Wang Nan (table tennis) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wang Nan
Wang Nan in 2001 in Moscow after China was awarded the Olympics
Personal information
Native name	王楠
Nickname(s)	Nan Nan (楠楠), Nan Jie (楠姐)
Nationality	China
Residence	Beijing, China
Born	(1978-10-23) 23 October 1978 (age 46) Fushun, Liaoning, China
Playing style	Shakehand grip
Highest ranking	1 (January 1999)
Height	1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Medal record Women's table tennis Representing  China Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 4 1 0 World Championships 15 3 2 World Cup 5 2 0 Olympic Games Gold 2000 Sydney Singles Gold 2000 Sydney Doubles Gold 2004 Athens Doubles Gold 2008 Beijing Team Silver 2008 Beijing Singles World Championships Gold 1997 Manchester Team Gold 1999 Eindhoven Singles Gold 1999 Eindhoven Doubles Gold 2000 Kuala Lumpur Team Gold 2001 Osaka Singles Gold 2001 Osaka Doubles Gold 2001 Osaka Team Gold 2003 Paris Singles Gold 2003 Paris Doubles Gold 2003 Paris Mixed doubles Gold 2004 Doha Team Gold 2005 Shanghai Doubles Gold 2006 Bremen Team Gold 2007 Zagreb Doubles Gold 2008 Guangzhou Team Silver 1997 Manchester Singles Silver 1997 Manchester Doubles Silver 2007 Zagreb Mixed doubles Bronze 1997 Manchester Mixed doubles Bronze 1999 Eindhoven Mixed doubles World Cup Gold 1997 Shanghai Singles Gold 1998 Taipei Singles Gold 2003 Hong Kong Singles Gold 2007 Chengdu Singles Gold 2007 Magdeburg Team Silver 2000 Phnom Penh Singles Silver 2004 Hangzhou Singles Asian Games Gold 1998 Bangkok Singles Gold 1998 Bangkok Doubles Gold 1998 Bangkok Mixed doubles Gold 1998 Bangkok Team Gold 2006 Doha Mixed doubles Gold 2006 Doha Team Silver 2002 Busan Singles Silver 2002 Busan Team Bronze 2002 Busan Doubles Bronze 2002 Busan Mixed doubles Bronze 2006 Doha Singles Bronze 2006 Doha Doubles

Wang Nan (Chinese: 王楠; pinyin: Wáng Nán) is a famous Chinese table tennis player. She was born on October 23, 1978, in Fushun, Liaoning. Wang Nan is left-handed and started playing table tennis when she was just seven years old.

She was ranked the world's number one player by the ITTF from January 1999 to November 2002. Wang Nan is known for her amazing speed and her ability to change where the ball goes during a game. She also has a powerful "loop drive" shot. After the famous player Deng Yaping retired, Wang Nan became the top leader of China's women's table tennis team.

Wang Nan is one of the most successful female table tennis players ever. She has won gold medals in all the major tournaments: the Table Tennis World Cup, the World Table Tennis Championships, and the Olympic Games. This makes her a "Grand Slam" champion! Other great players like Li Xiaoxia, Deng Yaping, Ding Ning, and Zhang Yining have also achieved this.

About Wang Nan's Life

Wang Nan is married to a person named Guo Bin.

Wang Nan's Amazing Career

Early Wins and Becoming World Number One

Wang Nan started winning big tournaments early in her career. In 1994, she won the women's singles title at the Swedish Open. The next year, she won the Women's World Table Tennis Cup. From 1997 to 1998, she won the World Cup twice more. She also won the American Open and China Open.

At the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Wang Nan showed how dominant she was. She won all four gold medals available in table tennis: singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and women's team events. By the end of 1998, she also won the ITTF tour finals.

In 1999, she won gold medals at the World Table Tennis Championships in both singles and doubles. In the same year, she officially became the world's number one player.

Olympic Gold and Challenges

Wang Nan continued her success at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She won two gold medals there, one for singles and one for doubles. Her incredible achievements made her a "Grand Slam" champion, which is a huge honor in table tennis.

However, in 2002, she faced some challenges. At the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, she didn't win any gold medals. She lost in the finals for both singles and women's team events. Some people wondered if she would retire, but Wang Nan proved them wrong.

Comeback and Continued Success

In 2003, Wang Nan returned stronger than ever at the World Table Tennis Championships in Paris. She won three gold medals: singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. What was even more impressive is that she won the singles and doubles championships for the third time in a row. This was a very difficult record to break! Her success proved that she was still one of the best players in the world.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Wang Nan didn't win the singles gold medal again. But she still won a gold medal in women's doubles with her partner, Zhang Yining.

Four years later, at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, she reached the women's singles final once more. She played against Zhang Yining again and won a silver medal. Even though she didn't win gold in singles, she helped her country win the team gold medal for the host country, China.

World Title Event Finals

Wang Nan has competed in many important finals. Here are some of her biggest wins and losses in team, singles, and doubles events at the Olympics, World Championships, and World Cup.

Team Events

Wang Nan won all 8 of her team finals at major world events!

• 1997 World Championships: Gold medal with China's team.
• 2000 World Championships: Gold medal with China's team.
• 2001 World Championships: Gold medal with China's team.
• 2004 World Championships: Gold medal with China's team.
• 2006 World Championships: Gold medal with China's team.
• 2007 World Cup: Gold medal with China's team.
• 2008 World Championships: Gold medal with China's team.
• 2008 Summer Olympics: Gold medal with China's team.

Singles Events

Wang Nan won 8 out of 12 singles finals at major world events.

• 1997 World Championships: Silver medal (lost to Deng Yaping).
• 1997 World Cup: Gold medal (beat Li Ju).
• 1998 World Cup: Gold medal (beat Li Ju).
• 1999 World Championships: Gold medal (beat Zhang Yining).
• 2000 Summer Olympics: Gold medal (beat Li Ju).
• 2000 World Cup: Silver medal (lost to Li Ju).
• 2001 World Championships: Gold medal (beat Lin Ling).
• 2003 World Championships: Gold medal (beat Zhang Yining).
• 2003 World Cup: Gold medal (beat Niu Jianfeng).
• 2004 World Cup: Silver medal (lost to Zhang Yining).
• 2007 World Cup: Gold medal (beat Zhang Yining).
• 2008 Summer Olympics: Silver medal (lost to Zhang Yining).

Doubles Events

Wang Nan won 7 out of 8 doubles finals at major world events.

• 1997 World Championships: Silver medal (with Li Ju, lost to Deng Yaping and Yang Ying).
• 1999 World Championships: Gold medal (with Li Ju).
• 2000 Summer Olympics: Gold medal (with Li Ju).
• 2001 World Championships: Gold medal (with Li Ju).
• 2003 World Championships: Gold medal (with Zhang Yining).
• 2004 Summer Olympics: Gold medal (with Zhang Yining).
• 2005 World Championships: Gold medal (with Zhang Yining).
• 2007 World Championships: Gold medal (with Zhang Yining).

Mixed Doubles Events

Wang Nan won 1 out of 2 mixed doubles finals at major world events.

• 2003 World Championships: Gold medal (with Ma Lin).
• 2007 World Championships: Silver medal (with Ma Lin, lost to Guo Yue and Wang Liqin).

Images for kids

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  Wang Nan in 2001 in Moscow after China was awarded the Olympics

See also

In Spanish: Wang Nan para niños