Feng Tianwei

Feng Tianwei
Feng at the Volkswagen Women's World Cup in Kuala Lumpur on 7 September 2008
Personal information
Native name	冯天薇
Full name	Feng Tianwei
Nationality	Singapore
Residence	Singapore
Born	(1986-08-31) 31 August 1986 Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
Playing style	Right-handed shakehand grip[1]
Equipment(s)	Stiga Kevlar blade[1]
Highest ranking	2nd (April 2010)[2]
Club	Chinese: 鲁能·潞安集团; pinyin: Lŭnéng Lù'ān Jítuán (in China Table Tennis Super League)[3]
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)[4]
Weight	58 kg (128 lb) (2008)[4]
Medal record Women's table tennis Competitor for  Singapore Olympic Games Silver 2008 Beijing Team Bronze 2012 London Team Bronze 2012 London Singles World Championships Gold 2010 Moscow Team Silver 2012 Dortmund Team Silver 2008 Guangzhou Team Bronze 2013 Paris Doubles Women's World Cup Bronze 2008 Kuala Lumpur Singles Bronze 2013 Kobe Singles Asian Games Silver 2010 Guangzhou Team Commonwealth Games Gold 2010 New Delhi Team Gold 2010 New Delhi Singles Silver 2010 New Delhi Mixed Silver 2010 New Delhi Doubles ITTF World Tour Gold 2008 Berlin Team Gold 2008 Warsaw Singles Gold 2009 Seoul Singles Gold 2010 Grand Finals Singles Gold 2011 Incheon Singles Gold 2011 Kobe Singles Gold 2012 Grand Finals Doubles Silver 2007 Taipei Singles Silver 2008 Yokohama Team Silver 2008 Warsaw Doubles Silver 2010 Seoul Singles Silver 2011 Shenzhen Singles Silver 2012 Santos Singles Silver 2013 Kuwait Singles Bronze 2008 Santiago Singles Bronze 2008 Singapore Singles Southeast Asian Games Gold 2009 Vientiane Singles Gold 2009 Vientiane Team Silver 2009 Vientiane Doubles Silver 2009 Vientiane Mixed Volkswagen Cup Silver 2010 Guangzhou Singles

Feng Tianwei (simplified Chinese: 冯天薇; traditional Chinese: 馮天薇; pinyin: Féng Tiānwēi, pronounced [fə̌ŋ tjɛ́nwéi]; born 31 August 1986) is a Singaporean table tennis player, ranked 4th in the world as a singles player as of September 2013. Born in China, she moved to Singapore under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme in March 2007 and commenced her international career in competitive table tennis the following month. She received Singapore citizenship in January 2008.

Feng represented Singapore for the first time in the Olympic Games at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. On 15 August, the Singapore team composed of Feng and her teammates Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu defeated South Korea 3–2 in the semifinals. The team lost to China in the final, but obtained the silver medal. This was Singapore's first Olympic medal in 48 years and its first as an independent nation. Feng won her first professional singles title at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pro Tour Polish Open in Warsaw on 30 November 2008, in an all-Singapore final against Wang. In May 2010 the trio of Feng, Wang and Sun Beibei stunned the reigning champions China 3–1 in the Liebherr World Team Table Tennis Championships in Moscow, making Singapore world champions for the first time.

On 1 August 2012, Feng beat Kasumi Ishikawa of Japan 4–0 to win the women's singles bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Singapore's first Olympic singles medal since the 1960 Summer Olympics. On 7 August, she was part of the women's team with Li and Wang that achieved the bronze against South Korea. This was the first time Singapore had won two medals at an Olympic Games.

Early years

Feng Tianwei was born on 31 August 1986^[4] in Harbin, Heilongjiang, People's Republic of China.^[5] She is the only daughter of Feng Qingzhi, a granary worker, and his wife Li Chunping, an employee of a department store. Feng's parents, who were poor, lived frugally for years to pay for her table tennis training. Her father suffered from multiple sclerosis, but she was not told how severe his illness was. He died in 2002, weeks before Feng tried out for China's national B squad. Although Feng topped the qualifying matches a month later and was called up for the national team in 2003, she suffered from a long illness; a source close to her said it was "because she missed her father too much".^[6][7] Feng left China in 2005 to play in the Japanese professional league. While there she was spotted by Liu Guodong, then a coach with the Singapore Table Tennis Association, in 2006.^[7] In March 2007 she was invited to train in Singapore under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme. She became a Singapore citizen in January 2008.^[5]

