Chinese Table Tennis Pro Rejects Paying Gambling Debt with Ex-lover Videos

Zhang Jike is a former table tennis star from China that is globally recognized. He was the fourth male player in the history of the sport to hit a career Grand Slam, after winning gold in the men’s singles during the Olympic games in London in 2012. And that’s not Jike’s only recognition within table tennis.

Overall, he holds three Olympic Golds, as well as seven world titles, making him a table tennis star recognized not only in China but around the world as well. Sadly, stars are the people who can easily get tangled in large-scale scandals that can ultimately damage their reputation, sometimes, irreversibly.

In Jike’s case, that scandal involved the accumulation of a big debt to gambling, local media outlets have reported. Allegations against the professional table tennis player claimed that he tried to repay the huge gambling debt by providing intimate videos of one of his ex-girlfriends.

Extortionist Sentenced to Prison

Currently, China has strict rules for gambling and the activity is in fact illegal under Chinese law. Yet, illegal gambling operations, both online and land-based are being conducted, despite the harsh laws that punish such illegal activities with prison.

According to some media outlets, Jike accumulated gambling debt in Phnom Penh, while others suggested that the professional table tennis player accumulated the debt in Macau. Regardless of where the debt was accumulated, Jike was reportedly approached by a person identified as “Mr. S,” who wanted to recover the money allegedly lost by the table tennis pro.

Li Wei Ao, an investigative journalist, as well as other media outlets, claimed that Jike tried to settle his gambling debt, which was nearly $3 million, by sending intimate videos of Jing Tian, a famous actress in China and an ex-girlfriend of the former table tennis player.

Once obtained by Mr. S, the videos were reportedly used for the extortion of the famous actress. However, the extortionist, identified only as Mr. S, was arrested and consequently sentenced to prison with Jike attending as a witness to his trial.

The former table tennis pro denied wrongdoing but likely suffered irreparable damage to his reputation. The story quickly gained popularity on Weibo, a social media platform in China, that saw more than 7 million people participate in discussions on the topic.