The national championship team game defeated Wang Chuqin and appeared on the hot search——
Zheng Peifeng: Be a happy table tennis player
Southeast Net, November 8th (Fujian Daily reporter Xiao Rong)
On the evening of the 4th, because of defeating Wang Chuqin, Zheng Peifeng, the coach and player of the Fujian table tennis team, made a hot search on Weibo.
The 22-year-old Wang Chuqin has won two consecutive men’s singles titles in the just-concluded WTT Macau Championship and WTT World Cup annual finals, and his world ranking has risen to third place, behind Fan Zhendong and Ma Long. Although Zheng Peifeng, who let Wang Chuqin “roll over”, is only 26 years old, he announced his withdrawal from the national team last year and became the head coach of the men’s team of Fujian table tennis team this year.
On the same day, in the team match of the National Table Tennis Championships held in Huangshi, Hubei, Zheng Peifeng defeated Wang Chuqin of the Beijing team 3:2, tying the score 1:1 for the Fujian team.
Zheng Peifeng expressed a little surprise about the victory over Wang Chuqin. After all, it has been a long time since he played such a high-intensity game. Moreover, affected by the epidemic, the Fujian team went straight to the field without time to adjust after being quarantined for 6 days.
“Regardless of whether you retire or not, whether you have systematic training, or whether your opponent is high or not, as long as you pick up the racket and stand on the court, you want to fight your opponent and win the game – I think this is the most basic thing as an athlete. (required), at least the desire to win must be reflected in the competition.” Although he only trained for five or six days before the national championship, Zheng Peifeng still hoped to lead by example on the court when facing Wang Chuqin, “The main thing is to let more young players team members.”
In the match with Wang Chuqin, Zheng Peifeng took the lead, winning 2 consecutive games with 11:4 and 15:13. Subsequently, Wang Chuqin adjusted his state and pulled back two games. In the crucial decisive game, Zheng Peifeng’s mentality was more stable, and he won the hot new national table tennis force with 12:10 “upset”.
To say it is “cold” is not entirely true. For table tennis, winning in domestic competitions is often far more challenging than international competitions, and Zheng Peifeng is by no means an ordinary person.
At the 2018 Czech Open, Zheng Peifeng started from the qualifying rounds and made it all the way, especially in the semi-finals 4:1 swept the British star Pitchford, and then beat Portuguese player Frey 4:2 in the final with an injury. Tass brought back the ITTF World Tour Championship for Fujian table tennis after 13 years. In that year’s national championship team match, Zheng Peifeng did not lose a set, leading the Fujian team to the top four in the country.
However, in the era of inorganic glue, where the straight beat method is declining day by day, Zheng Peifeng’s career as a national player does not have many opportunities. In this regard, he himself is very open-minded, “As an athlete, if his own conditions and abilities cannot reach the extreme, then I wonder if I can choose to change my identity.”
From the age of 4, he began to play table tennis, to enter the national team to work hard, and then to return to the Fujian provincial team… In the river of time, Zheng Peifeng found his new position and opened up a new track.
Regarding the role change, Zheng Peifeng said that he has put more energy on young players, “I hope to pass on my understanding of table tennis to younger players when they are most passionate, so as to improve their understanding of table tennis. The awareness of this will enable them to reach a higher level faster and strive to bring Fujian’s table tennis level to a new level.”
Of course, stepping into the coaching position does not mean that Zheng Peifeng will disappear from the arena. For most of the important domestic games, he will continue to play for now. For Zheng Peifeng, this is not only a kind of inheritance, but also a kind of happiness, “enjoying the fun brought by table tennis”.
It is a pity that the Fujian team failed to have the last laugh that night. Less than 30 minutes after defeating Wang Chuqin, Zheng Peifeng played again, and it was another five-inning battle, but this time he lost to Xu Chenhao 2:3, and the Fujian team was also reversed when the total score was 2:1. In the end, they lost to the Beijing team 2:3 and missed the men’s team quarter-finals of the National Championships.
However, Zheng Peifeng’s journey is not over yet. He will also compete in men’s singles and men’s doubles after the team competition. In subsequent games, he has the opportunity to create more surprises.
As he wrote on social media: “As long as you love table tennis in your heart, you can overcome any difficulties, cherish and enjoy the following games, and be a happy table tennis player.”