On October 9, 2022, the men's national table tennis team defeated Germany 3:0, achieving an unprecedented 10 consecutive championships. This is also the 22nd time the men's team won the championship in the World Table Tennis Championships. This brilliant achievement of the men's team is reminded of China's first gold medal in the World Table Tennis Championships.
1959, in the 25th World Table Tennis Championships, the 22-year-old Rong Guotuan passed the hurdles and defeated Hungarian veteran Siddou in the final and won the men's singles championship in one fell swoop.
This is the first Chinese table tennis champion in the World Table Tennis Championships. The news spread to the country and the whole country was joking.
He Long, who was the director of the State Sports Commission at the time, held a celebration banquet to welcome the triumphant return Chinese table tennis team .
and specially invited Premier Zhou to attend the banquet.
Prince Zhou not only warmly met Rong Guotuan at the banquet, but also introduced a track and field athlete Huang Xiuzhen to let Rong Guotuan know him.
Because of Premier Zhou's help, Rong Guotuan and Huang Xiuzhen got into marriage a few years later.
In April 1965, Rong Guotuan led the Chinese women's table tennis team to attend the 28th Yugoslavia World Table Tennis Championships, and won the three championships of women's team, doubles and mixed doubles, making Chinese women's table tennis famous in the world table tennis world.
This year, Rong Guotuan was only 28 years old.
But it is such a young man with a promising future who chose to end his life three years later.
Rong Guotuan's death was a huge loss to the Chinese table tennis world. Until today, people have been obsessed with him.
What happened to Rong Guotuan in those years?
Poor teenagers first emerged
On July 7, 1937, the Japanese army began to invade China in full swing.
August 10, a baby boy was born in Hong Kong. In the war-torn era, Rong Mianzhi, a father who returned from Japan, was particularly eager for the strong unity of the country and defeated the Japanese.
Therefore, he named the baby boy Rong Guotuan, which means that the people are united and drive Japanese imperialism out of China.
Rong Guotuan’s parents
In 1941, Japan launched a fierce attack on Hong Kong. Rong Mianzhi, who had no choice but to take his wife and children to his hometown Nanping Township, Zhongshan County (now Nanping Town, Zhuhai).
He works odd jobs while actively participating in local anti-Japanese activities.
It is here that Rong Guocai became very interested in table tennis under the influence of his uncle Wen En.
1943, Rong Guotuan entered the famous "Zhenxian School" in Zhongshan .
Zhongshan is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese, and Zhenxian School is also is the earliest overseas Chinese school in China and one of the earliest folk schools in Guangdong Province .
Zhenxian School was founded in 1871 and is the father of modern Chinese study abroad. Educator Yung Wing took the lead in donating 500 taels of silver to start.
Yung Wing graduated from Yale University and is the first Chinese student to graduate from an American higher education institution in modern Chinese history.
After the founding of Zhenxian School, Yung Wing was appointed as the honorary principal, and the principal was Rong Xingqiao , who also had experience in studying abroad.
school leaders have experienced studying abroad, so the biggest difference between Zhenxian School and local schools is that in addition to teaching students cultural knowledge, they also pay attention to the cultivation of students' comprehensive qualities, such as sports, painting, etc.
The school is open-minded and pays attention to the all-round development of students. Under the influence of the school atmosphere, Rong Guotuan has excellent cultural achievements and has also demonstrated his talent in the sport of table tennis.
From 1943 to 1948, Rong Guotuan studied in this school. This learning experience also laid the foundation for him to enter the table tennis world in the future.
During the day, I couldn’t play enough with my classmates at school. After I got home at night, Rong Guotuan used the bed board to continue playing.
In the past five years, Rong Guotuan's football skills have surpassed many amateur players.
After the Japanese surrender, Rong Mianzhi went to Hong Kong to be an seafarer . After his work gradually stabilized, he took Rong Guotuan to Hong Kong and arranged to study at Hong Kong Sales School .
But just two years later, Rong Mianzhi became unemployed, and Rong Guotuan, who was less than 15 years old, was forced to drop out of school.After dropping out of school, he worked as a child laborer in a fishing bank to relieve the financial pressure at home.
Every morning, at around 4 o'clock, the boss went to the dock to purchase goods. A basket of fish weighs dozens or hundreds of pounds. Rong Guotuan had to carry baskets into the car with other child laborers, and then pulled them to the stall for sale.
