After his loss to Austrian Werner Schlager at the 47th World Table Tennis Championships, Wang Liqin realizes it's his mental game that still needs improving.
Wang Liqin isn't a typical world champion. He's quiet, keeps a low profile and is incredibly shy. Only several words into the conversation finds Wang blushing. Although he represents one-half of the world's No 1 table tennis duo and is part of the reigning Olympic gold medalist team in doubles play, Wang has always been uncomfortable talking about himself.
"I've improved a lot through the years (on dealing with the press)," he smiles softly, eyes looking at the ground. "Yet I still don't know how to express myself properly."
This is characteristic of the native Shanghai athlete. Wang, born to an ordinary family in the city's northern Zhabei District, behaves like other 20-somethings on the street. But with a list of honors as long as the Yangtze River, the 25-year-old is no ordinary citizen. His trophy collections includes: a four-time winner of men's doubles in the International Table Tennis Federation Year-end Grand Final, Olympic gold medalist in men's doubles at Sydney 2000, the No 1 in men's singles at the 2001 World Championships and dozens of professional tournament titles.
"As an all-round player, Wang seems like a heaven-sent gift to the Chinese table tennis team," says Shen Yimin, a sports instructor for juniors, who introduced Wang to the sport 19 years ago.
Shen, now 62, was first impressed by Wang's size -- he was 10 centimeters taller than the average 6-year-old. "Traditionally Chinese table tennis instructors prefer short and quick boys," says Shen. "But I think we need some big guys with stronger strikes. Wang was much taller than his classmates in primary school and showed no signs of a slow mind. So I decided to have a try on him."
Wang, now at 186 centimeters, is the tallest among China's national players. His longer-than-average reach proves to be a nightmare to many rivals. "Wang plays more like a European," says Shen, who coached Wang for his first eight years in the game. "So far no one on the Chinese team can match the strength of their arch rivals across the continent except Wang, yet he also boasts exquisite skills compared with the overseas players. The wonderful mixture makes him unique in the top echelon of the sport."
Hmmmmm, sounds like Wang is invincible. Wrong. In some ways, Wang's fragile personality is his own worst enemy during big matches. "I know I was not mentally strong enough on court," he says. "I was not myself at certain critical moments (during some matches) ... maybe that's somewhat because of my quiet personality."
Though defending the title of men's doubles with his partner Yan Sen doesn't appear to phase Wang, he succumbs to the greater pressure inherent in singles play regularly. The national team even ruled him out of the Olympic singles squad in 2000 simply because of his "unsteady in form."
At the recently concluded 47th World Table Tennis Championships, his mental weakness cost him an opportunity to win back-to-back world championships.
On May 24 at Bercy Stadium, Paris, where Wang battled with Austria's Werner Schlager in the quarter-finals, the Austrian was down 2-3 in the best-of-seven set match and Wang was only one step away from victory with a 10-6 lead in the sixth set. "I had four match points, I wanted to play safe and clean but Schlager showed his guts," Wang says.
An aggressive serve by Schlager was ensued with a rally during which one of the strokes hit the edge of the table on Wang's side, breaking his pace and costing him one match point. Schlager followed with a hard-hit forehand winner. The Austrian's risk-taking strategy finally paid off: Wang collapsed and Schlager advanced to the final and won the championship by beating South Korean Joo Se Hyuk.
"I saw him bury his face in the towel weeping," says his doubles partner Yan. "I can understand that. It's rather hard to face such a loss."
Coach Shen, however, sees deeper.
"Actually Wang Liqin beat himself, not the person on the other end of the table," says Shen. "I know that his introverted personality has something to do with this stumble. But too much criticism will not help. Wang is a perfectionist whose focus on every single point adds extra pressure. He needs to adjust that attitude himself."
Unlike his national team peers with strong table tennis backgrounds, such as Kong Linghui and Liu Guoliang, whose fathers are both prominent table tennis coaches, Wang seemingly came from nowhere.
Wang's parents were truck drivers at a local factory and sent their son to play the sport at a young age to improve his fitness. "You can find the same character traits in each family member," says Shen. "They're amiable, simple-hearted and introverted. "It's comfortable to come to terms with these people off-court, but when it comes to competitive sport, you need something more."
Wang is clearly aware of his weakness. He's trying to communicate more with coaches as a way to adjust his approach to the game. Attentive spectators may notice more roars from the quiet guy at future tournaments. "I just strive to alleviate the pressure (of the game) one way or another," Wang says.
His current coach of the national team, Shi Zhihao, a multiple world champion himself and a Shanghai native as well, is apparently happy with the change. "To players like Wang Liqin, the coach should be more like a friend and give him more freedom," Shi says. "From a technical point of view, Wang is almost perfect. But he needs to sharpen his mental game."
Wang entered the national team in 1993 and two years later won his first champion at the U-17 championships. His career peaked at the 2001 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, where he achieved an epic come-from-behind victory against Kong Linghui in the final, claiming his first world championship title in singles play.
"I fought back from a 0-2 deficit and finally beat him," he recalls, his eyes glittering. "I'd like a repeat, not of that match, but of the strength inside myself at that very moment."
Surely it won't take long. The 48th World Table Tennis Championships, to be held in Shanghai, is only two years away. One of Shanghai's favorite sons may well turn in a performance that satisfies a nation, but most of all satisfies himself. Away from table tennis, Wang Liqin is introverted and shy. -- Wang Rongjiang Wang strives to return the ball during a competition. He is currently ranked No 5 in the ITTF men's singles category after his loss in the quarter-final to Austrian Werner Schlager, who is now ranked the top player, at the 47th World Table Tennis Championships in Paris last month. - Xu Jiajun Wang plays football against the Shanghai women's soccer team during national table tennis team training in Shanghai this month. Wang scored six goals in the game.
(eastday.com June 25, 2003)
