Published : 2025-04-09
On April 9, 1961, Chinese athletes won the Men's Team Championship for the first time at the 26th World Table Tennis Championships held in Beijing.
In the individual competitions, Chinese athletes also performed well.
Zhuang Zedong (莊則棟) won the men's singles championship, and Qiu Zhonghui (丘鍾惠) won the women's singles championship.
In addition, the Chinese team also won four runner-up titles and eight third-place finishes.
For the Chinese table tennis team, the 26th World Table Tennis Championships was an absolute milestone in their growth and strength, as well as a turning point in the world of table tennis.
In the final match of the men's team event, before the last match, Chinese athlete Rong Guotuan (容國團) shouted, "How many times can one fight in life? If not now, then when?"
This resounding cry became the source of strength for the Chinese table tennis team, deeply inspiring every Chinese athlete.
In the end, Rong Guotuan played brilliantly, defeating his opponent 2-1 and helping the Chinese team win the men's team championship.
Following this victory, some Western media claimed that it ended Japan's dominance in table tennis since the 1950s, and China took the lead in the world of table tennis.
Since then, Chinese athletes have achieved good results in many subsequent World Table Tennis Championships, with Zhuang Zedong winning the men's singles championship three times in a row.
At the 36th World Table Tennis Championships in 1981, Chinese athletes won all seven championships, setting a new record in the 55-year history of the World Table Tennis Championships.
Looking back, Chinese table tennis athletes have climbed to the peak of the world step by step.
In 1953, the Chinese table tennis team participated in the World Table Tennis Championships for the first time. In the team events, both the men's and women's teams only finished fourth in their groups.
In the five individual events, all the players were eliminated in the third round. However, they were not discouraged but continued to train hard, finally reaching the pinnacle of table tennis in 1961.
