Former Chinese world champion Fang Bo has registered to play for Kazakhstan in WTT events, while Zhang Yudong announced his competitive return on Tuesday.

Additionally, in the build-up to the World Team Championships, legendary table tennis players Ma Long and Xu Xin arrived at the national training base in Chengdu to help the team as hitting partners.

Fang was first spotted in the ITTF database as a Kazakhstan-registered player before he confirmed his return, clarifying that he retained his Chinese nationality.

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“I officially announce my return and will represent Kazakhstan in a partnership with the Nomad Table Tennis Academy, with WTT events [Fang will compete in] expected to start in June. I still hold Chinese nationality. I will not compete in the three majors,” the 34-year-old wrote on social media.

Those major events include the Olympics, the World Championships and the World Cup.

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Fang previously mentioned in a live stream that he would return to the China Table Tennis Super League and join WTT competitions this year.