The Taiwanese table tennis legend comes to an end! Li Guoding, the first Asian Games men's singles gold medalist, passed away at the age of 88
Li Guoding, the generation's top player who won Taiwan's first men's table tennis gold medal at the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games, passed away peacefully on the afternoon of October 16, surrounded by his family.
Quick Look
Li Guoding, the generational champion who won Taiwan's first table tennis men's singles gold medal at the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games, passed away in Brazil on October 16, Taiwan time, at the age of 88, bringing an end to his legendary career.
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Why It Matters
Li Guoding won Taiwan's first men's table tennis gold medal in the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games, and it is currently Taiwan's only men's table tennis gold medal in the Asian Games.
Taiwanese Asian Games table tennis star Li Guoding passed away in Brazil yesterday at the age of 88.
Li Guoding, the generational champion who won Taiwan's first men's table tennis gold medal at the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games, passed away peacefully at 4:30 pm on October 16, Taiwan time, surrounded by his family. He was 88 years old, and his legendary career came to an end.
Table tennis officially became a competitive event in the 3rd Asian Games in 1958. Since then, except for the 1970 Asian Games in Bangkok, which was canceled due to insufficient funds, all Asian Games have been held.
In the 1950s, the world-class Asian table tennis world was dominated by Japan. The Japanese team won five consecutive championships in the men's team competition of the World Table Tennis Championships from 1954 to 1959. In the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games, Li Guoding faced the strong Japanese team with home field advantage and defeated Narita Shizuji and Tsunoda Keisuke successively. He won the first men's singles gold medal in the history of the Asian Games. The men's doubles team between him and Surong Village also won the silver medal. Li Guoding's gold medal is also Taiwan's only gold medal in the Asian Games.
In the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok, Li Guoding teamed up with Yang Zhengxiong, who is currently the vice chairman of the Table Association, to win the men's doubles bronze medal and the men's team silver medal. In total, he won 1 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze in the Asian Games. In addition, he also led the team to win silver and bronze medals in the 1963 and 1964 Asian Table Tennis Championships respectively.
Taiwan promoted table tennis diplomacy in 1972. The Taiwanese team, composed of Li Guoding, Chen Yinlie, Xie Jinbo, and Wang Shangwu, went on a long march in Central and South America, playing in 9 countries and setting a record of winning 49 games in more than ten days. After that, Li Guoding also went to Brazil to serve as the national team coach and settled in Brazil. In the past, when Taiwanese players went to Brazil to participate in the Open, Li Guoding would do his best to help and serve as a translator. His daughter Li Yanhua also inherited her father's legacy and won many South American championships.
