Rong Guotuan
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In memory of China's 1st world champion Rong Guotuan
Rong Guotuan, born in Hong Kong, on Aug 10, 1937, was a Chinese male table tennis player. His family's native home was in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong province. He participated in table tennis competitions in Hong Kong as a junior. In 1957, Rong made up his mind to return to China. He won the national championship the following year and was later selected as a member of the national team. He then won the men's singles title at the 1959 World Table Tennis Championships in Dortmund, the first ever world champion representing the People's Republic of China and China's first table tennis world championship winner. He was later given a hero's welcome home. After 1964, the Chinese women's team, under his direction, won their first championship at the 1965 World Championships. During the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), Rong was framed as a suspected spy. He committed suicide on June 20, 1968.
Rong Guotuan: 1st world champion of new China
Rong Guotuan was a Chinese male table tennis player. He won men's singles title at the 1959 World Table Tennis Championships in Dortmund, the first world championship winner representing the People's Republic of China. During the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), Rong was framed as "Spy Suspect". He committed suicide on June 20, 1968. Rong was born in Hong Kong on August 10, 1937. Native place of his family was at Nanping Village, Zhongshan County (now the Nanping Town, Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province). He had started playing table tennis since his childhood and participated in competitions in Hong Kong as a junior. In 1957, Rong made up his mind to return to the Chinese mainland. He won national champion in the following year and was later selected as a member of the national team. At the 25th World Table Tennis Championships in Dortmund in 1959, Rong won the men's singles competition and became China's first world championship winner after the foundation of the People's Republic of China (PRC). At the 26th World Table Tennis Championships in Beijing in 1961, he helped Chinese men's team win the first team title. After 1964, he worked as the coach of Chinese women's team. The women's team won their first champion at the 28th World Table Tennis Championships in 1965. He won the title of Master of sports in 1958 and two medals of honor for sports issued by the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission (in 1959 and 1961). In 1984, he was cited as one of the most excellent athletes in the 35 years since the founding of the PRC. During the ten years of turmoil, Rong Guotuan was framed as "Spy Suspect" and he committed suicide in 1968 at age 31, leaving his little daughter. In 1978, the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission rehabilitate Rong Guotuan's honor. In 1987, a bronze statue of Rong Guotuan was built in Zhuhai city, his hometown.
Rong Guotuan
Rong Guotuan(1937-1968) was born in Hong Kong with family origin in Nanping Village of Nanping Town. He took a special interest in table tennis when he was 7. He won fame by winning the men’s team, singles and doubles during the Hong Kong Table Tennis Tournament in February 1957 and became a household name by defeating the world champion when the Japanese team visited Hong Kong late April that year. Rong Goutuan returned to the Chinese mainland on November 29, 1957 and enrolled in Guangzhou Sports College. During the 25th World Table Tennis Tournament in 1959, Rong boasted, “How many rounds of struggle can one face up to in a lifetime? And it’s high time to make a show.” He claimed China’s first-ever world title with 26 victories and defeated all world-renowned table tennis players. Rong achieved the decisive score for the Men’s Team champion during the 26th World Table Tennis Tournament, which opened in Beijing in April 1961. He was appointed Head Coach of the Chinese Women’s National Team in December 1964. Under his tutelage, Chinese women players defeated the Japanese women’s team and won the first Corbillion Cup for China during the 28th Yugoslav Open Table Tennis Championships in April 1965. During Culture Revolution criticism of sports, Rong committed suicide on June 20, 1968. After the “Gang of Four” was crushed, Rong’s grievances were redressed on June 23, 1978.
Knowledge Graph
Examples
1 Thirty years earlier, at the same place, my good friend Rong Guotuan, with his penholder hitting and blocking style, prevailed over Hungarian Ferenc Sido to win the men’s singles final match.
2 Yung Kuo Tuan, commonly known as Rong Guotuan, was a Chinese male table tennis player.
3 In the Table Tennis World Championships 1959 in Dortmund Rong Guotuan surprisingly won the title in the men's singles when he beat the Hungarians Ferenc Sido in the final and also the favored Japanese to Ichirō Ogimura and Toshiaki Tanaka left behind.