 |
| Liu Guoliang and Kim Taek Soo playing men's doubles in 2005 Photo: Sina Sport |
We might get bored with the news reporting the Chinese winning medals in the Worlds but in the previous individual World Championships in 2015, the transnational mixed doubles champion, Xu Xin from China and Yang Haeun from South Korea, had definitely caught the media's interest. The mixed-nationality-doubles format was reintroduced to the World Championships in 2015 and has received some good responses so we will be seeing more transnational pairing combinations in 2017 Worlds. Wait a minute...does it mean the mixed-nationality doubles format is nothing new? This week's Throwback Thursday will be looking at some unexpected and unconventional but interesting combinations of mixed-nationality pairs (not those you can find in Worlds, so stay tuned!)
 |
| 2015 Transnational mixed doubles World champion, Xu Xin from China and Yang Haeun from South Korea Photo: Sport Asia |
Transnational Doubles is Nothing New
Before the treats, here is some history. I promise to make it short, precise and as interesting as possible. So please bear with me. The transnational pairing is nothing new in table tennis. The first mixed-nationality doubles to top the podium in World Championship happened back in 1928 when Fanchette Flamm representing Austria and Maria Mednyanszky from Hungary won the women's doubles titles. After them, there are 13 more transnational pairs clinching gold in the World Championships and many more achieved great results in World Championships and other meets.
 |
| The List of Transnational Doubles World Champion |
Many Countries in One Sky
Language and the different playing style may be barriers for the transnational doubles but they are not insurmountable. Not only do we see transnational pairs achieving good results, have they closen the relationship among athletes.
Back in 1991 Worlds, the 3rd match of the team event were doubles. Hyun Jung Hwa (KOR) and Li Bun Hui (DPRK) collaborated on playing doubles in team events. Despite the pairs did not win in the team finals, the Unified Team of Korea managed to win a historic gold medal in women's team over the Chinese in 1991 World Championships.
This video (this is an exception. It is from the Worlds) includes the highlights of the women's team final and the transnational doubles starts at 28:30. What a historic moment in table tennis history!
4 Men's Singles Olympic Champions in 1 Match
Transnational pairing does not only benefit players and the sport. It also gives surprises to the spectators. Who have ever thought of all 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 men's singles Olympic champions would play together in a men's double match? Here is a video of 2011 Shakehand Vs Penhold Challenge where Ma Lin / Ryu Seung Min, Penhold Team, played against Ma Long / Zhang Jike, the Shakehand team. It was an exhibition match but it was exciting to watch too.
Chinese National Coach and Korean National Coach Pairing Up
If the previous video cannot fulfill your needs, I bet this combination would be unprecedented. Liu Guoliang and Kim Taek Soo playing men's doubles against the amateur pairs in 2005 Table Tennis Show, an annual promotional table tennis activity held in China.
Isn't it amazing that a 40+mm ball brings table tennis players together? In spite of representing different countries, together they exchange ideas on table tennis and push the sport forward, whereas fans enjoy watching more matches played by different combinations. In 2017 Worlds, the Chinese are going to form 3 transnational pairs, Ma Long (CHN) and Timo Boll (GER) in men's doubles, Fang Bo (CHN) and Petrissa Solja (GER) in mixed doubles and Feng Yalan (CHN) and Jonathan Groth (DEN) in mixed doubles. Let's hope them overcome the barriers and have a great performance in the Worlds.
I hope you like this article. This week's Throwback Thursday is a bit different from the previous ones (click the tag on the top of the page to read the previous Throwback Thursday) as it is leaning towards to entertaining side rather than anecdotes and competition reviews. Comment below and let me know which style you prefer the most! Thank you for your supports. It is a great fun to write and share about a sport that I love.
No comments:
Post a Comment