Sometimes a basket of fish is too heavy, and Rong Guotuan has to use all his strength and his face is red before he can barely get on the car.
and then stay busy until 7 or 8 pm. I spend more than ten hours a day almost in a fishy and noisy environment.
This heavy physical work that is beyond the age has made Rong Guotuan, who was not fat, thinner, but as time goes by, his strength is getting stronger and stronger.
No matter how poor his life is, Rong Guotuan has not given up his love for table tennis. No matter how tired he is after get off work, he will go to the recreation hall to practice for two hours before going home.
Because Rong Mianzhi is a member of the Trade Union of the Hong Kong Workers' Progress Organization, Rong Guotuan has the opportunity to practice football at the Trade Union's Recreation Hall.
Although he is amateur, Rong Guotuan is a person who likes to think. He practices the strength of his serving every time, where the last place of the ball is, and how fast, accurate and ruthless, over and over again in practice.
Slowly, Rong Guotuan became famous in the recreation hall, and many table tennis enthusiasts like to ask him for advice.
The heavy labor and severe malnutrition made Rong Guotuan suffer from tuberculosis .
Sometimes he coughed all night long, and Rong Mianzhi and his wife were very worried, but they were powerless.
Fortunately, Federation of Trade Unions saw that Rong Mianzhi's family was in a difficult situation and Rong Guotuan was in poor health, so he arranged for him to work in the recreation hall.
This not only solved Rong Guotuan's work problems, but also gave him more time to play basketball.
While working in the recreation hall, Rong Guotuan's football skills have improved rapidly, and his talent and hard training have made him a "little bully in the East District".
Soon, he was qualified to participate in the Hong Kong table tennis singles competition, and won the third place in the Hong Kong inter-school Table Tennis Championship men's singles at the age of 18.
But what really made Rong Guotuan famous overnight was defeating Japanese men's singles champion Ichiro Ogimura.
In 1956, the Japanese team, who had just won the championship in the 23rd World Table Tennis Championships, visited Hong Kong. Since it was a visit, both sides would inevitably "discuss" technically.
The representative assigned by the Japanese visiting delegation is naturally the men's singles champion Ogimura.
vs. the player who just won the championship, and it seems that no matter who he assigned, he will inevitably lose.
Finally, Table Tennis will always give this opportunity to Rong Guotuan.
This is an opportunity and a huge test.
Just as everyone was about to watch Rong Guotuan's joke, he rewritten the ending in a way that everyone could not imagine, defeating Ogimura 2:0, and he won.
We often say that opportunities are often reserved for those who are prepared.
In fact, after winning the championship in Oi Village, Rong Guotuan began to study Oi Village's playing style. Almost every move of Oi Village was deeply imprinted in his mind.
When I received this hot potato that no one wanted, Rong Guotuan did not recommend it, but could not push it, so I could only prepare carefully.
The unknown player actually defeated the World Table Tennis Championships champion. This matter has become a topic for Hong Kong people to talk about after dinner.
Return to the motherland
Rong Guotuan became famous overnight, but the table tennis team always suppressed him, but it did not disappear.
In the spring of 1954, the annual table tennis championship in Hong Kong was about to kick off.
was also this competition, which allowed Rong Guotuan to first meet the darkness of the Table Tennis Association.
It turned out that before the game, the head of the Table Tennis Association had talked to Rong Guotuan and asked him to lose the game on purpose.
To put it bluntly, it is just playing counterfeit ball.
In return, Rong Guotuan will receive a considerable reward.
At that time, Rong Guotuan's working relationship was still under the Federation of Trade Unions. He could only get a meager salary every month to make ends meet.
However, when this generous condition was placed in front of him, Rong Guotuan refused very toughly.
In the championship that year, Rong Guotuan showed his strength and won three gold medals in men's singles, men's doubles and men's team. He became famous in Hong Kong,
, but at the same time, he also became a "thorn" of the Table Tennis Association and received a lot of unfair treatment.
1956, on Asian Table Tennis Championship , Rong Guotuan's name disappeared from the Hong Kong team's roster, so he missed this game;
It was the same year, and the table tennis team always wanted Rong Guotuan to make a fool of himself, to slapped his spirit, and deliberately let Rong Guotuan compete with the Japanese team champion.
Unexpectedly, Rong Guotuan defeated Ogicun with his strength. Not only did he not make a fool of himself, he became famous overnight.
But his embarrassing situation in Table Tennis will not ease.
Where should I do in my career, it became the most troublesome thing that Rong Guotuan had during that time.
