When it comes to the national table tennis "Jiang Zuo League", many fans may be confused.
In fact, the meaning of "Jiang Zuo League" is that the left-handed athletes from Jiangsu, and the most important thing is that these players have outstanding results in doubles.
is also why some fans call them "Jiang Zuo League", so today we will take stock of the stories of several players of the national table tennis "Jiang Zuo League":
1: Qin Zhiyi
Qin Zhijian, who was born in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province in 1976, is 48 years old this year.
Qin Zhijian's mother Wang Xueqin is a fanatical table tennis enthusiast and a member of the unit's table tennis team, so Qin Zhijian was influenced by his mother when he was a child, and often followed his mother to the court to watch the game, and he also liked table tennis when he came and went.
When he reached the age of going to school, Qin Zhijian studied in Zhenjiang Bachaxiang Primary School, which was a famous table tennis school at that time, and began to practice table tennis at the age of 6.
After practicing table tennis, Qin Zhijian soon showed his talent in table tennis, so at the age of 7, he entered the city children's class for training.
Because of the rapid progress of strength, Qin Zhijian later represented the Zhenjiang Children's Team to participate in the provincial competitions many times and obtained good results, and in 1986, Qin Zhijian went to Nanjing to participate in the training of the sports team.
In 1987, Qin Zhijian was in Dafeng, Yancheng, and made great contributions to the Zhenjiang team winning the provincial children's men's team championship.
In 1988, Qin Zhijian represented Jiangsu in the National Amateur Sports School Children's Competition, won the men's singles championship in one fell swoop, and reached the top podium of the national children's competition for the first time.
In 1989, 13-year-old Qin Zhijian entered the Jiangsu provincial team, and a year later Qin Zhijian was selected for the national second team.
In 1992, 16-year-old Qin Zhijian won the mixed doubles silver medal at the National Championships, so he was selected for the national first team a year later.
After entering the first team, Qin Zhijian, together with Kong Linghui, Liu Guoliang and others, was listed as one of the 8 key players in the national men's team.
However, unlike Kong Linghui and Liu Guoliang, the two later Grand Slams, Qin Zhijian was trained as a doubles player at the beginning.
He won the mixed doubles title at the 8th National Games with Yang Ying in 1997 and later partnered with Ma Lin in men's doubles.
After Qin Zhijian and Ma Lin partnered, they won many open men's singles championships, the most important thing is that they were willing to be sparring partners for Olympians before the Sydney Olympics, and it is also because after the Sydney Olympics, Qin Zhijian also won the medal of "The Man Who Walks in Front of the World Champion" issued by the General Administration of International Sports.
At the 2001 World Table Tennis Championships in Osaka, Qin Zhijian and Yang Ying played together again, and finally won the mixed doubles championship when the No. 1 seed Ma Lin \ Zhang Linlin and the No. 2 seed Wang Liqin \ Wang Nan of the Chinese team were out one after another, which was also the highlight of Qin Zhijian's career.
In 2005, 29-year-old Qin Zhijian retired to the men's team as an intern coach, and successively served as the head coach of Ma Long, Xu Xin, Wang Liqin and other players.
In 2017, Qin Zhijian served as the head coach of the Chinese men's table tennis, and during Qin Zhijian's tenure as the head coach, the Chinese men's table tennis team has won the men's singles and men's doubles championships in many world competitions such as the World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf, the World Table Tennis Championships in Budapest, and the World Table Tennis Championships in Houston.
In 2022, Qin Zhijian, the new competition of the coaching staff of the Chinese table tennis team, did not sign up for the competition, so after the competition ended, Wang Hao replaced Qin Zhijian as the new head coach of the Chinese men's table tennis.
Qin Zhijian served as the vice chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association and continued to contribute to the table tennis industry under the leadership of Chairman Liu Guoliang.
Two: Yan Sen
Born in 1975 in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, Yan Sen is 49 years old.
The reason why Yan Sen practiced table tennis was because when he was in kindergarten, he was recommended by the teacher to a table tennis coach because of his good physical fitness, and the table tennis coach left him behind when he saw that Yan Sen was left-handed.
Yan Sen's parents have a total of three children, so life is quite difficult, but just like that, Yan Sen's parents also support Yan Sen to practice table tennis, so Yan Sen is very hard in training.
In 1988, at the age of 13, Yan Sen entered the Jiangsu provincial team, but he did not enter the national team until 1994, when he was already 19 years old, and he was considered an older rookie in the national team.
Yan Sen was delighted to finish runner-up in the men's singles at the Swedish Open two years later, and the head coach of the men's team, Cai Zhenhua, criticized Yan Sen: "You are too easily content. ”
It may be that Yan Sen is too easy to be content and his results in singles are not outstanding, and on the other hand, he is a left-handed player, so the coach began to let him match doubles.
In 1996, Yan Sen began to pair with Wang Liqin, and the two first won the men's doubles championship in the European competition, and then won the men's doubles championship in the year-end finals, so the combination of the two was fixed.
