Deng Yaping (; born February 6, 1973) is a Chinese
table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
player, who won eighteen world championships including four
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
championships between 1989 and 1997. She is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.
Early life and education
Deng was born in
Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
, on February 6, 1973.
Career
Deng began playing table tennis at age of five, and four years later she won the provincial junior championship. She was age 13 when she won her first national championship.
Despite her success, she was initially denied a spot on the national team because she was so short (she stood only 1.5 metres
feet 11 inchestall). She was finally included on the national team in 1988. She teamed with
Qiao Hong
Qiao Hong (; born November 21, 1968 in Wuhan, Hubei) is a former female Chinese table tennis player. She is now the coach of the women's national table tennis team and a member of the Chinese Olympic Committee.
Table tennis career
She won four ...
to win her first world championship title in the women's doubles competition in 1989. Two years later in 1991, Deng won her first singles world championship.
At the
1992 Olympics in
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, she won a gold medal in both the singles and doubles competitions and repeated the feat at the
1996 Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. She also earned singles and doubles titles at the 1995 and 1997 world championships.
When she retired at the age of 24, she had won more titles than any other player in this sport, including four
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
gold medals, and had been World Champion 18 times. From 1990 to 1997, she retained the title of world No. 1 ranked female table tennis player for 8 years. She was voted Chinese female athlete of the century, and joined the
International Table Tennis Federation
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the governing body for all national table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the p ...
Hall of Fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
in 2003.
Successes
*40th
World Table Tennis Championship (1989) Women's Double Gold.
*1st
Table Tennis World Cup
The Table Tennis World Cup has been held annually since 1980. There had been only men's singles until the inauguration of women's singles in 1996 and team competitions in 1990. The team competitions, the World Team Cup, were canceled until the rela ...
(1990) Women's Team Gold.
*41st World Table Tennis Championship (1991) Women's Single Gold, Women's Team Silver, Women's Double Silver.
*2nd Table Tennis World Cup (1991–1992) Women's Team Gold, Women's Double Gold.
*25th
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
(1992) Table Tennis Women's Single Gold, Women's Double Gold.
*42nd World Table Tennis Championship (1993) Women's Team Gold, Women's Double Silver.
*43rd World Table Tennis Championship (1995) Women's Team Gold, Women's Single Gold, Women's Double Gold, Mixed Double Silver.
*4th Table Tennis World Cup (1995) Women's Team Gold
*26th
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
(1996) Table Tennis Women's Single Gold, Women's Double Gold.
*5th Table Tennis World Cup (1996) Women's Single Gold
*44th World Table Tennis Championship (1997) Women's Team Gold, Women's Single Gold, Women's Double Gold, Mixed Double Silver.
Post-Playing Career
Deng is still deeply involved with the national Chinese table tennis scene and frequently speaks to the media. She also was a color-commentator for the Women's World Cup in 2020. In June 2021, Deng claimed that Mima Ito was not a serious threat to the Chinese women's Olympic hopes.
Personal and Political Life
After retiring at the end of the 1997 season, Deng served on the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
's ethics and athletes commissions. She is also a member of the elite
Laureus World Sports Academy
The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honouring individuals and teams from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year. It was established in 1999 by Laureus Sport for Good Foundation foundin ...
, and a member of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...
.
She gained a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
from
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...
, an
MRes
A Master of Research (abbr. MRes, MARes, MScRes, or MScR) degree is an internationally recognised advanced postgraduate research degree. In most cases, the degree is designed to prepare students for doctoral research. Increasingly, the degree may ...
degree in
Contemporary Chinese Studies from the
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
in 2002,
[Chinese Athlete of the Century heads back to University of Nottingham](_blank)
- website of the University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
and a
PhD degree in
Land Economy
In economics, land comprises all naturally occurring resources as well as geographic land. Examples include particular geographical locations, mineral deposits, forests, fish stocks, atmospheric quality, geostationary orbits, and portions of th ...
from the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
(
Jesus College) in 2008. Her thesis title is: "Olympic branding and global competition: the case of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games". Her research work coincides with her professional focus on the marketing, management and development of the
2008 Beijing Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
as a member of the
Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, or BOCOG, also known as the Beijing Organizing Committee, was an informal name for the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. It was also the organizi ...
.
In 2007, she married
Lin Zhigang, also a table tennis player, and later gave birth to a baby boy.
In 2010, she attracted controversy due to comments she made. A student asked her, "how can one get promoted quickly?" She answered, "when your personal value overlaps with the interests of the state, your value will be enlarged without limit."
Later, she also said, "In the 62 years since the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the ''People's Daily'' have not published a single piece of fake news."
In 2013, she was awarded an honorary
DLitt
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
degree from the
University of Nottingham Ningbo China
, mottoeng = "A City is built on Wisdom"
, established = 2004
, type = Public
, chancellor = Fujia Yang
, vice_chancellor = Shearer West
, provost = Nick M ...
.
Manuscripts and Special Collections: Women at Nottingham - Dr Deng Yaping
- website of the University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deng, Yaping
1973 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Nottingham
Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge
Olympic table tennis players of China
Table tennis players at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Table tennis players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for China
International Olympic Committee members
People from Zhengzhou
Tsinghua University alumni
Olympic medalists in table tennis
Asian Games medalists in table tennis
Table tennis players from Henan
Table tennis players at the 1990 Asian Games
Table tennis players at the 1994 Asian Games
Chinese female table tennis players
Asian Games gold medalists for China
Asian Games silver medalists for China
Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games
Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games
Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics