China News Agency, Chengdu, October 5th, Question: On the 25th anniversary of the return of the motherland, how does Hong Kong "play through things"?
——Interview with Liu Guodong, head coach of men’s table tennis, and Li Jing, head coach of women’s table tennis, from Hong Kong, China
China News Agency reporter He Shaoqing
China's Hong Kong team won the best record of 1 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze in the Tokyo Olympics, including the first Olympic team medal in the history of Hong Kong table tennis.
A year later, in the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships team competition, the Chinese Hong Kong men's and women's teams survived the group stage and advanced to the top 16.
When did the deep love of table tennis between Hong Kong and the Mainland originate?
Why has "one country, two systems" become an advantage in the development of table tennis in Hong Kong?
On the 25th anniversary of the handover, how does Hong Kong "play the game"?
During the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships, the head coach of the Chinese Hong Kong men's table tennis team, Liu Guodong, and the head coach of the Chinese Hong Kong women's table tennis team, Li Jing, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency "Dongxi Wen" to talk about the development of table tennis in Hong Kong, China.
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The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
China News Service reporter: When did the deep ping-pong relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland originate? What are some major events worth remembering?
Li Jing:
The exchange of table tennis between Hong Kong and the mainland started before Hong Kong returned to the motherland.
Influenced by the West, table tennis in Hong Kong has a long history and a wide audience.
In 1957, the Hong Kong Table Tennis Federation and Macao formed the Hong Kong-Macao United Team to visit the mainland for a visiting competition, including Rong Guotuan.
In the end, Rong Guotuan stayed in the mainland and won the first world championship on behalf of China.
The sculpture of Rong Guotuan in the ITTF Museum in Shanghai and the China Table Tennis Museum.
Photo by Chen Yuyu
However, at that time, the exchange of table tennis between Hong Kong and the Mainland was limited, especially the high-level exchanges were limited.
After the return of Hong Kong in 1997, the level and frequency of table tennis exchanges between the two places have been directly raised to the "ceiling".
At the Tokyo Olympics last year, China's Hong Kong women's table tennis team won the team bronze medal, which is also the first Olympic table tennis team medal in Hong Kong's table tennis history.
In 2021, Hong Kong table tennis player Du Kaiqin and teammates Li Haoqing and Su Huiyin won the bronze medal in the women's table tennis team competition at the Tokyo Olympics.
The picture shows a group photo of the Chinese national table tennis team and the Chinese Hong Kong team after the Olympic award ceremony.
Photo by Du Yang
Liu Guodong:
One of the sports events that received the most attention last year was the delegation of mainland Olympic athletes to exchange in Hong Kong.
Table tennis brings a kind of positive energy to people, and every honor is made by oneself.
Table tennis is China's "national game", and Hong Kong is a part of China. Naturally, Ma Long, the captain of the national table tennis men's team, is welcomed in Hong Kong.
My daughter is a fan of Malone. Several players in our team are also fans of Malone. We often say that some of their tactical moves "were learned from Malone."
In December 2021, when the delegation of mainland Olympic athletes came to Hong Kong for exchange, Olympic table tennis champions Ma Long (upper right) and Xu Xin (upper left) performed a doubles performance with Hong Kong table tennis players.
Photo by Zhang Wei
China News Service: What is the story behind the Hong Kong table tennis team's success in international competitions in recent years? Why has "one country, two systems" become an advantage in the development of table tennis in Hong Kong?
Liu Guodong:
China's Hong Kong table tennis men's and women's team will study closely with the national table tennis team every year, and there are countless exchanges.
In preparation for the Tokyo Olympics last year, the China Table Tennis Association helped us contact the Henan Provincial Table Tennis Team. After finishing training there, the players went to the National Table Tennis Training Base and trained with the Second National Table Tennis Team for nearly a month.
Before the departure, Guoping also arranged for us to go to Weihai, and had a series of training and competitions with them.
This greatly helped the Chinese Hong Kong table tennis men's team won the ninth team in the Tokyo Olympics and the women's team won the team bronze medal.
At the beginning of this year, Hong Kong youth players trained with the second national table tennis team and the youth team for more than a month.
Not long ago, I brought some 12- or 13-year-old Hong Kong players to the provincial and city teams in the mainland to study. I hope they can experience what qualities a professional player should have and what kind of self-discipline they should use through their study in the mainland. Own.
On the first day, we went to the gymnasium of the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships for training. When taking pictures, the players suggested that the national flag must be photographed in.
It also reflects that Hong Kong players are loving our strong motherland more and more.
During the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships, Hong Kong players practiced and took pictures in the arena.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Li Jing:
Following the national table tennis training, our opponent is not the world champion, but the sparring partner of the world champion.
It's very impactful for young table tennis players and even coaches in Hong Kong. It feels like going to a university to study for a doctorate.
We have accumulated a lot of practical experience and new tactics.
Applying these tactics in international games often leads to scoring.
China News Service reporter: Ma Long is the absolute main force of national table tennis. This is the eighth time he has participated in the World Table Tennis Championships in Chengdu, making history. On the second match day of the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships team competition, Hong Kong veteran Huang Zhenting saved the field twice and turned the tide. What can they inspire young mainland and Hong Kong athletes?
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Liu Guodong:
From when Ma Long represented Shaanxi Galaxy in the Table Tennis Super League at the age of 15, to the later stage when he represented Ningbo Haitian and Shandong Weiqiao, I have always been the coach.
Malone is a player who combines many advantages. His self-discipline, diligence and talent have reached the highest level, so he can achieve the Grand Slam.
The most important quality of a table tennis player is self-discipline.