Career as national player

Feng made her international début for Singapore in June 2007 as an under-21 player at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pro Tour Volkswagen Korean Open.^[5][8] As a singles player, Feng was ranked 73rd in the world in August 2007.^[2] Nonetheless, that month she achieved a silver medal in the singles at the ITTF Pro Tour Chinese Taipei Open, her compatriot Li Jiawei beating her to take the gold.^[9]

Feng was a member of the silver medal-winning Singapore women's team at the World Team Championships in Guangzhou in 2008, and also defeated the top seed Zhang Yining from China in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup held in Sapporo between 29 and 30 March 2008, eventually achieving second place behind China's Guo Yue.^[10] She obtained singles bronze medals at the ITTF Pro Tour Chile Open in April^[8] and the Singapore Open in June 2008,^[11] and helped the women's team to a second place at the Volkswagen Japan Open in Yokohama on 24 May 2008.^[12]

2008 Summer Olympics

Feng represented Singapore for the first time at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the women's table tennis team tournament. The youngest member of the team which included Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu, she contributed significantly to Singapore's 3–2 win against South Korea in the semifinals on 15 August by defeating Dang Ye-Seo and Park Mi-Young in two singles matches. Feng's match against Park was closely fought, with Feng eventually overcoming Park 3–1. Singapore was assisted by the implementation of the expedite system when the game failed to be completed in ten minutes. Under the system, players serve on alternative points rather than on every two points. A receiving player scores a point if she manages 13 returns, which disadvantages defensive play by the server. The system unsettled Park, and Feng won two minutes after its introduction in the match when Park committed a service fault.^[13] Interviewed afterwards, Feng said: "I definitely did not expect that [Park's error]. It was a surprise and the best birthday present I've ever gotten."^[5]

On 17 August, Feng and her teammates gained Singapore a silver medal in women's table tennis after losing to China in three matches.^[14] Feng played the starting singles match, winning the first game but eventually losing to China's Wang Nan 3–1. This was the first time Singapore had won an Olympic medal since its independence in 1965. The medal came 48 years after Tan Howe Liang won the country's first medal, a silver in weightlifting in the lightweight category at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.^[15]

Feng at a ceremony on 25 August 2008 welcoming Team Singapore home from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing

Feng and her teammates received byes into the third round of the women's singles tournament.^[16] Feng defeated South Korea's Dang 4–0 in the third round and the Netherlands' Li Jie 1–4 in the fourth round,^[4] but fell 4–1 to China's Zhang Yining in the quarter-finals.^[17] Feng made the world number one work for her win, with the final scores being 11–13, 14–12, 12–14, 10–12, 11–13. According to the Straits Times, Zhang leveraged on her experience by stalling for time at crucial stages of the game, which broke Feng's rhythm. Interviewed after the match, Feng said: "I'm sure I'll win a medal at the next Olympics."^[17]

At a victory celebration in Singapore on 25 August, Vivian Balakrishnan, the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, announced that Feng, Li and Wang would be presented with the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Meritorious Service Medal). This is only the third time the medal will be awarded to athletes, the two previous recipients being weightlifter Tan Howe Liang (1962) and swimmer Joscelin Yeo (2006).^[18]

In May 2009, the national table tennis women's team, composed of Feng and her teammates Li, Wang and Sun Beibei, were awarded the Team of the Year (Event) prize at the Singapore Sports Awards.^[19]

Competitions between 2008 and 2012

On 9 September 2008, Feng beat her compatriot Wang to clinch the bronze medal at the ITTF Women's World Cup in Kuala Lumpur.^[20] Despite crashing out of the singles event earlier, Feng and her teammates Li and Wang won the top title and US$8,000 at the ITTF Pro Tour ERKE German Open in Berlin on 22 November 2008.^[21] Feng won her first professional singles title at the Polish Open in Warsaw on 30 November, in an all-Singapore final against Wang. Feng and Yu Mengyu also took silver in the doubles championship.^[22] On 2 December 2008, the ITTF announced that Feng was ranked sixth in the world. This made her the top Singapore female table tennis player and the highest-placed player in the world not representing China.^[3][23] She was third in Today newspaper's list of athletes of the year for 2008.^[24]

Feng in action against China's Guo Yue during a quarterfinal match at the Volkswagen Women's World Cup in Kuala Lumpur on 7 September 2008

