Zhang Jike

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Zhang Jike
Personal information
Native name 张继科
Nationality Chinese
Born (1988-02-16) February 16, 1988[1]
Qingdao, Shandong, China
Playing style Right-handed, shakehand grip
Highest ranking 1 (June 2012)[2]
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 72 kg (159 lb)
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang.

Zhang Jike (simplified Chinese: 张继科; traditional Chinese: 張繼科; pinyin: Zhāng Jìkē; born February 16, 1988) is a Chinese table tennis player.[1][3] He was named after the Brazilian soccer player Zico.

Zhang Jike is the reigning World and Olympic champion in singles. When he won the Olympic gold medal in singles,[4] he became the fourth male player in the history of table tennis to achieve a career grand slam. The others are Jan-Ove Waldner (in 1992), Liu Guoliang (in 1999) and Kong Linghui (in 2000).[5] Zhang, however, is the only one of the four who have been the reigning champion in all three competitions simultaneously. As he won consecutively first in WTTC 2011, then World Cup 2011, and then London Olympics 2012, he won the grand slam in only 445 days after his first major title, being the fastest player ever to do so.

Equipment and playing style

Zhang Jike is a Butterfly sponsored athlete. He uses a Butterfly Viscaria FL for his blade, a Butterfly Tenergy 05-FX on his backhand (red), and National DHS Hurricane 3 blue sponge rubber on his forehand (black).

Although there is a Butterfly blade named after him, the Zhang Jike, he has yet to use it in competition.

Zhang Jike is a two-winged shakehand attacker, using a combination of quick topspin drive attacks, counters, and loops. He is primarily a speed-oriented player, using the harder blue sponge H3 for maximum drive. He stays very low to the ground and is exceptionally quick on his feet. He uses a backhand favored grip and does not change his grip for forehand shots. Among all the Chinese National team players, he is known for having the best backhand technique.

Career records

Singles (as of December 6, 2011)[3]

  • Olympic Games: Winner (2012).
  • World Championships: Winner (2011, 13).
  • Men's World Cup: Winner (2011); Runner-up (2010).
  • Pro Tour Winner (6): China Open, Suzhou (2010); German Open (2011); Korean Open (2012), Slovenian Open (2012), Kuwait Open (2013). Runner-up (3): Qatar Open (2010); China Open, Suzhou (2011); Austrian Open (2011).
  • Pro Tour Grand Finals: Runner-up (2011); SF (2009).
  • Asian Championships: Runner-up (2009, 12).
  • Asian Cup: Winner (2010).

Men's Doubles

  • World Championships: Semi-final (2009, 11).
  • Pro Tour winner (6): Kuwait Open 2010; Slovenian, English, UAE, German, China (Suzhou) Open 2011.
    Runner-up (7): Kuwait, Qatar Open 2008; China (Suzhou) Open 2009; German Open 2010; Qatar, China (Shenzen), Austrian Open 2011.
  • Pro Tour Grand Finals: winner (2011).
  • Asian Games: winner (2010).

Mixed Doubles

  • World Championships: Runner-up (2009).
  • Asian Games: QF (2010).
  • Asian Championships: Runner-up (2009).

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "ITTF player's profile". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved 2010-08-07. 
  2. ↑ "ITTF world ranking". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved 2010-08-07. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "ITTF Statistics". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved 2011-11-13. 
  4. ↑ "China's Zhang wins men's table tennis gold". Retrieved 02-08-2012. 
  5. ↑ "Sport Olympics 2012: table tennis". Retrieved 03-08-2012. 
Organization
History
  • Ping Pong Diplomacy
Notable players
  • Sport in the People's Republic of China
  • List of Chinese Table Tennis players
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