At the 1999 World Table Tennis Championships in the Netherlands, Yan Sen and Wang Liqin went all the way to the men's doubles final, although they eventually lost to Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui, but it also proved the strength of the two, and they also won the men's doubles quota for the Sydney Olympics.
At the Sydney Olympics, Yan Sen and Wang Liqin reached the men's doubles final again, and their opponents were still Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui, and the two were still underdogs.
However, Yan Sen and Wang Liqin strictly implemented their tactics, and when they were behind in the first, third and fourth games, they reversed and won these three games, only allowing Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui to win the second game, and the two defeated Liu Guoliang Kong Linghui with a big score of 3-1 and won the Olympic men's doubles championship.
After winning the Olympic men's doubles championship, Wang Liqin and Yan Sen basically sat firmly in the first doubles position of the men's team, and in 2001, the two won the men's doubles championship of the World Table Tennis Championships for the first time at the World Table Tennis Championships in Osaka.
The results are getting better and better, but Yan Sen is getting older, and the Chinese table tennis team has also emerged a lot of fresh blood, so after that, Yan Sen chose to play in Japan.
Before the 2003 Paris World Table Tennis Championships, Yan Sen decided not to play in Japan for the time being, and he wanted to participate in the Paris World Table Tennis Championships.
In the end, Yan Sen and Wang Liqin successfully defended the men's doubles championship at the World Table Tennis Championships, but everyone knows that Yan Sen's goal is not the World Table Tennis Championships, but the 2004 Athens Olympics.
But who knew that Yan Sen was in a car accident on the morning of October 7, 2003, during the intense preparation for the Olympics.
At that time, the national table tennis men's team prepared a total of three pairs for the men's doubles competition of the Athens Olympic Games, namely Yan Sen, Wang Liqin, Kong Linghui, Wang Hao, Ma Lin, Chen Xi.
Among them, Yan Sen and Wang Liqin have the best results and are also the most favored by everyone, followed by Kong Linghui and Wang Hao, who ranked first with 7 wins and 1 loss in the pre-Olympic competition, so Kong Linghui and Wang Hao won the quota first.
In the end, the coaching staff asked Yan Sen Wang Liqin and Ma Lin Chen Xi to compete in a match, "one game is determined to win or lose", and the impact of the car accident on Yan Sen was still relatively large, so in the end, Ma Lin and Chen Xi defeated Yan Sen Wang Liqin and won the second Olympic men's doubles quota.
In 2005, Yan Sen participated in his last World Table Tennis Championships, and his partner Wang Liqin won the third place in men's doubles.
After retiring, Yan Sen spent most of his time as a coach in the women's second team, and in 2023, Yan Sen will be the coach of the European Talent Development Training Camp.
Three: Chen Xi
Born in 1983 in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, Chen Xi is 41 years old this year.
When Chen Xi was 6 years old, he entered the Nantong Amateur Sports School and began to practice table tennis.
Chen Xi's competitive spirit is very strong, no matter who he faces, he will not admit defeat, so he improved very quickly, and in 1995, at the age of 12, he entered the Jiangsu provincial team.
In 1999, 16-year-old Chen Xi was selected for the national team, but he was returned to the provincial team 18 days after entering the national team because he broke his racket in the team competition.
A year after returning to the provincial team, Chen Xi worked hard to return to the national team, but half a year later, he was once again returned to the provincial team because of his bad attitude after losing.
At this time, Chen Xi's parents wanted to give up, but the head coach of the Jiangsu team was unwilling to give up, and he let Chen Xi serve as the No. 1 main force of the Jiangsu team in the table tennis league that year, so Chen Xi defeated Kong Linghui twice in the league.
In November 2002, Chen Xi returned to the national team again, before coming to the national team, the head coach of the Jiangsu team told Chen Xi: "If you are returned by the national team again this time, the Jiangsu team will not want you, it means that you are really a dou who can't be helped." ”
This time, Chen Xi gained a firm foothold in the national team, and also became the first disciple of Liu Guoliang, who had just retired to coach the men's team.
Under the guidance of Liu Guoliang, although Chen Xi's temper is restrained, he plays more fiercely, which is why he is called "God of Killing" by fans.
Soon after, Liu Guoliang took the position that Cai Zhenhua had prepared for him as the head coach of the men's team, so Chen Xi was asked by Coach Wu Jingping to join his group.
The reason why Wu Jingping wanted Chen Xi was because Chen Xi's doubles ability was good, and the coaching staff decided to let Chen Xi and Ma Lin cooperate in doubles, with the goal of the 2005 World Table Tennis Championships.
So originally, the coaching staff of the Athens Olympics originally let Yan Sen, Wang Liqin, Kong Linghui, and Wang Hao participate, but who knew that Yan Sen suffered a car accident, which gave Ma Lin Chen Xi a chance.
