Chinese Table Tennis Players

It's well known that Chinese table tennis players are the best in the world and with Wang Hao, Ma Lin and Wang Liqin occupying the top three places in the men's world rankings, the situation isn't about to change anytime soon.

photos courtesy of the ITTF

Further proof of China's domination, if needed, is that they have a plethora of top players including Ma Long, Chen Qi, Hao Shuai and Hou Yingchao who are all ranked in the world top twenty.

Yes, China certainly dominates mens table tennis.

But don't forget the women ...

Meanwhile, the female chinese table tennis players are just as dominant in the women's world rankings with Guo Yue, Zhang Yining, Li Xiaoxia, Wang Nan and Guo Yan occupying the top five places - whilst Niu Jianfeng and Cao Zhen are also in the top twenty.

photos courtesy of the ITTF

From China to Europe ...

However, many chinese players leave their native country to play their table tennis in other countries, notably within europe, although some move to Australia or the USA.

A prime example was Chen Xinhua. He was a world class player who represented China in the 1985 and 1987 World Championships when he won gold in the team event, but he later moved to the UK and played for England for many years during the 1990s.

There are many other chinese players who have also emigrated.

Some move because they are unable to break into the chinese national team. They know that they have the ability to successfully compete in international events so, by moving to another country they can, after a qualifying period, represent a different country in World Championships and Olympic Games.

Other players move abroad to take up coaching roles and european countries such as Spain and Austria have been quick to welcome such talent to their shores.

Learn from the best ...

The chinese are renowned for their meticulous preparation, intense training methods and superior technical abilities, so top european players such as Stellan Bengtsson, Jan-Ove Waldner, Jorgen Persson and Werner Schlager all recognised that they if they wanted to become world class players, they needed to train with the top chinese players.

Their foresight was of course richly rewarded as they each became World Champion, and subsequently many european players have followed in their footsteps as they endeavour to repeat their success.

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