There are many Hong Kong clubs who invite him to join, but Rong Guotuan doesn’t want to go.
Just when he was at a loss, the competition between the Hong Kong and Macao United and the mainland provided him with an opportunity.
On September 7, 1956, Beijing Stadium was packed, and the competition between the Hong Kong and Macao United and the Chinese table tennis team was in full swing.
Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping and Director of the Sports Committee He Long sat on the rostrum to watch the game. As the captain of the Hong Kong and Macao United team, Rong Guotuan became the most eye-catching player of the night. After the
game, He Long met with the players of the Hong Kong and Macao United team, and Rong Guotuan expressed his wish to serve the motherland.
In fact, long before coming to the mainland, Rong Guotuan wanted to come to the mainland to play basketball under his father's persuasion.
Although Rong Mianzhi lived in Japan in his early years, he had a patriotic heart.
He believes that no matter how good Rong Guotuan plays in Hong Kong, he will fight alone and have no future in development.
But if you return to your motherland to play, the honor will be different.
Moreover, the newly established New China is vigorously developing sports and recruiting sports talents everywhere.
So, he encouraged Rong Guotuan to write a self-recommendation letter to the Guangdong Provincial Sports Commission , but due to the internal and external environment at that time, the Guangdong Provincial Sports Commission did not respond immediately.
When He Long learned about it, he immediately waved his pen and agreed to Rong Guotuan to come to the mainland to play basketball.
In this way, Rong Guotuan officially went to Guangzhou Sports College to study and train in in 1957.
Starting from the first month of returning to China, Rong Guotuan can get a high salary of 86.5 yuan per month, which is second only to Fu Qifang in the team.
In the era when the average annual salary per capita was only 637 yuan, Rong Guotuan's salary was already at the ceiling level among athletes, which was higher than the salary of ordinary head coaches.
Not only that, the team also overcomes the financial difficulties and stews him a chicken every few days to supplement nutrition. In addition to traditional Chinese medicine care,
After a period of time, Rong Guotuan's tuberculosis began to slowly heal.
In terms of technology, the organization also has equipped him with a variety of playing styles to help him become a world-class player.
Soon, Rong Guotuan made great progress in technology. He was proficient in drawing, killing, cutting, hanging, pulling, rubbing, pushing, and blocking. He was known as the "Eight-arm Nezha". After half a year of training, he proposed to the State Sports Commission the goal of "winning the championship within three years".
1958, at the upcoming World Table Tennis Championships mobilization meeting, Rong Guotuan shouted a slogan to strive for the world championship.
Rong Guotuan and his teammates
No one expected that his slogan would become a reality in the next 25th World Table Tennis Championships.
In 1959, Rong Guotuan represented the Chinese team in the 25th World Table Tennis Championships, which is the third time that the Chinese team participated in the World Table Tennis Championships.
The first two World Table Tennis Championships, the best result of the men's team is the first-level 10th place, and the women's team is the second-level 3th place.
This competition is very important and hopes that the Chinese flag can be raised in a foreign country.
No one expected that this time, the Chinese team not only made a bad reputation, but the men won the second place in the team competition, and Rong Guotuan also won a championship.
Rong Guotuan won the championship this time. In the finals, the opponent he met was the Hungarian star Sido who won 9 world championships.
in the first game, Rong Guotuan lost to Cido 19:21. Most of the Western audiences at the scene thought that there was no suspense in this game and began to prepare flowers for Cistercia in advance.
Although Rong Guotuan lost in the first game, he had an understanding of Sido's playing style. Sido's playing style does not have much personal style, but he only has rich experience in winning the field.
After having a clear idea, Rong Guotuan decided to give it a try starting from the second game. He saw that Sido was wide and fat, and was already 36 years old.
frequently pulled the side top spun ball, taking advantage of his flexibility and good physical strength to destroy the opponent's playing style.
Sure enough, under the offensive of Rong Guotuan's new style of play, Sidor was exhausted and panting, and Rong Guotuan won three consecutive games.
beat Cisto 3:1.
This time, it has left a strong mark in the history of China's sports industry.
was the tenth anniversary of the founding of New China, but the internal and external environment was not friendly to us.
The world record set by Chinese athletes cannot be recognized by the outside world.
This time, the World Table Tennis Championship won not only made the world realize China's strength, but also opened the first glory of the "national football".
The national flag of New China rose in the Westderia Stadium in Dortmund, and the national anthem lingered in the audience. The Chinese at the scene couldn't help but burst into tears.
