The women’s singles 1/8 final between former world number one Zhu Yuling and current world number three Wang Manyu became the focus of the WTT Macau Championship on September 11. After Wang Manyu defeated the senior national table tennis players 11-5, 11-4, 11-6, two generations of top female table tennis players clapped their hands. Zhu Yuling, who had been away from the competition for four years and made her debut as a player from Macau, China, choked up after the game: "The last time I played against Wang Manyu was my last international competition. This was my first game after my comeback, and I also played against her. It seemed like It’s like God has arranged it. He is telling me that I seem to have never left.”
In 2021, Zhu Yuling retired from table tennis due to a sudden problem with her body’s immune system. After successfully fighting cancer, the 28-year-old received a wild card for the Macau Championship. Returned to the court and defeated Poland's Natalia Bayo 13-11, 13-11, 12-10, winning her first victory since her comeback. In the second stop, he faced Wang Manyu, the current main player of the national table tennis team. This battle naturally had mixed feelings for and Zhu Yuling.
The national table tennis women’s singles twin stars who were once as famous as Chen Meng have experienced twists and turns in life and finally returned to the arena they love. At the age of 15, she became famous after being crowned the double champion of the World Youth Championships in Slovakia. At the age of 18, she reached the semi-finals of the World Table Tennis Championships and locked up the main position of the national table tennis team. In the 2016 Olympic Games, she went to Rio as a p-card. This talented girl was regarded as As the main player of the national table tennis in the Tokyo Olympics cycle, she later won the World Cup women's singles championship in 2017, ranking first in the world. This was the peak of her table tennis career. But the downhill road followed. Not only did she encounter strong rivals Mima Ito in the arena, but she also encountered the epidemic and unexpected blows outside the arena. The Qatar Open in March 2020 became Zhu Yuling's last international appearance on behalf of the Chinese team. She lost to Wang Manyu in the women's singles quarter-finals. In the Tokyo Olympics simulation competition in August that year, Zhu Yuling also withdrew before the competition due to problems with her immune system.
"Although I have left the competition in the past few years, my life experience has not stopped." After stopping in the top 16 of the wtt Macau Championship, Zhu Yuling said: "I am constantly expanding myself, and I am also looking to see if I have more possibilities. "Sex." As a corporate executive, studying for a Ph.D., and currently teaching in the Sports Department of Tianjin University, young Zhu Yuling "restarted her life" outside the game. Looking back on the twists and turns in the past few years, she finally choked up and said: " I feel that every step in life is not in vain."
When the host asked Zhu Yuling "When is your next game?", Zhu Yuling replied playfully in English: "Who knows?" With no pressure to win or lose, she seems to have found her own answer to her life.
Author: Wu Shu
Text: Our reporter/Wu Shu Picture: wtt Editor: Gu Miao Editor: Shen Lei