Malone has been more self-disciplined than others since he was a child.
He knows when he should train and thinks about the ball off the court, rarely seeing a player who demands so much from him.
Two days before the start of the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships, Huang Zhenting was seriously injured in his shoulder, and he was unable to even move during the training that day.
However, in an international competition such as the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships, an athlete cannot play several times in his sports career.
We still hope that Huang Zhenting can lead the players to fight.
In the end, Huang Zhenting did it. He scored 4 points in the first two group matches, especially when he was 0:2 behind the Iran team, he fought for one point by one point, and finally made the first contribution for the Hong Kong men's team to win 3:2. .
Now there are many young players playing table tennis in Hong Kong, China, and Huang Zhenting is a native Hong Kong player, who will make them think that "through hard work, I will also reach such a height", so that more Hong Kong children will be involved in table tennis.
On October 1, 2022, in the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships team match, the Hong Kong men's team made a comeback and defeated the Iranian team.
After the game, Hong Kong's "male table tennis brother" Huang Zhenting said that today is the birthday of the motherland, "this is the best gift to our motherland".
The picture shows the Chinese Hong Kong men's team member Huang Zhenting in the game.
Photo by Anyuan
China News Service: In the 25 years since the handover, what changes have taken place in Hong Kong table tennis? Do you have any suggestions for the future of table tennis in Hong Kong?
Li Jing:
Last year, Hong Kong won 1 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze medals in the Tokyo Olympics. These medals have witnessed the mainland's help to Hong Kong, the development of Hong Kong sports, and the rise of Hong Kong table tennis players.
Hong Kong athletes who are active in major international competitions have also influenced the next generation of Hong Kongers.
You can clearly feel that more people play table tennis, more people play sports, and even parents are involved.
In August 2021, the residents of Ocean Park Hong Kong joined athletes to celebrate the achievements of Hong Kong athletes in the Tokyo Olympics.
The picture shows Li Jing (second from right), coach of the Chinese Hong Kong women's table tennis team, taking a selfie with the public.
Photo by Zhang Wei
Now more and more young people in Hong Kong are willing to participate in professional sports.
There are many players in the Hong Kong women's table tennis team who can both read and play.
Reading and sports complement each other, as the so-called moral, intellectual and physical development together.
Culture and sport combine to make it easier for athletes to succeed.
Liu Guodong:
Although Hong Kong has a small population and a small area, the popularity of table tennis is very high and belongs to the "first sport".
Almost every community in Hong Kong has table tennis tables, as well as fifty or sixty table tennis clubs and more than 300 professional table tennis coaches.
In 2008, Chinese male and female table tennis players who won gold medals at the Beijing Olympics demonstrated in Hong Kong.
Two little brothers who came to watch the event were lucky enough to draw rackets and posters signed by Chinese table tennis players.
Photo by Deng Qingle
The 2025 National Games will be held in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This is also the first time that Hong Kong and Macau have participated in hosting the National Games.
Hong Kong has first-class sports venues, professional teams and rich experience in international competitions.
The table tennis competition of each National Games can be regarded as "fight of gods". Holding such a wonderful large-scale event in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will not only provide more opportunities for Hong Kong and mainland athletes to communicate, but also encourage more Hong Kong youth to participate. Table tennis sport.
Most of the players of China's Hong Kong table tennis team are native Hong Kongers. They can achieve such achievements in the international table tennis arena where hundreds of flowers are blooming, in addition to the help of the mainland, there are also factors of their own efforts.
The unique geographical location of Hong Kong is destined for us to integrate Chinese and Western styles of play and let a hundred flowers bloom. In addition to Huang Zhenting who played in the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships, we also have a 14-year-old straight shooter.
In this competition, Huang Zhenting used some new technologies of vertical and horizontal play, so he controlled some European players in the first three boards, but to improve further, Huang Zhenting's backhand needs to be strengthened.
In addition, we continue to innovate in the way of playing table tennis, and attach importance to cultivating the cutting style.
On September 30, 2022, the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships will start.
In the third group match of the women's team, the Chinese Hong Kong team defeated the Italian team 3:0, ushering in a good start.
The picture shows China Hong Kong team player Du Kaiqin in the game.
Photo by Anyuan
The Hong Kong Table Tennis Team is now the most united, combative and positive team in Hong Kong's history.
It can be seen from the order of appearances in our Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships that everyone will play the ball who is good at it, without any selfish thoughts, so they are also the most cohesive new generation of "golden combination" in the Hong Kong table tennis world.
(Finish)
Interviewee Profile:
Liu Guodong, head coach of the Hong Kong men's table tennis team, was interviewed.
Photo by Anyuan
Liu Guodong, the head coach of the Chinese Hong Kong men's table tennis team, once brought out two rookies, Ma Long and Hao Shuai, at the Shaanxi Galaxy Club.
From 2005 to 2008, he was the head coach of the Singapore table tennis team and the head coach of the women's team.
Since 2015, he has been the head coach of the Chinese Hong Kong men's table tennis team. During the coaching period, Huang Zhenting became the first Chinese Hong Kong player to win the men's singles medal in the three world table tennis competitions.
Li Jing, head coach of the Hong Kong women's table tennis team, was interviewed.
Photo by Anyuan
Li Jing, the head coach of the Chinese Hong Kong women's table tennis team, helped the Chinese Hong Kong team win the men's doubles silver medal in table tennis at the Athens Olympics in 2004, which was also the first Olympic medal after Hong Kong's return to the motherland.
After becoming a coach, Li Jing led the Chinese Hong Kong women's table tennis team to win the team bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, making history again.