Rong Guocai Ai Sido
The national flag of New China finally rose in the wind in a foreign country. At that moment, it became an eternal classic in the history of Chinese table tennis.
Premier Zhou’s match with
After returning to China, Rong Guotuan received a cordial reception from Premier Zhou. At the welcome banquet, Premier Zhou introduced a friend to Rong Guotuan, her name was Huang Xiuzhen.
Huang Xiuzhen is also from Guangdong. They had met each other before when they were training in Guangdong, but they didn't know each other.
Because of Premier Zhou's introduction, the two met each other and then danced two dances together.
Huang Xiuzhen had just transferred from the Bayi Track and Field Team to the national team. She didn't expect that the two actually lived in the same building,
, one on the second floor and the other on the sixth floor, but the two had never met before.
Rong Guotuan is a well-known champion throughout the country. Huang Xiuzhen is also proud of having such a fellow villager, but after the banquet, the two did not have much intersection.
When I meet in the cafeteria, I just nodded and asked.
Soon after, Huang Xiuzhen went to Tianjin to participate in a competition.
One day at noon, Huang Xiuzhen had just woken up in the afternoon, and her teammate gave her a note saying it was given by Rong Guotuan.
When she saw that Rong Guotuan had also come to Tianjin to play the game, he invited Huang Xiuzhen to attend a party.
After obtaining the coach's consent, Huang Xiuzhen went. After meeting with
, Rong Guotuan said with great regret that the party was temporarily cancelled, and Huang Xiuzhen was about to go back. Rong Guotuan suddenly said:
Have you been to Tianjin before? After receiving a negative answer, Rong Guotuan suggested: Why don’t we take a walk?
So, while walking around, the two of them introduced their respective situations, which was considered to have an understanding of both parties.
This date, Rong Guotuan left a good impression on Huang Xiuzhen.
He doesn't talk much, is low-key and restrained, and does not have the arrogance and aura of the World Table Tennis Championships champion.
All night, Huang Xiuzhen was almost talking, he listened carefully and asked a question occasionally.
After returning to Beijing, the two gradually became familiar with each other, going to watch a movie from time to time, and occasionally going to have a meal together.
Rong Guotuan likes music and can play guitar. Although he plays it in moderation, he likes to perform in front of Huang Xiuzhen.
This relationship that combines friends and lovers has lasted for more than a year.
No one broke the window paper. Instead, colleagues from the Sports Commission Courtyard thought the two were in love.
The two really confirmed their relationship in 1961.
That year, Rong Guotuan and his teammates won the team championship of the 26th World Table Tennis Championships and defeated the Japanese team for the first time.
Before the finals, Rong Guotuan shouted on the court, "How many times can you fight in life? Don't fight at this time, and when will you wait!", which made the audience on the scene and in front of the TV excited.
Rong Guotuan has become more well-known in China, but he chose to retire this year.
The reason is nothing. He and Huang Xiuzhen have confirmed their relationship and are about to enter the marriage.
Because athletes cannot get married, he immediately thought of retirement, and his superiors also approved his request.
Sports Commission gave him a 20-square-meter wedding house. He went to the department store every few days to prepare wedding supplies.
Just as he was actively preparing for the marriage, he received a task.
He was appointed as the head coach of the women's team.
In view of Rong Guotuan's strength, the organization hopes that he can lead the women's team to win the championship in the 28th World Table Tennis Championships.
Personal interests outweigh collective interests. This principle has long been deeply rooted in his mind. What is more important is that this is the general whom he admires most.
He carefully analyzed the situation of the women's team and took on this glorious and arduous task.
But he hasn't figured out how to speak to Huang Xiuzhen and postpone the wedding date.
One day, Rong Guotuan made an appointment with Huang Xiuzhen and the two chatted aimlessly.
while chatting, looking blankly at Huang Xiuzhen, looking at her reluctantly but stopping.
is all in the same system. Huang Xiuzhen has heard of it a little bit. They are all people who have been educated by the Party for so many years. She understands Rong Guotuan.
In his later years, Huang Xiuzhen
She also knew that Rong Guotuan had asked her out today, which must be the case.
Seeing that Rong Guotuan had not spoken, Huang Xiuzhen spoke first, and she said: I have heard about you.
Hearing Huang Xiuzhen say this, Rong Guotuan became calm on the contrary and said:
I received a task, and he was very heavy.
Can we delay our affairs? I want to complete this difficult task first.
