In the history of table tennis development, let the ball happen frequently. Since the 1960s, let-off events began to appear, especially in the late 1970s and 1980s, the frequency of let-off of China team reached its peak. Xu Shaofa, former head coach of China Table Tennis Team, once thought that letting the ball go was a special move of China Table Tennis Team in a special period. Looking back, the reasons for letting the ball go can be roughly divided into two categories, one is subject to the special environment at that time, and the other is to ensure the winning rate of foreign wars.

The first way to let the ball go was mainly for political reasons. For example, Zhang Li of China was reported to have won the World Table Tennis Championships to Park Young-soon of North Korea. In addition to giving the ball to foreign players, China also gave the ball in the internal derby. For example, at the 198 1 Yugoslavia World Table Tennis Championships, Cai Zhenhua won the men's team, men's doubles and mixed doubles in one fell swoop. However, in the men's singles competition, Cai Zhenhua was asked to give up to Guo Yuehua on the grounds that Guo Yuehua, as a meritorious player, would hardly have a chance to win the singles championship in the future. In the end, Cai Zhenhua obeyed the organization's orders and let the ball fall to the second place.

The second way to let the ball is mainly based on the foreign achievements of the main players in the team. At the 1987 World Table Tennis Championships held in New Delhi, He Zhili, Guan Jianhua and Dai Lili reached the semi-finals of women's singles. In the semi-final, he played against Liang of South Korea and Guan Jianhua played against He Zhili. In the end, the coaching staff thought that Guan Jianhua, who played the chop ball, was more conducive to dealing with Liang and decided to let He Zhili find his teammates. However, He Zhili backed out temporarily, which eventually triggered a "let the ball storm". In addition, the retirement of former China main force Jiao Zhimin also has a lot to do with letting the ball go. 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, the women's singles semi-final was held between Herachova of Czechoslovakia and Chen Jing of China, and the other women's singles semi-final was held between Jiao Zhimin and Li Huifen of China. The coaching staff thinks that Jiao Zhimin lost to Hera Jova in the international competition, but the result against Hera Jova is still unknown, and Li Huifen has won Hera Jova before, so Li decided to take the lead. The experience of letting the ball go many times finally made the table tennis star get away with it.

At present, it can be said that the two preconditions for the existence of the ball no longer exist. On the one hand, sports are more pure now, and there is no letting the ball go for political purposes. On the other hand, the strength of China table tennis team is the first in the world, and it didn't give up the ball for fear of opponents. And as the sports environment becomes more and more open, letting the ball go against the Olympic spirit will make fans more disgusted.