In Translation: A Day in the Life of Liu Shiwen -- Work Hard, Play Hard

How would you like to spend your holiday? The reigning women's singles world champion Liu Shiwen made a humble request on a TV program "A Date with Luyu", hoping to spend hers like an ordinary youth would  have normally spent. Without further ado, let's delve into a day in the life of Liu Shiwen and learn about the tidbit in her training and daily life.

In Translation: What Makes Liu Shiwen the World Champion

What makes a world champion? A world-class playing style? An Olympic-champion-winning coach? Or a good sleep before the match? Liu Shiwen, the 2019 women's singles world champion, talks us through every important detail that makes her the world champion.

2018 Team World Cup Selection Results

After 2 days of intense trials, Chen Xingtong and Wang Manyu end up top 2 among 7 players and will join Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen and Zhu Yuling to compete in the 2018 Team World Cup which will be held in London from 22 to 25 February. The Chinese team will be sending Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, Xu Xin, Lin Gaoyuan and Yu Ziyang to compete in the men's team competition.

China's 2018 Team World Cup Selection Begins

The Chinese women are set for Chinese Trials to be held on 5 & 6 January and the line-up for the men's team has announced after a series of trials.

Recap: 2017 Women's World Cup

Photo: ITTF

Zhu Yuling and Liu Shiwen put a huge exclamation point on the 2017 Women's World Cup by contributing a phenomenal 7-game thriller in the finals. Zhu Yuling won her first ever World Cup champion, Liu Shiwen ended up second and Cheng I-Ching from Chinese Taipei settled for third.

Throwback Thursday: "Table Tennis Is My Love Forever" Said Legendary Coach Zhou Shusen

In last week's Throwback Thursday, we covered the story of coach Wang Tao and Ma Wenge. This week we will have a look at a very experienced coach who said "Table tennis is his love forever" in his new book! He is Zhou Shusen. You may not recall who Zhou Shusen is but you must have heard of the Singaporean women's team defeating the Chinese team and walked away with their first ever world team champion in 2010 WTTC. Well, Zhou Shusen was the coach of the champion-winning team.

Throwback Thursday: Moments At The Past Asian Cup

When the National Games has just wrapped up, an exciting table tennis week is coming ahead. There are European Team Championships, Asian Cup, Austrian Open, T2 APAC and many table tennis competitions taking place in this and the coming week. As a companion piece of the 2017 Asian Cup schedule / live stream links, I decided to write a Throwback Thursday that highlights special moments in the past Asian Cup!

2017 Asian Cup: Rosters & Schedule & Live Stream Links

Photo: TFFI

We're 3 days away from the 2017 Asian Cup, to be held in Ahmedabad, India, from 15 to 17 September. 32 top table tennis athletes from Asia will be competing for the men's singles and women's singles title.

13th Chinese National Games: Women's Doubles Preview

Last week, we introduced you to the mixed doubles, an event which you can enjoy the men's style and women's style in one go. Now let's move on to the women's doubles (catch up the CNG intro and XD preview here).

13th Chinese National Games: Mixed Doubles Preview

Now that you know the background of the Chinese National Games and athletes who have qualified to the main draw, we can move on each of the events, starting from the mixed doubles (catch up the CNG intro here). 

CNG Throwback: Grand-Slam Partnership in Mixed Doubles

CNG Throwback will revisit the mixed doubles finals at 2013 Chinese National Games. As the CNG preview which will be released tomorrow will be mentioning the champion-winning pairs for many times despite the fact that they will not compete in the 13th Games (2017). Make sure you follow the blog (click the blue button on the right-hand column) and the CNG preview which give you a better idea on the Chinese National Games scheduled from 28 August to 6 September.

Mixed Doubles Award Ceremony at the 12th Chinese National Games
Photo: 华奥星空

In Translation: Table Tennis Documentary About The Marvellous 12

As the big events like World Championships and World Tour platinum have ended, there are not many occasions where the top Chinese players show up. With 49 days left to go before the Chinese National Games, most athletes choose to utilize every minute they have to train behind the closed door. Well, we can still find some in T2 APAC, a pan-regional table tennis league and UTTL, India's professional table tennis league. However the number of Chinese players is nowhere near the Chinese National Games and the Marvellous 12. Fortunately, Tecent Sports has presented a documentary (was taken down after the Chendu Three incident) about the Marvellous 12 just in time to fill up the off season. 

Recap: 2017 Dusseldorf WTTC

Hello, it's been a long time for not updating. I'm not being lazy but because it has been a long busy week (following matches, translating interviews...). I've been catching up some matches of 2017 WTTC recently because there were so many amazing matches played simultaneously in the championships. If you have missed some matches, you can catch up or re-watch the matches on ITTV like what I've been doing these days. I have not covered every match of 2017 WTTC (as there are too many of them but I might catch up more eventually) but the followings are a summary and my thoughts on 2017 WTTC. Please comment below. I would love to hear your thoughts on 2017 WTTC!

