On March 22, Beijing time, Singaporean table tennis player Yu Mengyu announced his retirement through social media.
Yu Mengyu wrote in the retirement declaration: "Looking back on those times of hard training, those times of feeling tired, those times of fighting against injuries, those times of countless times when you want to give up but still choose to continue to struggle, there are both the joy of winning and the frustration of failure." Maybe that's the charm of chasing dreams. Now, it's time to say goodbye, and it's a very important time in my life. Looking back on the 16 years of sports career standing on the international stage, there are many touches and glories. In the future, I will open a new chapter in my life, adhering to the spirit of tenacious struggle and indomitable sportsmanship, and passing on more positive energy to others and society. It is worth mentioning that Yu Mengyu's appearance as the flag bearer of the Singapore delegation at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games is undoubtedly an affirmation of his achievements and tribute.
Yu Mengyu, 31, was born in Liaoning, China, and won the women's singles runner-up in the U17 age group in the national competition. Because the domestic table tennis competition is too fierce, Yu Mengyu chose to go overseas to develop and became a member of the "Overseas Chinese Table Tennis Corps". Yu Mengyu began to represent Singapore in international competitions in 2006 and gradually grew into the main force of the team. At the 2010 World Table Tennis Championships, Yu Mengyu helped the Singapore team defeat the Chinese team to win the women's team championship, and winning the world championship title was undoubtedly a highlight of her sports career. Yu Mengyu's performance in the multi-sport games is also very outstanding, and the third place in women's singles at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and the fourth place in women's singles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games show her strength and competitiveness. Along with the honor came injuries, and Yu Mengyu underwent surgery after the last two Olympic Games, which may be the biggest reason why she finally decided to retire at the age of 31.