[Archive: Xu Yinsheng's Monologue Vol. 2] "Even if it is temporarily the most advanced technology, unless it continues to develop, it will inevitably become obsolete and eventually be eliminated."

China did not reach the summit of the world without incident or by smooth sailing. In the 1960s, table tennis people also endured hard times amid the power struggle known as the Cultural Revolution, and some even lost their comrades. After those negative years, how was a solid kingdom built?
Witness to the history of Chinese table tennis—Xu Yinsheng. A charismatic figure who has seen both the bright and dark sides of Chinese table tennis through the storm of reform speaks about his past. <2009>

Translation = Kinuko Iseki, Qing Xie, and Taro Yanagisawa  Photo = Kazuhiro Takahashi  Cooperation = Pingpong World

"Even if one style of play or one style is temporarily the most advanced technology, unless it continues to develop, it will inevitably become outdated and ultimately be weeded out."

Xu Yinsheng / Xu Yinsheng (Jo Yinsei)
Born May 12, 1938, in Shanghai. He was the youngest of eight siblings. His playing style was right-handed penhold, pips-out, fast attack. In 1955, while enrolled at Shanghai Guangda Middle School, he joined the Shanghai student team, and the following year he joined the Shanghai city team. In 1959, he joined the national team and made his World Championships debut at the Dortmund World Championships that same year. At the 26th World Table Tennis Championships in 1961, he contributed as a key player in the men's team to China's first-ever men's team title. He appeared in four consecutive World Championships through the 1965 Ljubljana event. He won a total of four gold medals: three in men's team and one in men's dobles. He was praised as a clever tactician and dubbed "Zhiduoxing." In 1977, he became vice chairman of the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission (now the General Administration of Sport of China), and in 1979 he became the second president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, serving at the top of Chinese table tennis for 30 years. In 1995, he succeeded Rolf Hammenland as the fifth president of the International Table Tennis Federation (stepping down in 1999). In 2009, he stepped down as president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association and became its honorary president

Our victory at the 1961 Beijing event caused a huge reaction throughout China. It was the first time China had won at a World Championships

In one of his books, the late Ichiro Ogimura, former president of the International Table Tennis Federation and world champion, once wrote, "Perhaps China thought that if Japanese people, who are also Asian and have similar physiques, could win in the world, then they should be able to win too. In the midst of turmoil at home, perhaps it was putting effort into table tennis in order to win internationally." Soon after the founding of the country, table tennis was chosen as a sport to boost national prestige, and it produced results, truly giving strength to the Chinese people. For that reason, table tennis became the "national ball," and, as a politically significant sport, it was nurtured by the state and drew attention.

◇◇

Xu Yinsheng I think table tennis is a sport well suited to Asians, including the Chinese. Asian players are relatively agile, and their bodies are more flexible than those of European players. And for Asian players, who are smaller in build than European players, the fact that table tennis does not involve physical contact is also an important factor.

　Also, back in the 1960s, penhold was mainstream among Asian players, while shakehand was mainstream in Europe. The minority penholder could more easily adapt to the majority shakehand style, whereas European shakehand players had relatively few penholders to deal with and therefore found it difficult to respond. By taking advantage of their agility and quick thinking, Asia was able to play more varied table tennis than Europe.

　Our victory at the 1961 Beijing event caused a huge reaction throughout China. In addition to it being a tournament held on home soil, China had won a team title at the World Championships for the first time. At the time, television had not yet become widespread, so people are said to have listened to the match situation on the radio. Let me give one example of how excited people were. After we won the men's team event, when the venue was cleaned up, many personal belongings of spectators who had lost control in their excitement—such as hats and mufflers—were found scattered around.