At the Athens Olympics, the Chinese men's doubles top seeds Kong Linghui and Wang Hao were upset in the first round, and the most important thing was that Ma Lin lost to the Swedish veteran Waldner in the men's singles quarterfinals.
In the Athens Olympics, the coaching staff had high hopes for Ma Lin in the singles competition, so Ma Lin was a little depressed after the singles loss, and the key moment was Chen Xi's fierce autumn wind and bold attack that awakened Ma Lin's fighting spirit, and played a decisive role in the moment when the score was stalemate many times.
In the end, Chen Xi and Ma Lin won the men's doubles championship at the Athens Olympics.
In addition to winning the Olympic championship in his career, Chen Xi was punished to raise pigs, which happened in 2006, when Chen Xi lost to Wang Hao in the men's singles competition of the Asian Cup.
So after the game, Chen Xi was punished by the coaching staff to raise pigs, and after the pig incident, Chen Xi was still reused and was still the main force of the national team, but within two years, with the rise of Ma Long, Zhang Jike, Xu Xin and other players, Chen Xi began to retreat.
It wasn't until 2013 that Chen Xi announced his retirement, after which he first returned to the Jiangsu team to coach, and then was seconded to the national team before the Tokyo Olympics as Xu Xin's head coach.
But after the Olympics, Chen Xi returned to the Jiangsu team as head coach.
Four: Xu Xin
Xu Xin, who was born in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province in 1990, is 34 years old this year.
Xu Xin was born a left-hander, although under the correction of his grandmother, he learned to eat with his right hand and write with his right hand, but he is still used to using his left hand when doing other things.
For this reason, when Xu Xin was 5 years old, he was selected by the table tennis coach who came to the kindergarten to select materials.
Xu Xin's talent in table tennis is very high, and after practicing table tennis for three or four years, he has already won the first place in the same age group in Jiangsu Province.
At the age of 11, Xu Xin entered the Jiangsu Provincial Team and studied under Coach Tang Zhixian (who had led Chen Xi for 5 years), but after training with Tang Zhixian for a year, Xu Xin faced a major choice.
That is, Tang Zhixian was poached by Shanghai Cao Yanhua Table Tennis School with a high salary, Xu Xin trained very well with Coach Tang Zhixian, but the coach left suddenly, Xu Xin was a little at a loss.
In the end, Xu Xin's parents went to Shanghai Cao Yanhua Table Tennis School for inspection, and then decided to let Xu Xin also go to Shanghai to continue training with Tang Zhixian.
In 2003, 13-year-old Xu Xin entered the Shanghai team, and three years later, Xu Xin entered the national team to study under fellow countryman Qin Zhijian.
Qin Zhijian is not only Xu Xin's hometown, but also shoots with his left hand like Xu Xin when he was an athlete, so Qin Zhijian attaches great importance to Xu Xin.
But it is also because of this reason that whether it is the Shanghai team or the national team, including Qin Zhijian, the expectations for Xu Xin are to make a breakthrough in doubles.
Even when Xu Xin first entered the national team, his goal was to win the men's doubles championship with Wang Liqin at the 2009 National Games, because this was what the coach of the Shanghai team expected from him before he entered the national team.
So soon after, Xu Xin began to partner with Wang Liqin, and the two first won the men's doubles championship in the 2008 National Championships, and then won the men's doubles championship in the 2009 National Games as they wished.
After that, Xu Xin also made a breakthrough in singles, winning the Asian Cup, the World Cup singles championship, etc., of course, Xu Xin's main battlefield is still in doubles.
In the 2011 World Table Tennis Championships in Rotterdam, Xu Xin partnered Ma Long to win the men's doubles championship, and in the 2015 Suzhou World Table Tennis Championships, Xu Xin first partnered with South Korea's Liang Xiayin to win the mixed doubles championship, which was the first time since 1954 that a multinational combination won the mixed doubles championship at the World Championships, and then partnered with Zhang Jike to win the men's doubles championship.
At the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf, Xu Xin's partner Fan Zhendong won the men's doubles championship of the World Table Tennis Championships for the third time, and in the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships in Budapest, Xu Xin's partner Liu Shiwen won the mixed doubles championship.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen were the No. 1 seeds in mixed doubles, and the two were also favorites to win the championship before the game, but in the end, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen lost to Mizutani Hayabusa and Misei Ito in the final, and missed the first mixed doubles gold medal in the Olympic Games.
After the Tokyo Olympics, Xu Xin basically faded out of the national team, although the Tokyo Olympics failed to win the mixed doubles championship, but it did not affect Xu Xin's status in doubles.
Just winning three World Table Tennis Championships men's doubles championships and two World Table Tennis Championships mixed doubles championships with different partners is enough to prove his strength in doubles.
Now with Xu Xin's retirement, there is no best candidate for national table tennis in doubles, so who do you think can inherit Xu Xin's position as "doubles king" among the currently known players?
Will there be another Jiangsu athlete?