How table tennis’ former No 1 Zhu Yuling cherishes life more after comeback
Ahead of WTT Europe Smash, Zhu says climbing back up rankings is ‘like losing and finding a precious gift again’
Fresh from winning in Las Vegas last month, former women’s table tennis world No 1 Zhu Yuling will return to action on Thursday in Sweden.
Zhu, 30, will head to the World Table Tennis (WTT) Europe Smash on a high after WTT US Smash success in the gambling haven, which included victories over some of the game’s biggest stars, including present No 1 Sun Yingsha.
Since her international comeback following serious illness, at the WTT Champions event in Macau last September, Zhu’s ranking has rocketed from No 164 to a recent high of No 6, and now No 7.
It is not bad for someone who said she lacked professional-standard preparation and has described herself as a “slasher” – no longer a full-time player but also a professor-slash-student-slash-businesswoman.
Zhu is a physical education professor at Tianjin University, a PhD student in business management at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Chengdu, and helps run her family’s semiconductor business in Guangzhou.
It is some workload, but Zhu has found more time for training during the summer.