Sunbird Chronicle: Falling in love with table tennis (photo)

Sunbird Chronicle: Falling in love with table tennis (photo) (left) He Leping ("Alberta Times" Qingbao report...

Sunbird Chronicle: Falling in love with table tennis (photo) (left) He Leping ("Alberta Times") Qingbao Report) The 2013 Arizona China Week Sports Competition has just come to an end. Professors in their 80s and children as young as just above the table are all crazy about this little table tennis ball. It is completely understandable that in China, everyone starts from childhood. Just playing on the school’s cement table tennis table. Everyone’s childhood is related to table tennis, so table tennis is called the “national sport” in China. However, there are exceptions to this. Here, the reporter actually met a friend who only started playing table tennis in his fifties. His name is He Leping. Leping is a researcher at a university and has a very stable job. When he was young, he liked basketball and tennis. As he got older, these sports were no longer suitable. He felt that table tennis could train his eyes, brain and body. In 2005, he came to Phoenix Table Tennis for the first time. Club. It is not easy to learn a new sport when you are over 50 years old. It is even harder to do everything well, because the first lesson you need to learn is to "give up" when you are not as good as others. Leping pointed at the table happily. Some players who were practicing said: "I have lost to them before...". Accepting defeat tests one's patience. Only by having a good attitude to accept this loss can you persist and win. The second lesson of table tennis is to work hard and practice basic skills. He bought a table tennis table and ball machine at his home, trained for one to two hours a day, and hired professional teachers to provide guidance. Playing with friends at the table tennis club every week became the greatest joy in his life. He practiced this for several years and said, "The first two years were really hard." Leping participated in an amateur table tennis competition for the first time in 2007. At that time, his USATT points were only over 1,600 (United States Table Tennis Association points system). Leping performed very well in that competition and played against many players with more than 1,900 points. In a USATT point competition, if there is a difference of hundreds of points, there will be a significant gap in skills. Playing against a high-level player left a deep impression on Leping. At that time, Leping lost two and entered the fourth game. The score was still very close, and the opponent was a little anxious, hoping to win as soon as possible. Leping's heart was also changing, and he had to persist! He was afraid of making mistakes and played conservatively, and used his own characteristics to break through one point. Leping held on to the decisive game and took the lead from the beginning. They started to strengthen their offensive and attacked fiercely, but they were still stopped by Leping. After the summary of the first four games, the opponent's strength was the arc ball. At this time, Leping sent a forehand long ball, and the opponent made a mistake! Leping won another point. 10 to 9, Leping continued to make a long forehand ball, and the opponent's arc speed decreased sharply. Leping made a wide angle backhand, and the opponent did not. Running back to the ball, this big change in the triangle brought the game to a perfect end! Now talking about this game with Leping, it feels like the game was just yesterday. Leping said that playing table tennis is to exercise, but the physical and mental competition during the game is a feast. When you encounter an opponent with equal or stronger strength, you break through the opponent's defense and score again and again. Once you have tasted that kind of joy, you will never forget it. Leping still practices ball almost every day, and he is actively preparing for the next game in Las Vegas. Falling in love with table tennis is not only a sport, but also a spiritual journey to challenge himself.