Deng Yaping

In thisChinese name,thefamily nameisDeng.

Deng Yaping(Chinese:Đặng á bình;pinyin:Dèng Yàpíng;born February 6, 1973) is a Chinesetable tennisplayer, who won eighteen world championships including fourOlympicchampionships between 1989 and 1997. She is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.

Deng Yaping
Native name	Đặng á bình
Nationality	Chinese
Born	(1973-02-06)6 February 1973 Zhengzhou,Henan,China
Height	1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)
Medal record Women'stable tennis RepresentingChina Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 4 0 0 World Championships 9 5 0 World Cup 5 0 1 Total 18 5 1 Olympic Games 1992 Barcelona Singles 1992 Barcelona Doubles 1996 Atlanta Singles 1996 Atlanta Doubles World Championships 1989 Dortmund Doubles 1991 Chiba City Singles 1993 Gothenburg Team 1995 Tianjin Singles 1995 Tianjin Doubles 1995 Tianjin Team 1997 Manchester Singles 1997 Manchester Doubles 1997 Manchester Team 1991 Chiba City Doubles 1991 Chiba City Team 1993 Gothenburg Doubles 1995 Tianjin Mixed Doubles 1997 Manchester Mixed Doubles World Cup 1990 Hokkaido, Aomori, Niig Team 1991 Barcelona Team 1995 Atlanta Team 1992 Las Vegas Doubles 1996 Hong Kong Singles 1990 Seoul Doubles Asian Championships 1994 Tianjin Singles 1994 Tianjin Mixed Doubles 1994 Tianjin Team 1994 Tianjin Doubles

Early life and education

Deng was born inZhengzhou,Henan,on February 6, 1973.

Career

Deng began playing table tennis aged 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 [4 feet 11 inches] tall). She was finally included on the national team in 1988. She teamed withQiao Hongto 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 the1992 OlympicsinBarcelona, Spain,she won a gold medal in both the singles and doubles competitions and repeated the feat at the1996 OlympicsinAtlanta,USA.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 fourOlympicgold 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 theInternational Table Tennis FederationHall of Famein 2003.

Successes

• 40thWorld Table Tennis Championship(1989) Women's DoubleGold.
• 1stTable Tennis World Cup(1990) Women's TeamGold.
• 41st World Table Tennis Championship (1991) Women's SingleGold,Women's TeamSilver,Women's DoubleSilver.
• 2nd Table Tennis World Cup (1991–1992) Women's TeamGold,Women's DoubleGold.
• 25thOlympic Games(1992) Table Tennis Women's SingleGold,Women's DoubleGold.
• 42nd World Table Tennis Championship (1993) Women's TeamGold,Women's DoubleSilver.
• 43rd World Table Tennis Championship (1995) Women's TeamGold,Women's SingleGold,Women's DoubleGold,Mixed DoubleSilver.
• 4th Table Tennis World Cup (1995) Women's TeamGold
• 26thOlympic Games(1996) Table Tennis Women's SingleGold,Women's DoubleGold.
• 5th Table Tennis World Cup (1996) Women's SingleGold
• 44th World Table Tennis Championship (1997) Women's TeamGold,Women's SingleGold,Women's DoubleGold,Mixed DoubleSilver.

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.

Deng was the CEO of Jike Search, a state-runsearch engine.Jike Search failed in 2013.

Personal and Political Life

After retiring at the end of the 1997 season, Deng served on theInternational Olympic Committee's ethics and athletes commissions. She is also a member of the eliteLaureus World Sports Academy,and a member of theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

She gained abachelor's degreefromTsinghua University,anMResdegree inContemporary Chinese Studiesfrom theUniversity of Nottinghamin 2002,and aPhDdegree inLand Economyfrom theUniversity of Cambridge(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 the2008 Beijing Olympicsas a member of theBeijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.

In 2007, she marriedLin 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, thePeople's Dailyhave not published a single piece of fake news. "

In 2013, she was awarded an honoraryDLittdegree from theUniversity of Nottingham Ningbo China.