Chen Meng responded to the failure to achieve the Grand Slam: Two mentalities before and after the Paris Olympics, now let go

When Chen Meng said lightly in front of the camera that "after the Paris Olympics, the regret of the Grand Slam disappeared", this famous table tennis player with two Olympic women's singles gold medals in his hand tore open the cruel truth of competitive sports in the most relaxed way - the so-called "perfection" has never been defined by the number of trophies!

When the list of 2023 Durban World Table Tennis Championships was announced, Chen Meng's absence caused an uproar. This top player, who is only one Ji Geest Cup away from the Grand Slam in the table tennis world, took the initiative to stay away from the international arena during the golden period of his career. Public opinion was instantly divided into two factions: some people regretted that she might miss the opportunity to create history forever, while others questioned her mentality of "being timid before fighting".

But what really pushed the controversy to the top was Chen Meng's shocking response in a recent interview: "Two Olympic champions exchanged for one World Table Tennis Championship? Only a fool can change!" Time goes back to the women's singles finals of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. When Chen Meng defeated Sun Yingsha 4-2 to win the gold medal, she shouted to the camera, "My era is here", but she encountered a cyber violence because of this.

Amid the overwhelming criticism, few people noticed the story behind this 27-year-old veteran: he entered the national team at the age of 13 and became the youngest MVP in the history of the Table Tennis Super League at the age of 18, but failed three times on the stage of the World Table Tennis Championships - in 2013, Paris was terminated in the quarterfinals of 16, Düsseldorf was reversed by Zhu Yuling in 2017, and Houston lost to Wang Manyu and missed the Ji Geister Cup three times, making the "Grand Slam" the deepest obsession in her career. The real turning point occurred at the 2024 Paris Olympics. When Chen Meng defeated Sun Yingsha again in the women's singles final, the 30-year-old showed an unprecedented sense of relaxation. In the post-match interview, she revealed her heart for the first time: "I used to think that it would be incomplete if I lacked a World Table Tennis Championship. Now I understand that being able to stand on the highest Olympic podium twice is the greatest gift from fate."

This epiphany made her resolutely choose to withdraw when the list of the Durban World Table Tennis Championships was announced: "I need to leave opportunities to young people, and I myself should have experienced a different life long ago." Looking through Chen Meng's career archives, you will find that she has always been the central figure in the whirlpool of public opinion. She came from a sports family and started practicing football at the age of 5 and won the four World Youth Championship at the age of 17. However, she was criticized for her "lack of domineeringness" for her style of playing.

2019 Budapest World Table Tennis Championships, she suffered a tragic reversal while leading Liu Shiwen 2-0. The label of "poor psychological quality" follows her after the game. Until the Tokyo Olympics, she used two gold medals to complete self-provement, but was in a public opinion crisis because of the saying "My Time".

But it is these controversies that forged Chen Meng's unique philosophy of survival. When players of the same age transformed into coaches or officials, she chose to return to campus to pursue a master's degree; when commercial endorsements came, she insisted on returning to the provincial team to guide the small team three times a week; even during the Durban World Table Tennis Championships, she appeared in the live broadcast room as a commentary guest, and attracted countless fans with professional and humorous comments.

This courage to break out of the framework of competitive sports allowed her to live out a new model of the "post-champion era" at the age of 30. Chen Meng is no longer the dream-chasing girl who needs to prove herself by trophies. She can calmly face reporters asking "Do you regret not fighting for the World Table Tennis Championships?", or she can laugh and joke that "it's more nervous than playing games now when participating in variety shows."

This transformation is just as she said: "I used to think that I should live as others expect, but now I finally understand that being able to live according to my own wishes is the real champion." From Tokyo to Paris, from "my era" to "let go of my obsession", Chen Meng achieved the surpassing of the Grand Slam in the Table Tennis with two Olympic gold medals.

When the world was still sighing for her "one step short of perfection", the 30-year-old veteran had already played a more beautiful winning goal in the new field of life. Perhaps as she said: "True perfection is never in the trophy display case, but in the courage to set off again!"