Born: 6 February 1973

Birthplace: Zhengzhou (China)

Nationality: China

 

ATTENDANCE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Barcelona 1992

Atlanta 1996

AWARDS

Olympic medals:

Gold: 4

Other results:

World Championships

Gold: 9 (89, 91, 93, 95, 97)

Silver: 5 (91, 93, 95, 97)

The smallest giant

The biggest obstacle in Deng Yaping's Table Tennis career was not her opponents, but her height. When she was 9 years old she won a provincial junior championship but was denied a place on the provincial team because she was too short. In 1988, when she was 13 years old, Deng won the national championship, but was refused a spot on the national team because she was too short. The national coaching staff finally gave in and, in 1989, Deng, still only 16 years old, teamed with Qiao Hong to win the doubles title at the world championships. In 1991, by which time she had topped out at 1.49 meters tall, Deng defeated Li Bun-hui of North Korea to win the singles world championship.

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Deng and Qiao won the doubles title. In the final they beat their Chinese teammates, Chen Zihe and Gao Jun 21-13, 14-21, 21-14, 21-19. Two days later, Deng and Qiao faced each other in the singles final. Deng won the first two games easily, 21-6 and 21-8. Then Qiao caught fire and won the next game 21-15 and was leading game four 19-17, when Deng regained control and won 23-21 to earn her second gold medal. Deng and Qiao successfully defended their doubles title in 1996, but not without difficulty. In the quarterfinals they received a stiff challenge from Chen Jing (former Chinese player) and Chen Chiu-Tan from Chinese Taipei. The Chens took the first game 21-18, but Deng and Qiao won the next two 21-16 and 21-19. In the fourth game, Chen and Chen staved off a match point before winning 24-22. In the fifth game it was Deng and Qiao who fought off two match points and then went on to win 23-21. After a slow start, Deng and Qiao won 18-21, 25-23, 22-20, 21-14. Two days later, Deng played the final against Chen Jing, who had won the 1988 Olympic gold medal. Deng won the first two games 21-14 and 21-17. Chen came back to take games three and four 22-20 and 21-17. In the fifth game, Deng broke open a 2-2 tie by scoring nine straight points and Chen was never able to recover. Deng won 21-5 and earned her fourth gold medal.

An early retirement from sport in 1996 did not prevent her from getting involved with the Olympic Movement. In 1997, the ex-table tennis player was elected to the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission. In 2001, she also joined the Sport and Environment Commission, the body responsible for ensuring respect for the environment in the framework of the Games and encouraging sustainable development. Finally, during Beijing’s candidature to organise the 2008 Games, she was an official IOC delegate.

Yaping Deng has marked women’s table tennis and continues to work for the Olympic ideal. Her compatriots made the right choice: in 2003, she was elected Chinese Athlete of the Century.