Liu Guoliang resigns as table tennis chief

Liu Guoliang has resigned as president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA), with current CTTA vice president Wang Liqin elected the organization's new chief on Wednesday.

Then-Chinese Table Tennis Association president Liu Guoliang waves to spectators after the ITTF World Tour Platinum China Open men's singles final in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province on June 2, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

Having achieved a career singles Grand Slam of Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup, Liu was appointed chief coach of China's national team in 2013, leading the team to a sweep of four gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He was first elected CTTA president in 2018, and re-elected in 2023. During his tenure, China claimed nine of 10 Olympic gold medals in table tennis at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

Wang, 46, is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time World Championships singles winner. Retiring from the national team in 2013, he has served as CTTA vice president since 2018.