Throwback Thursday: The Giant Slayer -- Mu Zi

If you have followed Adam's commentary (the ITTF commentary), you must have heard of the term "Giant Slayer" which he (in the Chinese men's team context) referred to Shang Kun who beat Ma Long in 2015 Japan Open. "Giant Slayer" generally refers to a less-known but skillful player who pull down the favorite of the match. This week's Throwback Thursday features the women's "Giant Slayer", Mu Zi, who will be playing women's singles in 2017 World Championships.

In Translation: The Chinese Team in 2017 WTTC (CCTV5 Report)

The 2017 World Table Tennis Championships will be held in Dusseldorf, Germany, from 29 May to 5 June. It can be overwhelming to track down all the 330 male and 264 female players who will be playing in the 2017 WTTC. But the Chinese are definitely those you don't want to miss as they are the favorite of the championships. CCTV 5 has produced fluff featuring the Chinese players who will play in 2017 WTTC. Check the playlist below to watch the fluff with English subtitles!

The Chinese team is heading to Luxembourg for a 1-week training in the China Table Tennis College (Europe Division) on May 20 and then will leave for Dusseldorf on May 27 for 2017 WTTC.

Apart from the Worlds participants, the Chinese are sending more players and staff to backup the team's preparation for 2017 WTTC.

Throwback Thursday: Girl Power -- Feng Yalan

24 days countdown to the 2017 Dusseldorf World Championships. Every team is in the final stage of their preparation. The Chinese team is no exception (check the previous articles about their close-door training here). This week's Throwback Thursday features Feng Yalan who will play mixed doubles with Denmark's Johnathan Groth in the 2017 Dusseldorf World Championships. 

Photo: Sina Sports

Throwback Thursday: The Ups and Downs in 4 Asian Championships -- Liu Shiwen

The 2017 Asian Championship will be started in 3-day time. It is also the first international meet for Liu Shiwen since her intentional-play suspension. During the suspension, Liu Shiwen played outstandingly in the national competition, winning the team champion in the 2016 Chinese Super League and making a 11-straight win in the 2017 Chinese Trials (Marvellous 12). Will she keep the momentum going? 

I believe she will but I do not predict future, I review history. This week's Throwback Thursday features Liu Shiwen's past Asian Championships. 

Day 4 Results: Women's Team, Men's Team and Mixed Doubles -- 13th Chinese National Games Prelims

Day 4 Results: Liu Shiwen Fought Hard But Cannot Help, Team Guangdong is Out

Last Day for the Team Competition and the Mixed Doubles starts the night. Check the following results to see which teams will be playing in the Chinese National Games scheduled on 28 August, 2017!

The match of the day goes to Shanghai Vs Guangdong in the women's team.

Day 1 Results: Men's Team & Women's Team -- 13th Chinese National Games Prelims

Day 1 Results: Liu Shiwen's 2 Points Didn't Turn into Victory

In Day 1 of the Prelims of the 13th Chinese National Games, Women's team and Men's team events start the jam-packed competition schedule.


In the women's side, Liu Shiwen from Team Guangdong fought hard in the match against Team Henan. Despite winning 2 points for the team, it is not enough to beat Team Henan. She did not play in the match against Team Heilongjiang, which has competitive young players like Wang Manyu and Che Xiaoxi. Group 4, Team Shandong, with Chen Meng, Gu Yuting and Liu Gaoyang, is out of the league, making a clean sweep in the first day.

In the men's side, Ma Long from Team Beijing is still recovering from his injury and did not play in today's competition. However Team Beijing with Yan An and 16-year-old future star, Wang Chuqin, is still too strong to be defeated. In Group 4, the 'Group of Death', Team Guangdong has a close match against Team Sichuan. Lin Gaoyuan, the main player of Team Guangdong did not play in the match because of a cramping back pain. Zhang Chao, the 32-year-old veteran beat Zhu Linfeng and Lai Jiaxin of Team Sichuan, winning 2 crucial points for Team Guangdong. What a shaky start of 3-2 for Team Guangdong! 

The results are as follow:

In Translation: Coach Liu: "Lin has Shuffled the Men's Rankings" -- Closing Speech of 2017 Marvellous 12 with Eng Sub

Coach Liu wrapped up the Marvellous 12 by commenting the 6 players who have reached stage 3 and presented the tickets to the Worlds to the 4 players, Fan Zhendong, Liu Shiwen, Lin Gaoyuan and Ding Ning. Here is the closing ceremony of the Marvellous 12 with English subtitles.