In a sentence

She had a rare quality: in a final, she was willing to win with something unorthodox.

Playing style

  • Clever penhold serve and first-three-ball play, with wide attacking lines
  • Strong forehand continuity that kept constant pressure on opponents
  • Tactically flexible, willing to switch to unconventional measures at key points

Career and key moments

In the women’s singles final of the 37th World Championships in Tokyo in 1983, she faced Yang Young-ja of South Korea and lobbed her to death — a passage that is still cited as a classic case of tactical intelligence in table tennis. Two years later, at the 38th World Championships, she won women’s singles again. Her presence carried Chinese women’s table tennis through its generational handover in the early 1980s.

What she left the game

She proved in a single final that beyond technique, half of table tennis is psychology and calculation. Later generations keep quoting her too — because those 15 lobs contained the calmest possible read of an opponent.

In a sentence: Whoever dares to change tactics at the most critical point usually understands the opponent best.