As a well-deserved hegemon in the world table tennis arena, the Chinese table tennis players can be said to be the best of the best, and even the members of the second table tennis team in the mainland can also bloom their brilliance if they go to other associations.
As the strength of mainland table tennis becomes stronger and stronger, the competition for champions and runners-up can often be seen on the stage. But after all, they are all apprentices taught by a master, and they usually know the roots, which means that the Chinese table tennis world is becoming more and more "involuted".
Among them, there is such a group of people who were once a member of national table tennis, but they can't shine on the domestic stage for various reasons. But in order to chase the Olympic dream, they went to his home and became the so-called "foreign army".
Even when not competing domestically, some of them are among the biggest rivals in Chinese table tennis today. So how powerful are these people?
Tian Zhixi was tragically abandoned by the Korea team
On the stage of the table tennis world, Tian Zhixi is a high-profile player, because she used to be a Chinese player, and later became a Korea citizen and became the core of the Korea national team, but with the Korea Table Tennis Association issued new selection rules, Tian Zhixi was also removed from the national team.
Tian Zhixi's ball skills are exquisite, and his main style of play is a combination of left-handed horizontal board arc and fast attack, and his skills are breathtaking. And Tian Zhixi has always been the backbone of Korea women's table tennis, winning many honors for the team.
Tian Zhixi, who was born in Hebei Province, was runner-up at the 2007 Asian Youth Championships before leaving the national youth team due to injury. And in 2011, she became a Korea citizen and became a Korean female table tennis player, and soon became the main force of Korea women's table tennis.
In fact, joining the Korea Table Tennis Association is mainly because the competition in Chinese table tennis is very fierce, and Tian Zhixi still hopes to get more opportunities in the international arena. However, according to the latest regulations of the Korea Table Tennis Association, starting from 2025, the Korea national team can only select at most one naturalized player to participate, which has undoubtedly become a "targeted purge" of Tian Zhixi.
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This regulation will undoubtedly end her glorious years in the Korea table tennis national team, and after bidding farewell to the Korea table tennis team, Tian Zhixi has also found her own way. Despite facing new challenges and difficulties, Tian Zhixi needs to constantly adjust his mentality and state to adapt to the new environment and methods.
Zeng Zhiying: It took the Olympic dream to come true at the age of 58
On July 27, Beijing time, 58-year-old Zeng Zhiying lost 1:4 to Lebanon's Mariana · Sahakian at the Olympic Games, ending her short Olympic journey.
This Chinese "ping pong grandma" named Zeng Zhiying is really legendary in the table tennis circle! When he was young, he entered the national team, Zeng Zhiying was only 17 years old at the time, and with his own talent and hard work, his skills improved by leaps and bounds.
She has always had the desire to get on the big stage, and as Zeng Zhiying said, participating in the Olympics is every athlete's dream dream. But the good times didn't last long, and a new regulation of the International Table Tennis Federation directly ruined Zeng Zhiying's table tennis career.
The love for table tennis in her heart did not make Zeng Zhiying give up her dream. She moved to Chile and "left the field for a short time, but the passion for table tennis remained". In 2019, Zeng Zhiying relied on her strong perseverance to conduct a three-hour high-intensity recovery training.
Zeng Zhiying first won the women's singles, women's team championship and women's doubles runner-up at the South American Table Tennis Championships, and then participated in the Pan American Games as the oldest athlete in the Chile delegation and won the third place in the women's team, which also made Zeng Zhiying successfully selected for the Chile national team.
In the Paris Olympics, although Zeng Zhiying did not go far, Zeng Zhiying's appearance in the Olympic Games is a victory for herself. As a "ping pong grandma", she became a star on social media and won the respect of countless audiences.
Zeng Zhiying's struggle is like an inspirational movie, using practical actions to prove to the world that age is not an obstacle, the real obstacle lies in whether there is a firm dream. These gray-haired veterans are the best interpretation of the Olympic spirit, even if they don't get on the podium, as long as they participate in it, it is already a success and a breakthrough.
The oldest athlete, Ni Xialian
Born in Shanghai, China, Ni Xialian is a Luxembourg female table tennis player and an international athlete. Ni Xialian is well-known in Luxembourg and is one of the Luxembourg flag bearers at the closing ceremony in Rio 2016 and Luxembourg in Paris in 2024.
Ni Xialian in 1963 was 61 years old, and since she quit the Chinese team to join Europe, she has been active in various competitions and has never stopped. Unlike many athletes in the "overseas legion" of national table tennis today, Ni Xialian used to be the hospital of the national team, and even the main force in the team.
Although he used to be the main force of the country, he had a lot of black history in Ni Xialian, and in the early years, he chose to quit the national team because of conflicts with the players of the national team. But for the love of table tennis, Ni Xialian, who retired from the national team not long ago, went to Europe, hoping to return to table tennis.
And after marrying her husband Tommy, Ni Xialian became a Luxembourg citizen, and since the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Ni Xialian has participated in five Olympic Games. And Ni Xialian also became the flag bearer of the Luxembourg delegation and is still active in the table tennis world.
In 2021, Ni Xialian also won the third place in women's doubles at the World Table Tennis Championships. Ni Xialian's strength was highly recognized, and she defeated the hopeful star of national table tennis in the abnormal game, showing strong competitive strength.
The Paris Olympics will undoubtedly be a new challenge and test, facing many young and strong opponents, it will not be easy for Ni Xialian, and it will take more effort and sweat. No matter what kind of results she achieves, the Paris Olympics will not become Ni Xialian's "curtain call".
Although it is said that these "overseas legions" have gone out of China, it may not be a "loss" for the mainland, after all, there are many excellent table tennis players in the mainland, and we also need more athletes to expand the influence of table tennis in the world.
Although they are all fighting for other countries, in terms of the table tennis system, it can also show the strength of China, no matter where there are Chinese shadows, and at the same time hope that they can go further.
Source:
China.com: https://news.china.com/socialgd/10000169/20240730/46940904_all.html
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Jimu News: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1707234918852604634&wfr=spider&for=pc
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The Paper: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1805744367830588185&wfr=spider&for=pc
"At the age of 58, this Chinese "table tennis grandma" fulfilled her 20-year-old dream