Ni Xialian of Luxembourg and Slovakia’s Yang Wang are among a large number of former Chinese table tennis players who are representing other countries at the Tokyo Olympics. (PHOTO / AFP)
Born in China but competing under a different flag, a group of emigrants has navigated through athletic and cultural challenges to realize their Olympic dreams.
In the era of globalization, the Olympic Games is never short of intriguing encounters between athletes born in the same country yet representing different national delegations — a reality that Team China has confronted quite often in its traditionally strong sports, such as table tennis, badminton and diving.
With these sports often producing way more talent than China’s national programs actually need, some of those surplus athletes have found that their skills and abilities can benefit their adopted countries.
In table tennis alone, as many as 17 players born and introduced to the sport in China have qualified for the men’s and women’s singles tournaments at the ongoing Tokyo Games, not including those representing Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei.
A July 24 mixed doubles last-16 match featuring Chinese pair Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen against Canadian team Wang Zhen and Zhang Mo could have been mistaken for a matchup from the Chinese National Games, with players from both sides able to speak Mandarin.
Two women’s singles matches on July 27 also featured two Chinese stars, top-ranked Chen Meng and third-ranked Sun Yingsha, squaring off against two foreign opponents with Chinese connections — Canada’s Zhang and Yang Xiaoxin of Monaco, respectively — at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Basketball player Tenketsu Harimoto, previously known as Zhang Tianjie before he was naturalized by Japan, is expected to play a big role for the host in the men’s hoops competition. (PHOTO / AFP)
Although rarely standing a chance of advancing past their all-conquering rivals from their native country, the Chinese-born paddlers still have plenty of incentive to compete with their adopted national programs.
“If I’d stayed in China, I might probably never have the chance to compete at the Olympics because there are way too many talents in the sport in China,” German women’s player Han Ying said on July 26 in Tokyo before facing Australian veteran Hong Jianfang, who was also born in China, in the third round of the singles.
Born in Liaoning province to table tennis-loving parents, Han developed a competitive chopping style of play in the 1990s on her provincial team, but at tryouts for the national program realized she did not have what it takes to succeed at the very highest level.
She moved overseas in 2002 in search of better career opportunities, and rekindled her career goal of competing at world championships and Olympic Games after being granted German citizenship in 2010.
“As a player good at chopping, I did some trials for the Chinese national program when I was on Liaoning’s provincial team. But they had too many choppers already so I never really stood a chance,” said Han, who at the Rio Games helped Germany win its first Olympic women’s table tennis medal — in the team event.
As a world power in sports like table tennis, badminton and diving, China is never short of talent thanks to its rigorous State-funded sports program that drafts players from regional sports schools and provincial training centers across the country.
Ni Xialian of Luxembourg and Slovakia’s Yang Wang are among a large number of former Chinese table tennis players who are representing other countries at the Tokyo Olympics. (PHOTO / AFP)
However, the fierce competition for spots on the national team has forced some quality athletes nearing or exceeding the age of 30 to emigrate, particularly to Europe during the 1990s.
The oldest table tennis player at the Tokyo Games — Ni Xialian, 58, who represents Luxembourg — was among the first generation of elite-level Chinese players who became naturalized citizens of European nations. The Chinese media dubbed them “the foreign legion”.
Ni, who ended her fifth Olympic journey on July 25 after losing to South Korea’s Shin Yu-bin in the second round, said the emotional connection she has with her adopted home has driven her to continue competing as she approaches her 60s.
“I can’t really stop as they (the Luxembourg table tennis federation) came back again and again asking me to play,” said Ni after losing 3-4 to teenager Shin.
“I feel responsible for Luxembourg as a daughter-in-law of this country,” added Ni, who married her coach, Tommy Danielsson, after settling down in the European country in 1991.
Following in their footsteps, a younger generation of Chinese talents, such as Liu Jia, has embraced the task of challenging the sporting supremacy of their ancestral home, while enjoying the boon of a prolonged career representing a country with a thin talent pool.
After moving to Austria in 1997, Liu stole the limelight at the 2001 world championships by eliminating China’s Yang Ying in the women’s singles third round.
The head coach of Mexico’s diving team, Ma Jin, moved to the country in 2003 and has since significantly raised the standard of the squad. (PHOTO / AFP)
Liu, who started playing table tennis in Beijing at 11 years old, was chosen as Austria’s flag-bearer for the Rio Olympics opening ceremony. The 39-year-old left-hander is appearing at her sixth straight Olympics in Tokyo since first representing Austria at the 2000 Sydney Games.
In addition to table tennis, Chinese names can also be found on several countries’ rosters for Olympic badminton and diving events.
Five members of Australia’s 472-athlete delegation were born in China before moving Down Under to seek brighter career opportunities.
Among them, the diving combo of Esther Qin and Li Shixin has emerged as serious contenders in their respective events. Qin is going for a medal in the women’s 3m springboard, while Li, a former Chinese national team member, is bidding to continue his international success with the Aussies.
Born in Guangdong province, Li, 33, shot to prominence on the international stage after winning the men’s 1m springboard at the 2011 world championships representing his country of birth. The tough competition within China’s diving “dream team” forced him to retire temporarily in 2014. Yet, he returned to the sport in 2017 and started to compete for Australia in 2019 as a naturalized diver.
“There are some positive and some negative reactions to my decision,” Li, an Olympic debutant in Tokyo, wrote on Weibo.
“I don’t expect everyone to understand me, but every individual has the right to choose the way he or she wants to go. However, many thanks for those who support me, and hopefully those who criticized me will continue to pay attention to the sport.”
