Familiar face returns to the table as Zhu makes Asiad debut for Macao

NAGOYA, Japan — For Zhu Yuling, the table tennis arena at the Asian Games felt both familiar and unfamiliar.

She had been here before, winning the women's team gold medal with China at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. But eight years later, Zhu has returned to the continental Games in a different jersey, representing Macao, China.

And in her first match at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, Zhu found herself across the table from her former teammates as her team faced China, the dominant force in women's table tennis, in the group stage.

"I was still very nervous in my first match," Zhu said. "Standing on the court at a continental multi-sport event, the feeling was very hard to describe."

Her first opponent could hardly have made the moment more emotional: Wang Manyu, the current women's singles world No 1.

Zhu, 31, herself a former world No 1, took the first two games 11-9, 11-9. Wang fought back to win the third 11-7, but Zhu closed out the match 13-11 in the fourth.

Later, Zhu faced another former teammate, Sun Yingsha, losing 3-0 as China eventually won 3-1. But her performance had already won warm applause from the crowd.

"My form was even better than I had imagined," Zhu said. "Before the match, I went to my coach and told him I wanted to play first and face the strongest opponent. I wanted to find out where I was at and also fight for the chance to play the second match. In fact, I did it."

For Zhu, simply being there was already a victory.

Eight years ago, she was a key member of the China team that won gold in Jakarta. Back then, she was pushing toward the Tokyo Olympics, seemingly on a clear path at the highest level of the sport.

Then her life took an unexpected turn.

In August 2020, Zhu was diagnosed with a fibroadenoma, a noncancerous breast lump. More than a year later, after undergoing surgery, she was forced to put down her paddle. She missed the Olympics, left China's national team and gradually disappeared from the spotlight.

But Zhu did not remain defined by what she had lost.

In 2022, Zhu began pursuing a doctorate in management at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, researching career transitions among elite athletes, a subject closely tied to her own experience. She later joined Tianjin University as a physical education teacher.

Another chapter began in February 2024, when Zhu obtained Macao residency through the Macao Special Administrative Region government's talent recruitment program and began representing Macao, China, in international competition.

Zhu was starting her second career in table tennis virtually from zero, while juggling classes as a teacher, writing her doctoral dissertation and training sessions and tournaments.

Yet, less than a year after returning to the international table tennis circuit, she had climbed back into the world's top 10.

Now, at the Asian Games, she has a new goal.

Macao opened its second women's team match with a 3-1 victory over Nepal on Monday.

"My goal is to achieve the best result in Macao's history," Zhu said. "This is very significant for us. We hope that, through our own efforts, we can inspire more young people in Macao."

After watching Zhu fight for every point against China, her Macao teammate Leong On-na broke down in tears.

"Seeing her fight for every single ball, I was really moved," Leung said.

For Zhu, however, this is not a story of hardship, but of gratitude for having another chance to compete.

"I think my life has been quite smooth," she said. "Although I am no longer at the top of the pyramid, being able to stand on the court itself means that, for me, I have already overcome myself."

XINHUA