Former world No. 1 Zhu Yuling wants to ‘enjoy every single day’ in table tennis comeback

SINGAPORE – Just a decade ago, Zhu Yuling was flying high in her table tennis career.

The two-time world junior champion had risen rapidly through the ranks of the Chinese women’s team, winning gold medals at the 2014 Asian Games and 2014, 2016, and 2018 World Championships.

In 2017, she became the world No. 1 amid fierce competition from teammates Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen, winning the Asian Cup singles title from 2017 to 2019.

She looked destined to rule the sport, but her burgeoning career suddenly veered off course.

After winning the 2019 T2 Diamond Malaysia title, her form started to slip and she missed out on the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She hung up her bat that year after undergoing surgery to remove a benign tumour.

“Competing for one’s country at the Olympics is one of the peaks of any athlete’s career, so of course not being able to do that is one of my regrets. But it’s also something I’ve learnt to accept,” said Zhu, who was a reserve at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

But the 30-year-old is now back on court in a new jersey – Macau’s – and competing in the ongoing Singapore Smash at the OCBC Arena.

Her return from retirement came despite initially choosing a different path of “self-discovery” after 2021. In 2022, she started her doctorate of business administration programme at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, and became an executive director at a semiconductor company.

A year later, she became an associate professor at Tianjin University’s sports department where she also teaches table tennis. She acquired Macau permanent residency in 2024 under its foreign talent introduction programme.

While she was originally tasked with guiding young players, she came full circle when she received a wild card to play in the 2024 World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Macao, where she reached the last 16.

In October, she won a WTT Feeder event in Cagliari, Italy, 1,925 days after her last international title. While the prize money of US$600 (S$820) paled in comparison to her last big pay cheque of US$100,000, the victory was significant.

Zhu said: “Some of my friends discouraged me from making a return because competitive sport is cruel and tiring. But I feel I’m still relatively young and can still do well on tour, so why can’t I come back to play at 30?

“Everyone makes different choices. Some people like a plain and smooth-sailing life, but I like challenges and I don’t want to waste every day.”

If her standard was ever in doubt, she has proven naysayers wrong at the US$1.5 million Singapore Smash where she has yet to drop a game.

Ranked 85th in the world, she had to play in the qualifiers but breezed through by sweeping Singapore’s Chloe Lai, Wales’ Anna Hursey and Thailand’s Suthasini Sawettabut.

In the main draw, she outplayed her women’s doubles partner, Hong Kong’s world No. 34 Doo Hoi Kem, in the first round.

She then beat Japan’s 12th-ranked Miu Hirano 3-0 (11-8, 15-13, 11-3) in the second round on Feb 4 to set up a last-16 tie against world No. 7 Japanese Satsuki Odo.

Still, Zhu feels she has much to learn, as she said: “Table tennis is almost like tennis now – all attack and little defence. Table tennis technology is developing and changing too fast. Even if I returned to my previous peak, I still can’t be the best in this era.

“This is the biggest tournament I’ve played in since I started competing again. My standard and physical condition are slowly improving. I just have to take it one match and one tournament at a time and keep playing my best with the right mindset.”

Where Zhu’s world was once only about table tennis as she played to conquer her opponents, her outlook has changed now to “seeing the world with a bat”.

She added: “I have not set any targets about what I want to achieve, how long more I want to play for. I don’t look at it that way any more.

“Right now, I’m playing, teaching, and also a student, so I’m balancing all these different roles.

“My endeavours outside table tennis have helped me broaden my horizon and widen my world view.

“I just want to enjoy every single day, and because of what I have been through, I just want to be healthy.”