Native name 张继科 Role Table Tennis Player Nationality Chinese Height 1.78 m | Weight 70 kg Name Zhang Jike | |
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Playing style Highest ranking 1 (June to December 2012) Parents Xu Xiying, Zhang Chuanming Olympic medals Table tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's singles Similar People Ma Long, Wang Hao, Timo Boll, Ma Lin, Li Xiaoxia | ||
Current ranking 5 (December 2015) | ||
Zhang jike the path i have chosen
Zhang Jike (simplified Chinese: 张继科; traditional Chinese: 張繼科; pinyin: Zhāng Jìkē; born 16 February 1988) is a Chinese table tennis player. As of July 2017, he is ranked 5th in the ITTF rankings.
Contents
- Zhang jike the path i have chosen
- 2014 men s world cup highlights aruna quadri vs zhang jike quarter final
- Early life
- Equipment and playing style
- Career records
- References
Zhang became the fourth male player in the history of table tennis to achieve a career Grand Slam when he won gold in men's singles at the Olympic games in London 2012. The first three are Jan-Ove Waldner (in 1992), Liu Guoliang (in 1999), and Kong Linghui (in 2000). Zhang won the Grand Slam in only 445 days. He won, consecutively, first WTTC 2011, then World Cup 2011, and then London Olympics 2012, which made him the fastest player ever to win a Grand Slam. After the first Grand Slam, he won WTTC 2013 and World Cup 2014, which makes him the player who is closest to achieve a second career Grand Slam. He is one of the three male players who hold the most major titles in the table tennis history, at five. The other two players are Ma Lin and Ma Long. In August 2016, Zhang Jike stated his intention of competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
2014 men s world cup highlights aruna quadri vs zhang jike quarter final
Early life
On February 16, 1988, Zhang was born in Qingdao, Shandong Province to Zhang Chuanming (张传铭) and Xu Xiying (徐锡英). His father is a table-tennis coach. He was named after the Brazilian soccer player Zico.
According to his father, the first time Zhang played table-tennis was on March 5, 1992, at age of 4.
Equipment and playing style
Zhang Jike is a Butterfly sponsored athlete. He uses Butterfly Viscaria for his blade, a Butterfly Tenergy 80 (red) on his backhand, and DHS Hurricane 3 neo National blue sponge (black) on his forehand.
Zhang Jike is a two-winged shakehand attacker, using a combination of quick topspin drive attacks, counters, and loops. He is primarily a speed-oriented player, using the harder blue sponge H3 for maximum drive. He stays very low to the ground and is exceptionally quick on his feet. Among all the Chinese National team players, he is known for having the best backhand technique, often using it in the forehand corner, especially when returning heavy under-spin serves and pushes. His backhand on-the-table flick is widely regarded as one of the best in the world.
Zhang's serves are unpredictable and quite deceptive. His most famous serve is probably the reverse-pendulum short serve into both corners of the table. The side-spin on the serve, together with his deadly backhand flicks, lightning footwork and top-class anticipation has proven to be a frightening combination as he "opens up" top spin rallies to his advantage.
It is noticeable that he would play with a backhand oriented game plan against big forehand loopers like Ma Long or Fan Zhendong. He would keep his opponents in their backhand corner and go for down-the-line blocking winners as the opposition steps around to use a forehand loop, or just simply use his superior control to pile up pressure on the opponent, resulting in bad shot selections and unforced errors.
One of Zhang Jike's most valuable asset is his mental toughness. His ability to win big points in major competitions under pressure, has amazed audiences.
In 2014, Zhang's world ranking dropped to 5th as a result of consecutive early world tour exits and title drought. Head coach Liu Guoliang criticized him for his lack of focus and techniques development. However, Zhang managed to lead his hometown team, Shandong, to the 2014 Chinese Table Tennis Super League championship, and he won the World Cup again in October. His prize money, $45,000 USD, for winning the World Cup was taken as a fine for destroying the barriers in celebration. This fund will be used to set up Fair Play Award.
In 2016, Zhang Jike defeated world No. 1 ranked and current World Champion Ma Long 4-1 in the finals match of the Kuwait Open.
Career records
Men's Doubles
Runner-up (7): Kuwait, Qatar Open 2008; China (Suzhou) Open 2009; German Open 2010; Qatar, China (Shenzen), Austrian Open 2011.