Chinese · Chengdu, China · Born 20 June 1990Chinese table tennis player who dominated women's singles, winning Olympic gold in 2016 and five World Championship singles titles between 2011-2019.
Ding Ning's Olympic final in Rio was interrupted mid-match by a leaking roof -- the venue's ceiling began dripping onto the table during a break in play, forcing officials to halt the gold-medal match against her own teammate Li Xiaoxia while staff mopped the court dry. Ding won anyway, the more disruptive story becoming a footnote to a rivalry between two of the most dominant Chinese players of their generation. That final was typical of Ding's career in one specific way: she rarely faced a truly unfamiliar opponent at the top of the draw, since China's internal competition at the training-hall level was often tougher than what she met from other countries at major tournaments. Winning five World Championship singles titles between 2011 and 2019 against that kind of internal pressure is arguably a harder achievement than the raw medal count suggests. Ding held the ITTF world No. 1 ranking for a combined nine years across her career, a span that outlasted entire rival careers built and ended around her. She's since moved into coaching and administration within Chinese table tennis, working from inside the same development system that produced her.
Dominant left-handed penhold player, multiple World Champion
How They Played
Left-handed penhold grip with powerful forehand loops
Lasting Impact
One of greatest female table tennis players, held World No.1 for 9 years
Career Honours
- Olympic Gold 2016
- World Champion 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
- ITTF World No.1 for 9 years
Chinese Athletes