On 23 August 2009, Feng achieved her second Pro Tour singles title at the KAL Cup Korean Open in Seoul.^[25]

Feng took part in the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane, Laos. She was a member of the Singapore women's team with Sun Beibei and Wang Yuegu that beat Thailand 3–0 on 10 December 2009.^[26] On 14 December 2009, she and her partner Wang Yuegu were defeated by compatriots Sun Beibei and Yu Mengyu in an all-Singapore final in the women's doubles.^[27] The following day, in her maiden appearance at the Games, she achieved gold in the singles competition after trouncing Wang 4–1.^[28]

Together with Sun and Wang, Feng was a member of the team at the Liebherr World Team Table Tennis Championships in Moscow that defeated China, 17-time winner and the reigning world champion, with a score of 3–1 on 30 May 2010. This was the first time that Singapore had won the event. In the two games she played, Feng beat Liu Shiwen and Ding Ning, respectively ranked number one and four in the world.^[29] The Southern Daily published in Guangdong criticized Chinese sports authorities for permitting China-born players like Feng, Li and Wang to leave and play for other countries: "For the sake of developing the sport, China has been talking about 'breeding wolves'. Well, now the wolf has grown up and it has returned home to bite."^[30]

The Singapore Table Tennis Association made Feng the inaugural winner of its Best Player of the Year award on 12 February 2010.^[31] As of 8 April 2010, she had worked her way up to a second-place ranking in the world.^[2] On 3 May 2010, the Singapore National Olympic Council named her Sportswoman of the Year for 2009, and the national women's table tennis team of which she is a member was Team of the Year (Team Event).^[32]

2012 Summer Olympics

2013 World Table Tennis Championships

Feng represented Singapore at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and was the nation's flagbearer at the Parade of Nations segment of the opening ceremony.^[33] She entered the women's singles competition seeded sixth,^[34] and progressed until she was defeated 4–2 by China's Ding Ning in the semi-finals.^[35] On 1 August 2012, she overcame Kasumi Ishikawa of Japan 4–0 (11–9, 11–6, 11–6, 11–5) to take the bronze medal, becoming the second Singaporean to win an individual Olympic medal. (The first was Tan Howe Liang who won a silver for weightlifting in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.)^[36] Interviewed after her win, Feng said: "I'm really happy, although I feel it's come a little too suddenly. My form wasn't very good lately, so I didn't dare to carry too much expectations coming into the London Olympics. It was just a relief to win."^[37]

Feng also participated in the women's team competition with Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu. They were beaten 0–3 by Japan in the semifinals, but took the bronze medal on 7 August 2012 by edging South Korea out 3–0. Feng defeated Kim Kyung Ah 11–9, 11–8, 4–11, 13–11; and Li also successfully fended off Seok Ha Jung 11–5, 11–8, 6–11, 11–8. Li and Wang then succeeded in the doubles game against Seok and Dang Ye Seo 11–9, 11–6, 6–11, 11–5. This marked the first time Singapore had won more than one medal at an Olympic Games. Feng commented: "Against Japan, we gave ourselves too much pressure and lost the psychological battle. After that, I told myself that I must prepare myself well mentally and it's only when I do what I'm capable of that I can win."^[38]

Competitive results

ITTF Pro Tour

• NH: Not held
• DNP: Did not participate

Other competitions

See also

• Singapore at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Singapore at the 2012 Summer Olympics
• Table tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics
• Table tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Notes

References

• Athlete biography: FENG Tianwei, Beijing 2008, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, 2008, archived from the original on 18 August 2008, retrieved 18 August 2008 .
• Chua Chin Hon (16 August 2008), "Match-winner: Win over tenacious rival gives Feng 'best birthday present'", The Straits Times: C36 .
• World ranking record for FENG Tianwei (SIN), International Table Tennis Federation, August 2008, retrieved 17 August 2008 .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Feng Tianwei.

• Official website of the Singapore National Olympic Council
• Official website of the Singapore Table Tennis Association
• Official website of Team Singapore, managed by the Singapore Sports Council
• Feng Tianwei at the Team Singapore website
• Feng Tianwei at Facebook

Olympic Games
Preceded by Li Jiawei	Flagbearer for  Singapore London 2012	Succeeded by Incumbent

v t e Table tennis in Singapore Organization Table Tennis Association Notable players Feng Tianwei Gao Ning Li Jiawei Sun Beibei Wang Yuegu Yang Zi Yu Mengyu List of table tennis players