August 1, 2008
Canada's hope in China's Favorite Sport
 Wilson Zhang Peng |
Courtesy of CBC Sports |
Now he's come full circle and returning to his country of birth to show what he can do.
In 2003, Zhang moved from Heilongjiang (Harbin), China (about 500 kilometers northeast of Beijing), where his parents still reside, to Richmond, B.C. Since then, his life's been a whirlwind. He took a position as a table tennis coach at the Bridgeport Sports Club in Richmond, met and married a Canadian, moved to Ottawa to hone his game at the National Training Centre and obtained his citizenship in 2007 - all while pursuing his world-class playing career.
Before moving to Canada, Zhang was a member of the Chinese Training Centre - one of hundreds, if not thousands, of quality players in table-tennis-mad China. Despite his recognized skills, however, he never qualified as a member of the Chinese team for any major international competitions.
Four Chinese-Canadians
Here in Canada, though, it's been an entirely different story. Heading into the Beijing Olympics, Zhang is the top-ranked Canadian player. He'll lead a team featuring four Chinese-Canadians - the top two women, Mo Zhang and Judy Long, as well as up-and-coming 18-year old male Shen Qiang. The team also includes Pradeeban Peter-Paul, the second-rated Canadian male.
Despite having a quiet personality, Zhang is unmistakably the team's leader. The 29-year old is considered to have the best work ethic in the Canadian camp.
"Wilson is a very hard worker when at the gym," explained national team head coach Marles Martins. "The energy and speed that he uses during practice definitely set a standard for the whole group of players."
Those are also attributes he brings to his matches. The diminutive Zhang (five-foot-five, 161 lbs.) is extremely quick, plays with a dogged determination and never appears to lose his cool.
Martins considers Zhang's main weapons to be his "speed, service and a powerful forehand attack."
That playing style has stood him in good stead. Since resuming his table tennis career in Canada, Zhang has enjoyed some significant victories. He reigned as Canadian champion for three straight years from 2005-07, finished second at the 2007 U.S. Open and won the 2007 North American Tour finals.
Ranked 125th in world
Zhang is clearly one of the most dominant players in North America, but on the world stage, he's not so highly rated. His best ranking since 2001 was 99 and his current ranking is an uninspiring 125.
But his world ranking seems to have little bearing on what Martins and the Canadian Table Tennis Association think he can do in Beijing.
"Wilson has a possibility to reach the quarter-finals," was how Martins assessed his chances. "And after that everything is possible."
Tony Kiesenhofer of Table Tennis Canada considers Martins' assessment to be a tad on the "optimistic" side. But he too can't help focusing on what's possible. "The singles depends entirely on the draw," Kiesenhofer said. "With a good draw a top-8 (or even top-4) is possible."
Kiesenhofer and Martins aren't naively hoping a lower-ranked player can pull off a miracle. There is concrete evidence that a big win or two in Beijing isn't out of the question for Zhang. In the past two years he's had victories over Sweden's top player, Jens Lundquist, and Denmark's Olympic bronze medalist Michael Maze.
For more proof of how little rankings matter on any given day, look no further than Zhang's teammate Peter-Paul. Ranked 277th in the world, he came back to beat the top-seeded Zhang in the final of the 2008 North American Championships in Las Vegas in June.
Apart from returning to play in those North American Championships, Zhang has been in China since May preparing for the Olympic tournament. He will compete in both singles play and the team event which involves three players competing in four singles matches and one doubles match.
Table tennis huge in China
Both team and singles competitions will take place in front of sold-out crowds of 6,000 under the glass ceiling of the Peking University Gymnasium.
Canadians viewers who might think of table tennis as simply a recreational activity may be in for a shock when they tune in. Table tennis is huge and not just in China.
It's so popular that there a pro leagues in Europe and Asia. In fact, once the Games are over, Zhang intends to reside in Spain at least part of the time and attempt to launch a pro career in the Spanish Super League.
According to the Global Sports Report, prepared for the International Olympic Committee, table tennis was the fifth most popular sport at the 2004 Athens Olympics as measured by television viewer hours. It ranked behind only indoor volleyball, basketball, athletics and artistic gymnastics, but ahead of soccer and aquatics.
Based on that kind of popularity, and with a favorable draw, it's possible that worldwide table tennis fans will get to see plenty of Wilson Zhang in Beijing. If he does well enough, Canadians might too.
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