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| Human Interest | |
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General Interest | |
| Ambitions | She aspires to work as a doctor following her retirement from competitive sport. (ITTF YouTube channel, 05 Jan 2016; ittf.org, 15 Feb 2016) |
| Awards and honours | At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, she received the David Dixon Award [presented to the outstanding athlete of the Games] and was Singapore's flag bearer at the closing ceremony. (insidethegames.biz, 08 Aug 2022; straitstimes.com, 09 Aug 2022) She was named Sportswoman of the Year in 2015 and 2018 at the Singapore Table Tennis Association [STTA] Awards. In 2010, 2013 and 2014 she was named STTA Player of the Year. (singaporeolympics.com, 19 Jul 2018; straitstimes.com, 19 Feb 2016; myactivesg.com, 01 Mar 2014; stta.org.sg, 01 Feb 2013; todayonline.com, 25 Oct 2016) In 2015 she was inducted into Singapore's Sports Hall of Fame. (todayonline.com, 13 May 2015) She was flag bearer for Singapore at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. (channelnewsasia.com, 25 Feb 2014) She was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in recognition of her performance at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. (redsports.sg, 25 Aug 2008) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Handedness | Right |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | She took up the sport in 1991. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Languages | English, Mandarin |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Joy (ITTF, 27 Jul 2012) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "Enjoy the process." (Athlete, 03 Aug 2016) |
| Other information | FROM CHINA TO SINGAPORE Born in Harbin, People's Republic of China, she moved to Singapore in 2007 after being scouted by coach Liu Guodong of the Singapore Table Tennis Association [STTA]. She became a Singaporean citizen in January 2008. (theonlinecitizen.com, 13 Aug 2012; tabletennisphotos.com, 08 Feb 2009; tabletennista.com, 16 Apr 2016) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Singapore |
General Interest | |
| Injuries | She sustained a wrist injury in April 2019 that sidelined her from training for several months. (straitstimes.com, 21 Oct 2019) She suffered from knee injuries after the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Republic of Korea, and did not recover completely until April 2015. (todayonline.com, 25 Apr 2015) She has experienced heart problems in the past and developed myocarditis in her teenage years. At age 17 she had a serious attack that almost prevented her from playing table tennis again. (ITTF YouTube channel, 05 Jan 2016) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | Her parents liked the sport and encouraged her to take lessons. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Physical Education - Hunan University: Changsha, CHN |
General Interest | |
| Hero / Idol | Chinese tennis player Li Na. (Athlete, 03 Aug 2016) |