How table tennis’ former No 1 Zhu Yuling cherishes life more after comeback

Fresh from winning in Las Vegas last month, former women’s table tennis world No 1 Zhu Yuling will return to action on Thursday in Sweden.

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Zhu, 30, will head to the World Table Tennis (WTT) Europe Smash on a high after WTT US Smash success in the gambling haven, which included victories over some of the game’s biggest stars, including present No 1 Sun Yingsha.

Since her international comeback following serious illness, at the WTT Champions event in Macau last September, Zhu’s ranking has rocketed from No 164 to a recent high of No 6, and now No 7.

It is not bad for someone who said she lacked professional-standard preparation and has described herself as a “slasher” – no longer a full-time player but also a professor-slash-student-slash-businesswoman.

Zhu Yuling’s ranking rocketed from 164th to sixth after her comeback. Photo: Xinhua

Zhu is a physical education professor at Tianjin University, a PhD student in business management at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Chengdu, and helps run her family’s semiconductor business in Guangzhou.

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It is some workload, but Zhu has found more time for training during the summer.

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