Chuang Chih-yuan
| Chuang Chih-Yuan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | CHUANG Chih-Yuan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Taiwan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | April 2, 1981 Kaohsiung, Taiwan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 60 kg (130 lb; 9.4 st) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Table tennis career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing style | Right-handed shakehand grip | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 3 (December 2003)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Levallois Sporting Club T.T. (France)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Template:Chinese name Chuang Chih-Yuan (traditional Chinese: 莊智淵; simplified Chinese: 庄智渊; pinyin: Zhuāng Zhìyuān; born April 2, 1982 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan) is a Taiwanese table tennis player.[3] Winner of ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals 2002. As of November 2010 he is ranked 11th in the world.[1]
Career in table tennis
Chuang's parents were both table tennis players in Taiwan.[4][5] His father was a national doubles champion, and his mother Li Kuei-Mei was a member of the national team. After Li's career as a player, her son, Chih-Yuan, became one of her prodigies in table tennis.
Chuang started competing in 1989, at the age of 8.[3] From the age of 13 his mother sent him to China for training several times. Chuang first made it to the Taiwan national team in 1998. In 1999, Chuang made his World Championships and ITTF Pro Tour debut.[6] At the end of 2000, his mother decided to let Chuang train in Europe, including France and Germany. The process made his matches a combination of the Chinese and European playing styles.
2002 was a sparkling year in Chuang's career. He reached his first three finals on the Pro Tour, but ended them all as the runner-up. He entered the world Top 10 list in September, won the silver medal at the Asian Games and participated in his first World Cup. At the year's end, he consecutively faced the opponents who defeated him in the previous three finals of the Pro Tour, and recorded three straight wins at the Pro Tour Grand Finals.[7][8] He defeated Jean-Michel Saive in the quarter-final, Wang Hao in the semi-final, and Kalinikos Kreanga in the final, claiming the title of Grand Finals Champion.
Chuang won his first Singles title on the Pro Tour at the Brazil Open in 2003, and reached No. 3, the highest world ranking of his career, at the end of the year.[1] He advanced to the quarter-finals in the 2004 Athens Olympics, ending the Games with a loss to Wang Hao.[9]
In July 2008, his own table tennis stadium, Chih Yuan The Ping-Pong Stadium, opened in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The stadium not only operates for Chuang's training, but is opened for other players and the public.[10]
Career summary
Singles (as of November 8, 2010):[6]
- Olympics: quarter-finals (2004)
- World Championships: round of 16 (2003, 2007)
- World Cup appearances: 9. Best record: quarter-finals (2006, 10)
- Pro Tour titles: 2 (Brazil 2003 and Chile 2011). Runner-up: 10 (Qatar, Japan, Dutch Open 2002; Danish Open 2003; USA, Japan Open 2004; Singapore Open 2006; Austrian, German Open 2008; Hungarian Open 2010)
- Pro Tour Grand Finals appearances: 10. Won in 2002.
- Asian Games: runner-up (2002).
Awards
- Best Male Athlete Award 2003 from Sports Affairs Council, Executive Yuan, Taiwan.[11]
- 41st Ten Outstanding Young Persons (2003) from Ten Outstanding Young Persons' Foundation Co., Taiwan.[12]
References
- ^ a b c "ITTF world ranking". ITTF. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
- ^ "Levallois Sporting Club T.T." ETTU. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
- ^ a b "ITTF Biography". ITTF. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
- ^ Chou, Li-Chiang (2008-05-16). "莊智淵的朋友與敵人" (in Traditional Chinese). mass-age.com. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|trans_title=(help); External link in|publisher= - ^ "高雄新鮮人─莊智淵的桌球世界". Kaohsiung e-paper (in Traditional Chinese). Kaohsiung City Government. 2008-08-22. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|trans_title=(help) - ^ a b "ITTF Statistics". ITTF. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
- ^ Peter Jensen (2002-12-13). "Learning the hard way". ITTF. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
- ^ Peter Jensen (2002-12-15). "CHUAN out on top". ITTF. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
- ^ "Olympic results at sports-reference.com". http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
{{cite web}}: External link in|work= - ^ "Official website of Chih Yuan The Ping-Pong Stadium" (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2010-07-31.
- ^ Huang, Chiu-Ming (2003-09-09). "92體育精英獎／莊智淵擊敗曹錦輝 摘下最佳男運動員" (in Traditional Chinese). NOWnews.com. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|trans_title=(help) - ^ "Past Winners" (in Traditional Chinese). Ten Outstanding Young Persons' Foundation Co. Retrieved 2010-07-31.