In a sentence

He is the draw nobody on the Chinese team wants: not always the winner, but forever the man who drags you into the most uncomfortable rhythm.

Playing style

  • High-grade backhand, solid both borrowing force and counter-attacking
  • European-style rhythm fused with Asian attacking instinct, rich in line variation
  • Willing to change tactics on big points, with a steady competitive temperament

Career and key moments

2002 was his breakthrough: at the year-end Grand Finals he beat Saive, Wang Hao and Crisan to take the title — the only player ever to win the Grand Finals singles without having captured any regular tour event first. In 2003 he won the Brazil Open and finished the year at world No. 3, his career peak. At the 2013 Paris World Championships he and Chen Chien-an beat Ma Lin and Hao Shuai to win men’s doubles — Chinese Taipei’s first ever World Championship medal. He stood on six Olympic stages and formally left the international rankings after Paris 2024.

Legacy

In an East Asia crowded with talent, he carried Chinese Taipei’s table tennis flag alone for over two decades; the training hall he founded carries that influence to the next generation.

Remember in one line: Playing twenty years beside a giant and still being taken seriously every single time — that itself is real ability.