Taiwanese paddler Chuang Chih-yuan withdraws from ITTF world rankings

Taipei, Jan. 7 (CNA) Taiwanese table tennis legend Chuang Chih-yuan (莊智淵) has withdrawn from the world rankings of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), although he can still participate in other international tournaments.

As of Tuesday, Chuang's name had been removed from the ITTF world rankings list, where he was last ranked 44th.

According to the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA), the domestic governing body of the sport, Chuang submitted to the ITTF an application to withdraw from the list through the association last week.

"We double-checked his intentions before we sent the letter to the ITTF," CTTTA Secretary-General Yeh Kuo-chin (葉國欽) told CNA.

Chuang, 43, has participated in all six editions of the Olympic Summer Games since Athens 2004, with his best performance being a fourth-place finish in the men's singles at the 2012 London Olympics.

Last year, after Taiwan's men's team lost to Japan in the quarterfinals in August, Chuang announced that the Paris Olympics would be his last and that he would focus more on training young talent.

Over the past five months, the only international tournament Chuang competed in was the WTT Champions Macao in September 2024, where he lost in the first round.

However, Yeh does not rule out Chuang participating in international tournaments in the future, noting that he is still sponsored by the Sports Administration's Golden Plan.

"He probably does not plan to compete in as many tournaments as he did. Now that he has no world ranking, he will be unseeded if he competes in a tournament," Yeh said.

According to the latest world rankings, Taiwanese male paddler Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) is ranked 12th, followed by Kao Cheng-jui (高承睿), a protégé of Chuang, in 23rd.

The Taiwanese female paddler with the highest world ranking is Cheng I-ching (鄭怡靜), ranked 8th, followed by Huang Yi-hua (黃怡樺) in 33rd.