Since table tennis became an Olympic sport in 1988, China has won 47 of the 88 medals awarded. Given its dominance, players like Zheng Jiaqi and Yue "Jennifer" Wu immigrate in hopes of making an Olympic squad.
Although knowing little about the U.S., Zheng left Shandong Province a decade ago by herself. At the time, "I didn't know anything and I didn't even speak English," the now 28-year-old said. While enjoying California's weather, though, she realized, "I can play table tennis and it's a better future for me."
Wu arrived in 2008 at the age of 18, opting for New York City. She came to the U.S. because life in Beijing was consumed by training. After postponing the telephone interview owing to a surprise doping test, she said, "Every day was just table tennis. I wanted to see a different world."
Adjusting to new environment
The new environment required adjustments, though. She said, "Foods are different. Everything is different."
Separation from family was also distressing. Wu said, "In China, I can see my parents every day. When I came to the U.S., I can't see them for a long time. I think that's the hardest part."
Over time, she acclimated. "When I came here, I used to really miss my home, miss Beijing, but now I think [New York City] is my other hometown," she remarked.
Both Wu and Zheng became U.S. citizens in 2014, having to renounce their Chinese citizenship to do so. Wu had mixed emotions initially, but realized, "I'm closer to my dream... When I became a U.S. citizen, I loved the U.S. more than before."
Zheng had similar thoughts. "I still love [China]," she said, "but I want to play Olympics so badly."
Unlike Wu, Zheng's family did not approve of her move so she pursued U.S. citizenship secretly. She said, "At the beginning, they didn't think I can do it alone without them... So, I just want to prove I can do it myself. But I did!" After becoming a U.S. citizen and Olympian, her family became more supportive.
Adjusting to the menu offerings was also necessary. Regarding Chinese food found in the U.S., Zheng said, "I'm okay with it, but I can't say I love it." Breaking into Putonghua she noted, "The U.S. does not have a lot of regional Chinese food offerings."
When Wu craves Chinese food she heads to Chinatown in Flushing, Queens. Nothing, however, satisfies her longing for homemade noodles her father prepares in China.
In the U.S., unfamiliar foods can introduce nutritional hazards to foreign athletes. Wu said, "I love cheese. That's a very special thing for me. I used to be fit when I came here. That surprised me. Because in China, we don't eat a lot of cheese, pizza, or pasta." She continued, "I think the U.S. can make people fatter. In China, we don't eat that way. Less sugar and less oil."
A more frustrating problem is language. Owing to this barrier, "I didn't really talk with Americans," Zheng said of her first year in the U.S. To address this, she attended adult language school and ESL (English as a Second Language) programs. And this year, she graduated with a Business Administration degree from Whitewater University of California.
Similarly, when Wu arrived in the U.S., "I didn't even know one word in English," she said. With encouragement from her table tennis students she enrolled in classes.
To actually speak, however, required time. Crippled by the thought of erring, "I didn't speak [English] for like two years," she said. After attending ESL classes, though, she became more comfortable speaking with Americans, not solely her Chinese friends.
Although her friends are primarily from Beijing, working as an instructor on 9x5 ft dark-colored matte-finished tables introduces her to new people. One such friend is table tennis enthusiast and comic, Judah Friedlander, the 30 Rock sitcom actor known for wearing various sloganed trucker caps. Wu attended one of his comedy shows and he has been supportive during her Olympic preparation.
Chinese dominance
With U.S. Olympic athletes, funding insufficiencies are not unique to table tennis. These concerns, however, do differentiate U.S. and Chinese table tennis.
Both athletes have GoFundMe pages and Wu covers her daily expenses by teaching table tennis. Zheng is depleting savings and sees finances as a major impediment to the sport's development. She said, "Every trip we go on, we pay ourselves. So it's really hard for us to play professionally... We have to think 'how to survive?'"
This differs from China. Zheng said, "In China, if you're on a team, they pay you. The government pays your salaries so you don't have to worry... We don't have that environment here. We can't just keep training because training costs a lot of money in the U.S. and not everybody can do it."
In the U.S., players essentially go it alone and training is intermittent and approximately two to four hours per day. In contrast, China systematically develops players from young ages through the professional ranks and they practice five to six hours a day, year round.
In China, "They have a team. They have a whole process," Zheng remarked. "They do everything for the players. Even the food, the doctors, whatever. They have everything already. So all they have to do is just practice and think how to improve."
And unlike China where high--level players garner fame and financial rewards, returns to U.S. players are negligible. Owing to this reason, Zheng said many high-caliber Americans cease playing competitively when approaching college age.
This confines the U.S. player pool and number of Olympic-caliber training partners. Even in New York Wu only has two training partners on her level. In China, many cities have two or three dozen comparable players.
Inherently, scarce U.S. fan interest stunts the sport's growth. Zheng said, "Americans don't really know what table tennis is. They think table tennis is just for fun. And they just play in the garage and don't see it as a sport."
Owing to these conditions, Americans have never medaled at the Olympics while China has won 24 of the 28 golds. Chinese women have been particularly greedy, hoarding 13 of 14 golds.
Although the Chinese flag will likely continue being raised at table tennis medal ceremonies, and there are difficulties with immigrating, the sport has provided Zheng and Wu with opportunities.
After the Olympics, Wu hopes to return to university and possibly open an academy. "I want to try to make table tennis more popular in the U.S.," she remarked.
Zheng values the U.S.'s meritocracy. She said, "I love this country... You get whatever you work for. You work hard, you get it. You don't work, then you get nothing. It's more fair."
And for both of them, hard work has made them Olympians, albeit for a nation 7,000 miles from their birth country. "I love U.S. and China," Wu proclaimed.