Huang Xiuzhen didn't say anything and nodded silently.
in his later years, Huang Xiuzhen
Rong Guotuan breathed a sigh of relief. He was very grateful to Huang Xiuzhen from the bottom of his heart. He turned out to be worried that she would cry if she didn't agree.
has a heavy task, which means training is tense and there will be fewer opportunities for the two to meet.
Sometimes, two people can’t meet each other for a month. Although they are both in Beijing, their communication is mostly based on letters.
But love at that time was very simple. If you recognize it in your heart, you won’t think about it anymore.
After more than a year of intense training, on April 19, 1965, Rong Guotuan led the Chinese women's team to win the two championships of the 28th World Table Tennis Championships, and Rong Guotuan completed the task outstandingly.
final ending
On April 16, 1968, the head coach of the men's table tennis team, Fu Qifang, was wronged;
On May 16, 1968, the head coach of the Beijing team, Jiang Yongning, , was wronged;
These two, like Rong Guotuan, were outstanding talents in the table tennis world who won the championship in Hong Kong and then moved to the mainland to play basketball and then went to the coaching position.
Their sudden death touched Rong Guotuan a lot.
Especially Fu Qifang, when Rong Guotuan first came to Guangdong to train, Fu Qifang was his coach.
Fu Qifang, who once upgraded from playing with a escort to playing with a escort, selected many excellent playing with a escort for him, which made Rong Guotuan's football skills progress rapidly.
It can be said that Rong Guotuan won the singles championship, and half of the credit was coach Fu Qifang.
At the 26th, 27th and 28th World Table Tennis Championships, the Chinese team showed its strength on the field and led the team coach, which was also Fu Qifang.
But with the arrival of a special historical period, they left this world in their best years.
And with the deaths of Fu Qifang and Jiang Yongning, Rong Guotuan was also targeted. There were more and more problems on his body, and he was always called to ask questions. He asked questions in the bottom line.
At that time, many athletes and coaches were quarantined one after another, and Fu Qifang was also quarantined first. Rong Guotuan heard that he would also be quarantined, and he was under great pressure.
He said to Huang Xiuzhen: Maybe it’s my turn to this quarantine.
Huang Xiuzhen comforted him and said: You don’t have to worry, and you have nothing to say, just make it clear.
On the evening of June 19th, the Training Bureau had a critical meeting, and Huang Xiuzhen asked:
Do you go to participate?
Rong Guotuan: I won’t go, it’s time for me to rest.
Maybe at that time, Rong Guotuan was already thinking about another way.
After the couple finished their supper, they went to see their daughter who was over one year old together.
Because no one takes care of her daughter, she is fostered at her colleague's house and goes to see her every noon and evening.
After watching his daughter, Huang Xiuzhen went to hold a critical meeting, and soon Rong Guotuan also went out.
But until 10 o'clock in the evening, Huang Xiuzhen came back from the critical meeting, but Rong Guotuan had not come back yet.
When it was 12 o'clock, Rong Guotuan was not seen yet, and Huang Xiuzhen could not sit still.
She thought he was still playing chess at a colleague's house, so she rushed to her colleague's house, but the colleague's house was pitch black.
Huang Xiuzhen vaguely felt something was wrong. Her heart pounded, but she didn't know where to look for it.
Before dawn the next day, a colleague knocked on the door. Huang Xiuzhen, who had not slept all night, went out to find Rong Guotuan with her colleagues.
Finally, they saw Rong Guotuan's cold body in a duck farm in the Panjiayao production team.
This is the place where the Training Bureau organizes team members to help farmers harvest in summer. The duck farm is on the road to harvest wheat.
Fu Qifang, Jiang Yongning and Rong Guotuan are known as the "Three Heroes of Table Tennis" in China.
But no one expected that the three of them died in the same way within three months.
tragedy like this is sad.
Their death is the loss of the Chinese table tennis world.
1971, China began table tennis diplomacy , and table tennis players ushered in spring.
If the three of them did not die, they might create another glory.
10 10 years after Rong Guotuan's death, the State Sports Commission held a meeting to rehabilitate him.
On the eve of National Day in 2009, the National "Double Hundred" Selection Organizing Committee, after voting by netizens, selected 100 list of people who moved Chinese people since the founding of New China , and Rong Guotuan was also among them.
Rong Guotuan's life is short but heroic. His patriotism and fighting spirit will influence generation after generation.
And the tragedy in him will not happen again.
