“Shanghai Auntie”, 58, won a medal in the world of table tennis

Reuters

Ni Xialian, a 58-year-old “Shanghai aunt,” set a record at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships in Houston. She won bronze in the women’s doubles, representing Luxembourg. It was the first women’s team medal in the history of Luxembourg for this championship.

“I never imagined that after more than three decades, I could step on this podium again,” Ni said. “Now I have been written into the history of Luxembourg and not just for myself but for all the Chinese. I feel pride and honor for it.”

Born in Shanghai in 1963, Ni joined the Chinese table tennis national team in 1979. At the 1983 World Table Tennis World Championships, she won two gold medals for the women’s team and a mixed doubles match with Guo Yuehua from China. At the 1985 World Table Tennis Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, she won a silver medal with her partner Cao Yanhua in the women’s doubles.

When he retired from the table tennis national team, he moved to Europe and settled in Luxembourg. Since 1991, he has represented Luxembourg at the Games.

Reuters

Nin’s stunning table tennis performances have remained deep in the minds of many Shanghai people. When she lost to Wang Yid in the women’s singles on November 26, her fans cried at the scene. Three days later, Ni and 29-year-old Sarah De Nutten faced Wang Manyu and Sun Yingshan in the women’s doubles semi-finals.

Even though they lost 0-3 to China’s best table tennis pair, they still won a historic medal for Luxembourg.

On the Luxembourg table tennis team, other young players call them “mother” because when “mother” is there, they can count on it. During the game, Ni encouraged De Nutt to take it easy.

“At the European Table Tennis Championships in late September, he didn’t dare to rush ahead. I’m still number one in singles and won entry to next year’s World Table Tennis Championships in Chengdu,” Ni told Xinmin Evening. News. “But this time he stood up boldly and fought with me to the end.”

“He is the same age as my son, and I have seen him grow up. Now I am glad to see that he is probably my successor,” Ni added.

“His peers work in companies and make more money than he does. But he devotes his career to table tennis with love for this sport, as do I.”

Ni met more than 100 fans after the game and received their congratulations. Some young fans said their parents also loved watching Nin’s games as they grew up.

“I heard your cheering during the game and I was really moved,” Ni said.

Nin’s ties to table tennis began when she was 9. That same year, she watched the Asia-Africa-Latin America Table Tennis Friendship Tournament on TV and found table tennis interesting. He then decided to join the school as a member of the table tennis team.

He later spent seven years on the table tennis national team and left for Europe at the age of 23.

“I’m never afraid of competition, even though there should be some younger players out there playing me better. At the time, I could have chosen to continue, but I felt it wouldn’t make as much sense for my life. So I decided to leave.” he recalled in an interview.

For 30 years with the Luxembourg table tennis team, Ni has won the championship in several games, including the women’s table tennis championship.

In 2015, Ni won 27-year-old Japanese table tennis star Ai Fukuhara. Two years later, it took 94 minutes to win the game against Japanese Honoka Hashimoto, setting a record for the longest table tennis match in the world.

He participated in this year’s Tokyo Olympics, and on November 14, he won Wang Yid at the World Table Tennis Slovenia Hub and came in second.

Ni has competed in the Olympics five times, and when asked if he would join the Paris Olympics in 2024, he replied, “Never say never!” with a wide smile.

In general, older Olympic athletes are mainly skilled players in events such as equestrian, shooting or sailing. Age, injury or illness and the will to fight are obstacles to events where high demands on physical strength are required.

For her, life is the happiness of playing table tennis when she is in good shape. “As if the whole world were encouraging me – they say, we hope you can do a miracle. So as long as I go on the field, I’ll do my best every minute.”