Zhang Yining facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Zhang Yining
Full name	Zhang Yining
Born	(1981-10-05) 5 October 1981 (age 43) Beijing, China
Playing style	Shake hands grip
Highest ranking	1
Height	168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	54 kg (119 lb)
Medal record Women's table tennis Representing  China Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 4 0 0 World Championships 10 2 4 World Cup 4 2 1 Olympics Games Gold 2004 Athens Singles Gold 2004 Athens Doubles Gold 2008 Beijing Singles Gold 2008 Beijing Team World Championships Gold 2000 Kuala Lumpur Team Gold 2001 Osaka Team Gold 2003 Paris Doubles Gold 2004 Doha Team Gold 2005 Shanghai Singles Gold 2005 Shanghai Doubles Gold 2006 Bremen Team Gold 2007 Zagreb Doubles Gold 2008 Guangzhou Team Gold 2009 Yokohama Singles Silver 1999 Eindhoven Singles Silver 2003 Paris Singles Bronze 1999 Eindhoven Doubles Bronze 2001 Osaka Singles Bronze 2001 Osaka Doubles Bronze 2007 Zagreb Singles World Cup Gold 2001 Wuhu Singles Gold 2002 Singapore Singles Gold 2004 Hangzhou Singles Gold 2005 Guangzhou Singles Silver 2006 Urumqi Singles Silver 2007 Chengdu Singles Bronze 2003 Hong Kong Singles Asian Games Gold 1998 Bangkok Team Gold 2002 Busan Singles Silver 2002 Busan Doubles Silver 2002 Busan Team

Zhang Yining (Chinese: 张怡宁; pinyin: Zhāng Yíníng) is a famous Chinese table tennis player. She was born on October 5, 1981. Many people think she is one of the best female table tennis players ever. She stopped playing professionally in 2009.

Zhang Yining is special because she won gold medals in all the biggest table tennis events. These include the Table Tennis World Cup, the World Table Tennis Championships, and the Summer Olympics. She is also the first female player to achieve a "Double Grand Slam." This means she won the singles title at the Olympics, World Championships, and World Cup twice!

Zhang Yining's Amazing Career

Zhang Yining was ranked number one in the world by the ITTF for many years. She held this top spot almost continuously from 2003 to 2009. This shows how dominant she was in women's table tennis.

She won four Olympic gold medals during her career. She also earned ten World Championships titles and four World Cup wins. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, people sometimes called her "The Yellow Beast." This nickname showed how incredibly strong and unbeatable she was in the sport.

Zhang Yining studied at the Beijing Shichahai Sports School. This is a well-known sports school in China.

Life After Professional Play

Zhang Yining got married in October 2009. After that, she did not play in table tennis tournaments anymore. She officially announced her retirement from international play in 2011.

After retiring, she moved to the United States. She studied at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She wanted to learn to speak English better. Zhang Yining is one of the few players who retired while still holding both the World and Olympic titles. She held these titles for both singles and team events. She also said she wanted to help introduce table tennis to people in America.

Since 2010, Zhang Yining has been working as an assistant president. She works at the China Table Tennis College in Shanghai.

Major Achievements and Wins

Zhang Yining had many incredible wins throughout her career. Here are some of her most important successes:

• Olympic Games: She won four gold medals at the Olympics. Two were in 2004 (singles and doubles) and two in 2008 (singles and team).
• World Championships: She won ten gold medals at the World Championships. These included team, doubles, and singles titles. Her last singles gold was in 2009.
• World Cup: She won four singles gold medals at the World Cup. These wins happened in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005.
• ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals: She also won several gold medals at these important tournaments.

Olympic Games Highlights

Zhang Yining had amazing performances at the Olympic Games.

2008 Beijing Olympics: Singles Results

Zhang Yining competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She won gold medals in both the women's singles and women's team events. She successfully defended her singles Olympic gold medal. In the finals, she played against her teammate Wang Nan. Zhang Yining won the match with a score of 8-11, 13–11, 11–8, 11–8, 11–3.

She also won the women's doubles gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

The table below shows the scores of her women's singles matches at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games:

Round	Result	Opponent's country	Opponent	Score	By match
1st	Bye
2nd	Bye
3rd	W	Belarus	Victoria Pavlovich	4-0	11-7	11-2	11-7	11-5
4th	W	Japan	Fukuhara Ai	4-1	11-5	11-2	11-5	9-11	11-8
Quarters	W	Singapore	Feng Tianwei	4-1	13-11	12-14	14-12	12-10	13-11
Semis	W	Singapore	Li Jia Wei	4-1	9-11	11-8	12-10	11-8	11-5
Finals	W	China	Wang Nan	4-1	8-11	13-11	11-8	11-8	11-3

Click here to see more details about the 2008 Summer Olympics Table Tennis results.

2008 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony Role

At the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Zhang Yining had a very important role. She took the Olympic Oath for all the athletes competing in the Games. This is a great honor!

See also

In Spanish: Zhang Yining para niños

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists