining America's first professional table tennis league as a strategic investor."

Launched in 2023, MLTT is a commercially operated league independent of the international table tennis system, that permits players to participate in other competitions concurrently.

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) liked the post after it was released on the league's social media account.

Fan's involvement in the league drew playful comparisons online, with one user quipping, "It's like LeBron James investing in the CBA." Other notable investors in MLTT include German star Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Olympian Lin Yun-Ju from the island of Taiwan, per CCTV News.

Earlier, Germany league Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL) announced that Fan would be joining the team as a player. In a club statement, Fan said he was excited for "a new challenge in Bundesliga," and looked forward to "experiencing a new environment and obtaining more victories with the team."

After the announcement, Swedish teammate of the league Truls Moregardh expressed his excitement, saying it was an honor to play alongside Fan.

In a previous interview with Chinese media outlet Phoenix TV, Fan explained the decision to compete in Germany had been in the works since the end of the Paris Olympics. He said he had expressed his intention to Liu Guoliang, then-president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, and received full support. 

However, the move was postponed due to the league's registration deadline. "After the Olympics, I told Liu I wanted to play in Europe, and he supported me. But it was already August, and registrations had closed," Fan said.

Born in January 1997 in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, with ancestral roots in Hengyang, Central China's Hunan Province, Fan is a world-class athlete and currently serves as deputy director of the sports sector within the Shanghai Youth Federation.

In 2024, Fan clinched the men's singles gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games, becoming the 10th Grand Slam winner in Chinese table tennis history and the third "Super Grand Slam" player. 

Global Times