To some, he is a great coach and, to others, one of the greatest men to play table tennis. Whichever way, Liu Guoliang’s name is not one to forget in the table tennis industry.
Liu Guoliang excelled as a player. He also took this stellar performance into his coaching career and is now replicating this success in administrative roles.
Let us take a look at his life as a whole.
Background
Liu Guoliang was born in Xinian Hennan, China, on January 10, 1976. His family seems to have a penchant for excelling at sports.
Growing up, Liu Guoliang had a figure to look up to in the table tennis space. His older brother, Liu Guodong, is the head coach of the Indonesia table tennis national team.
So, Liu Guoliang’s interest in the game started at an early stage while growing up with his brother.
Career
Liu Guoliang excelled both as a player and a coach, and now, he is taking on administrative roles in the Chinese table tennis association.
Playing career
Liu Guoliang was one of the players who dominated table tennis throughout the 90s. He’s the second person to win three majors; a grand slam of the Olympic gold, world championships, and the World Cup, extraordinary!
Playing Technique
Liu Guoliang is revered for having one of the best serves in history. When quizzed about his serves in this interview, he claimed that his serves helped his game immensely because they help him exploit the advantages of his third ball attacks.
He plays with a penholder grip and infuses the backhand reverse topspin into his game.
He uses the Stiga Clipper blade and forehand rubber and the Stiga Mendo energy as his reverse backhand rubber to properly execute these. Learn more about these techniques by checking out the reviews of these pieces of equipment and click here.
Coaching Career
An illustrious playing career for Liu Guoliang came to an end in 2001, and he quickly transitioned into the coaching world. He was appointed as the Chinese Men’s National Table Tennis Team coach at the early age of 27.
In a coaching career that spanned from 2001 to 2018, Liu Guoliang became the most successful coach in the Chinese Men’s National Table Tennis Team’s history.
During this period, the Chinese team has won all men’s singles championships in the world table tennis championships. The team also won the olympics gold on multiple occasions in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
Administrative career
Towards the end of his coaching career, Liu Guoliang was appointed as the CTTA president. This role required him to oversee the preparations for the 2020 Olympics games.
This appointment marked the beginning of an administrative career because, On June 29, 2020, Liu Guoliang was appointed as the chairman of the newly formed World table tennis (WTT) council.
He claims he is relishing the massive challenge of pioneering the future of table tennis. He is indeed a table tennis legend who is on a journey to make the sport better by contributing to various aspects of the sport.
Career Defeats and Drawbacks
Liu Guoliang didn’t experience too many defeats in his career. As a coach, he won 28 out of 32 possible gold medals issued by the olympics since table tennis became an Olympic game.
After winning two gold medals at the 1996 Olympic Games as a player, he was unable to defend his titles at the Sydney games four years later. He had to settle for bronze and silver in the Men’s Singles and doubles games, respectively.
For every minor defeat, he responded with multiple wins.
Major Career Highlights
Liu Guoliang’s career is an interesting one. The following achievements, events, and occurrences were major highlights that made it a colorful one.
- Making the Chinese National team at 15.
- Winning two gold medals at the olympics and men’s singles in the World Cup both in 1996.
- Completing the grand slam of three majors by winning the doubles at the world championships in 1997.
- Medal sweep at the 2008 Olympics by the chinese team as a coach.
- Appointment as the chair of the WTT council.
Conclusion
Not all legends are myths; some are flesh and blood. Liu Guoliang is one of such in the table tennis sport.
All the way from Xinian hennan, China, with his brother and coaches’ help early in life, he was able to win all that there is to play for in table tennis. He then passed this experience down to other players in the younger generations as a coach.
Today, he’s taking on administrative roles to create platforms that’ll make table tennis as a sport more significant and better. A true legend!
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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