Ni Xialian, representing Luxembourg, acknowledges to the crowd after her round of 32 game against China's Sun Yingsha in the women's table tennis singles match at the Paris Olympics on July 31, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
As an Olympic fan from a very young age, I have already got over my crush over any sporting "hero", because a "hero" maybe fickle and forgotten as time passes by. But this time in Paris I think I have come across one.
At the age of 61, Ni Xialian, the oldest table tennis player, never felt out of place in Paris.
With neat movements when taking advantage, and agile leaps to relieve her emotions when losing a point, the former Chinese world champion paddler, now representing Luxembourg, gave out her full strength against her much younger opponent from her home country—23-year-old Sun Yingsha, who, like Ni, did not conceal her skills to make it into the final 16 on Wednesday.
After wrapping up her sixth Olympic appearance with a lopsided defeat of 0-4 to the current world No 1, Ni emotionally acknowledged to the respectful crowd and said at the after-match interview that her dream had come true to play again at the Olympics and compete with the world's top player.
Before facing Sun at the opposite side of the table, "Aunt Ni" gave no destination when she was invited to serve as a training partner to China's eventual mixed doubles champions Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin before their face-off with a DPRK pair in the final game, due to the similarity of her technique to that of the DPRK's female player.
Ni Xialian (R), representing Luxembourg, gestures during her round of 32 game against China's Sun Yingsha on the women's table tennis singles match at the Paris Olympics on July 31, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
Throughout Sun and Ni's match, the CCTV commentators kept referring to Ni as "Master Ni" instead of using her full name to show respect for her contribution to China's table tennis at her career peak and also for her enduring efforts in promoting the sport in Europe and around the world.
I truly appreciate the shared slogan of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics "Games wide Open". To me, it means "wide open" not only for any competitor who embodies the Olympic spirit but also for any performance or choice made by an Olympian.
Not representing China though, Ni is still winning her home country's hearts and, I believe, will always be cherished by China and the sport because the Olympics and its fans are increasingly inclusive.
