Deng Yaping facts for kids

{{Infobox table tennis player | name= Deng Yaping | native_name =邓亚萍 | native_name_lang =zh-hans-CN | image= | imagesize= 230px | caption = Deng Yaping at Summer Olympics 1996 | nationality = Chinese | playingstyle = | birth_date = (1973-02-05) 5 February 1973 (age 52) | birth_place = Zhengzhou, Henan, China | death_date = | death_place = | height =1.5 m | weight = | medaltemplates =

|- ! colspan="3" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;background-color:#eeeeee;" | Women's table tennis

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor="#eeeeee" |colspan ="3"| Representing  China

|- | colspan="3" style="padding:0" |

|- ! colspan="3" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;background-color:#cccccc;" | Olympic Games

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1992 Barcelona || Singles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1992 Barcelona || Doubles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1996 Atlanta || Singles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1996 Atlanta || Doubles

|- ! colspan="3" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;background-color:#cccccc;" | World Championships

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1989 Dortmund || Doubles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1991 Chiba City || Singles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1993 Gothenburg || Team

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1995 Tianjin || Singles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1995 Tianjin || Doubles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1995 Tianjin || Team

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1997 Manchester || Singles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1997 Manchester || Doubles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1997 Manchester || Team

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=silver| Silver|| 1991 Chiba City || Doubles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=silver| Silver|| 1991 Chiba City || Team

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=silver| Silver|| 1993 Gothenburg || Doubles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=silver| Silver|| 1995 Tianjin || Mixed Doubles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=silver| Silver|| 1997 Manchester || Mixed Doubles

|- ! colspan="3" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;background-color:#cccccc;" | World Cup

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1990 Hokkaido, Aomori, Niig || Team

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1991 Barcelona || Team

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1995 Atlanta || Team

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1992 Las Vegas || Doubles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1996 Hong Kong || Singles

|- align=center bgcolor=white |bgcolor="#cc9966"| Bronze || 1990 Seoul || Doubles

|- ! colspan="3" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;background-color:#cccccc;" | Asian Championships

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1994 Tianjin || Singles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1994 Tianjin || Mixed Doubles

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=gold| Gold|| 1994 Tianjin || Team

|- align=center valign=middle bgcolor=white |bgcolor=silver| Silver|| 1994 Tianjin || Doubles |} Deng Yaping (Chinese: 邓亚萍; pinyin: Dèng Yàpíng; born February 5, 1973) is a famous Chinese table tennis player. She won many world championships, including four Olympic gold medals, between 1989 and 1997. Many people think she is one of the best table tennis players ever.

Deng Yaping's Early Life

Deng Yaping was born in Zhengzhou, Henan, China, on February 5, 1973.

Her Amazing Table Tennis Career

Deng started playing table tennis when she was just five years old. By the time she was nine, she had already won the championship for her province's junior players. She was only 13 when she won her first national championship.

Even with all her success, she was not chosen for the national team at first. This was because she was quite short, standing at only 1.5 meters (about 4 feet 11 inches) tall. However, she finally joined the national team in 1988.

Winning World Championships

In 1989, Deng Yaping and her partner, Qiao Hong, won their first world championship title in women's doubles. Two years later, in 1991, Deng won her first singles world championship.

At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, she won gold medals in both the singles and doubles events. She did this again at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, USA. She also won singles and doubles titles at the 1995 and 1997 world championships.

A Champion's Retirement

Deng Yaping retired from playing table tennis when she was 24. By then, she had won more titles than any other player in the sport. This included four Olympic gold medals and 18 world championship titles. From 1990 to 1997, she was ranked as the world's number one female table tennis player for eight years straight.

She was voted the Chinese female athlete of the century. In 2003, she was added to the International Table Tennis Federation Hall of Fame.

Her Major Wins

• 1989: 40th World Table Tennis Championship – Women's Doubles Gold
• 1990: 1st Table Tennis World Cup – Women's Team Gold
• 1991: 41st World Table Tennis Championship – Women's Singles Gold, Women's Team Silver, Women's Doubles Silver
• 1991–1992: 2nd Table Tennis World Cup – Women's Team Gold, Women's Doubles Gold
• 1992: 25th Olympic Games – Table Tennis Women's Singles Gold, Women's Doubles Gold
• 1993: 42nd World Table Tennis Championship – Women's Team Gold, Women's Doubles Silver
• 1995: 43rd World Table Tennis Championship – Women's Team Gold, Women's Singles Gold, Women's Doubles Gold, Mixed Doubles Silver
• 1995: 4th Table Tennis World Cup – Women's Team Gold
• 1996: 26th Olympic Games – Table Tennis Women's Singles Gold, Women's Doubles Gold
• 1996: 5th Table Tennis World Cup – Women's Singles Gold
• 1997: 44th World Table Tennis Championship – Women's Team Gold, Women's Singles Gold, Women's Doubles Gold, Mixed Doubles Silver

Life After Playing Table Tennis

After retiring, Deng Yaping stayed involved with table tennis in China. She often talks to the media about the sport. In 2020, she was a commentator for the Women's World Cup.

Deng also worked as the CEO of Jike Search, which was a search engine run by the state. This project ended in 2013.

Personal Life and Education

After her playing career, Deng Yaping joined important groups like the International Olympic Committee's ethics and athletes commissions. She is also a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

She studied at several universities. She earned a bachelor's degree from Tsinghua University. In 2002, she received a master's degree from the University of Nottingham. Later, in 2008, she earned a PhD degree from the University of Cambridge. Her studies focused on how the Olympics are marketed and managed, especially for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In 2007, she married Lin Zhigang, who was also a table tennis player. They later had a son.

In 2013, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China gave her an honorary degree.

See also

In Spanish: Deng Yaping para niños