Table Tennis Profile—Chen Qi , ‘The King of Killer’
Chen Qi is a male Chinese table tennis player. He was at 12th position at the ITTF World Ranking as of September 2011. He has dropped two positions at the latest ranking as he currently lies at the 14th position according to the October
ranking.
Chen teamed up with Ma Lin as the duo secured the gold medal for China at the Summer Olympics 2004. He was only 20 when he won the gold medal which makes him the youngest male athlete to do so. Killerspin has been the official sponsor for the Chinese star
since 2007.
Qi was born on April 15, 1984 in Nantong China and is a bright table tennis prospect for his country. He started training at the Nantong Spare-time Sports School in 1990. He was selected for the provincial team by the age of 12.
Chen joined the Chinese National team on October 2002 and was only 15 by that time. He is famous for his fast aggressive game play. His best recent ITTF position was from March – May 2004 as he secured a solid 5th slot at the World Chart.
The 27-year-old is well known for his attacking style. His strength is forehand. Qi is considered as an all rounder as he has full command over his back hand as well..
Qi is considered as the master of ralleys as he has a very high-quality record of turning them in his favour using the best combination of his forehand and backhand. Chen uses Tenergy 64 for his back hand while Stiga Clipper CR blade, Hurricane Neo 3 for
his forehand.
His major wins include the National Junior Championships 1998, National Junior Games 1999. His best season so far was in 2003 as he secured National Championships, Korea Open, China Open, Japan Open, Malaysian Open, German Open, Danish Open, Swedish Open,
National Inter-City Games, ITTF Pro Tour, Kobe and ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals.
Earlier in his professional career, Chen failed to make an appearance at the ITTF Men’s World Ranking list till September 2003. He joined the party in style as he came from nowhere and secured 14th spot at the ITTF World ranking.
Ma Lin and Chen Qi teamed up during Japan Open 2003 and defeated their countrymen Wang Liqin and Hao Shuai in the final. Ma Lin commented on his partnership with Qi as he said, “I think we played at our best in Korea, in China and Japan we were a little
bit lucky”.
Lin further added that, “I have a new partner, a new face beside me and that might be an advantage since most of our opponents do not know CHEN Qi’s game yet.”
Both the players played 12 matches with each other in late 2003 and progressed with 100 % results. Qi mentioned that he has learned a lot from the experience of Ma lin. He briefed, “There is a lot of pressure at the international tournaments, and just by
being there MA Lin gives me confidence”.
Qi is considered to be the best all round players in the sport and his control over the back hand is exceptional. The only thing that Chen lacked is consistency, he has really been up with world class performances but on his bad days he is totally down.
Chen is considered as one of the most stylish player in the sport because of his aggressive and attacking approach towards the game. It will be interesting to see if he manages to make his mark in the coming events as there is no doubt in his competence
whatsoever.
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