Veteran Yang Zi retires from table tennis

SINGAPORE — The national men’s table tennis team has lost yet another veteran player to retirement, with two-time Olympian Yang Zi hanging up his bat due to injuries.

Formerly from Beijing, Yang started his career with the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) in 2003, before obtaining his citizenship two years later.

A stalwart of the men’s national side, Yang’s list of achievements over his 11-year career in the sport includes eight gold medals at the SEA Games, five Commonwealth Games gold, a top-eight finish (men’s team) at the 2012 London Olympics, and a clutch of titles on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour.

The 32-year-old’s biggest success came in 2012 when he and partner Gao Ning won a historic men’s doubles gold at the Asian Championships — a first for the Republic since Loh Heng Chew and Poon Weng Hoe’s title win in 1954.

But Yang has been hit by injury in recent times. He suffered a slipped disc in 2014 that took him out of action for eight months and left his playing future in doubt.

Although he recovered to win two gold medals at last year’s SEA Games, and a mixed doubles silver at the Asian Championships, he has now decided to end his career for good.

“Unfortunately my neck has been degenerating and I have undergone rehabilitation for several months now but there is still no improvement, so I am left with no choice but to retire from professional table tennis,” he said in a STTA statement.

“While I’m disappointed that my table tennis career has come to an end, I am excited about what lies ahead. I have recently completed the ITTF coaching course and will be joining my parents’ table tennis academy to help Singapore to groom more young talents.

“Finally, I am also extremely grateful to STTA, Sport Singapore and Singapore National Olympic Council for giving me this opportunity and I wish the Singapore team every success for the year ahead.”

Paying tribute to Yang, STTA president Ellen Lee said: “We would like to thank Yang Zi for his contributions to Singapore.

“While he will not be playing for Singapore anymore, he will be contributing to Singapore by grooming young paddlers. We would like to wish him all the best.”

Yang’s departure is the latest blow to the national men’s team. The squad also lost paddlers Zhan Jian and Ma Liang to injuries in recent years, while former world junior champion and world No 58 Li Hu was sacked by the STTA last October for insubordination.

However, STTA chief executive officer Wong Hui Leng is confident that Gao and local-born player Clarence Chew will be able to lead the team in major competitions, including this year’s SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur in August.

“Clarence Chew, Gao Ning and Chen Feng are training with the Intermediate Squad comprising Ethan Poh, Edric Lim, Maxxe Tay, Darren Loy and Lucas Tan,” said Wong.

“These athletes have done well in previous SEA Junior Championships and junior competitions. With an intensive training and competition programme, some of them should be able to progress to the national team within the next two years.

“STTA is confident that Gao Ning and Clarence Chew will be able to lead the team and perform well for the upcoming SEA Games.”

Singapore table tennis has endured some turbulent times in recent months, with the STTA’s sacking of world No 5 Feng Tianwei, its top-ranked female paddler, last October sending shockwaves through the local and international community.