Chapter 83 82. Rong Guotuan—Sports champion wins glory for the country

Rong Guotuan (1937-1968) male, Han nationality, native of Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, member of the Communist Party of China.He worked in the former State Sports Commission during his lifetime.Famous table tennis player, national athlete. Rong Guotuan loved and learned table tennis since he was a child. At the age of 15, he represented the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions table tennis team in competitions. In 1958, he was elected to the Guangdong Provincial Table Tennis Team and made the oath of "winning the world championship in three years".Then he was selected as a member of the national training team.He painstakingly practiced the penhold fast attack method, with a wide range of balls, many changes, fine serving, pushing, pulling, cutting, rubbing, and forehand and backhand attacking techniques. Skills, and create new technologies for serving and non-spinning, rubbing and non-spinning balls.He uses flexible and changeable tactics with unique characteristics, and created the "fast, accurate, ruthless, and changeable" close-to-table fast attack technical style of table tennis in my country. In 1959, at the 25th World Table Tennis Championships, he successively defeated famous table tennis players from various countries and won China's first men's singles table tennis world championship, becoming the first world champion of new China. In April 1961, at the men's team final of the 26th World Table Tennis Championships, facing the unfavorable situation that the Chinese team was lagging behind in the competition, he firmly believed, cheered up his spirits, swung his racket into battle, and passionately swore: "It is rare to fight a few times in life, If you don’t fight now, when will you wait!” In the end, he defeated a strong opponent and made an important contribution to the Chinese team winning the men’s team championship for the first time.He is a milestone figure in our country's sports world. In 1984, he was named an outstanding athlete in the 35 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Rong Guotuan was born on August 10, 1937 in a sailor's family in Hong Kong. He first attended an overseas Chinese school in his hometown of Zhuhai, Guangdong. His father, Rong Mianzhi, is a member of the Seamen's Union under the progressive organization Federation of Trade Unions, and Rong Guotuan can often go to the recreation center of the Federation of Trade Unions to play.Because Rong Mianzhi was unemployed, 13-year-old Rong Guotuan dropped out of school to work as a child laborer in a fish shop.The dirty environment and overweight labor made him contract tuberculosis.Later, the well-meaning trade union staff arranged to manage books in the recreation hall and play ball with customers.

In the Hong Kong Table Tennis Tournament in February 1957, Rong Guotuan represented the Federation of Trade Unions and won the men's team, men's singles and men's doubles championships with his teammates. In April, the Japanese team visited Hong Kong after participating in the 23rd World Table Tennis Championships. Rong Guotuan defeated Ogimura Ichiro who had just won the men's singles championship. In September of that year, Rong Guotuan visited Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou as a member of the Hong Kong and Macau table tennis team, and saw the prosperity of the motherland.

In April 1958, Rong Guotuan made a bold statement at the Guangdong Provincial Sports Workers Yuejin Pledge Conference: "Win the men's singles championship of the World Table Tennis Championships within 3 years." In the spring of 1959, the 25th World Table Tennis Championships was held in Dortmund, Federal Republic of Germany. In the men's singles final on April 5, Rong Guotuan faced Hungarian veteran Sido, who has won nine world championships.Prior to this, Rong Guotuan eliminated 6 strong players. Lost in the first game of the final.Since then, Rong Guotuan combined long and short, "acting both soft and hard", mobilized his opponents to run left and right, pounce forward and retreat, won 3 games in a row, and won the championship.For the first time, the St. Brad Cup, which represents the highest level of the individual, is engraved with a Chinese name.

After returning home, party and state leaders such as Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou received the table tennis delegation members.Premier Zhou even regarded Rong Guotuan's championship and the ten-year National Day as two great events in 1959, and named the first table tennis produced in China "Double Happiness".Ping-pong fever is rapidly rising across the country. The 26th World Table Tennis Championships was held in Beijing in 1961.In the men's team competition, the Chinese team won 8 games in a row and won the first place in the group.In the final, the first place in the 3 groups will play a round robin to determine the champion, runner-up and third place.The Chinese team first beat Hungary 5:1.In the afternoon, the previous champion Japan team beat Hungary 5:2.In the evening, the Beijing Workers' Gymnasium was packed, and the war between China and Japan began in people's anticipation.

Rong Guotuan, who has become the target of public criticism, lost to Dicun and Kimura successively.A teammate asked: "What are you going to do in the next game?" Rong Guotuan raised his fists to the sky and screamed: "How many times can you fight in life, if you don't fight now, when will you wait!" When the Chinese team led with a total score of 4:3, Rong Guotuan calmly restrained Hoshino Shinya with a combination of pushing, pulling, and rubbing, and finally won 2:1.The Chinese team defeated the Japanese team 5:3 and won the men's team world championship for the first time.

During the "Cultural Revolution", Rong Guotuan suffered innocent injustice and was persecuted. On June 20, 1968, he ended his life in his own way. In November 1987, the Zhuhai Municipal Government erected a bronze statue of Rong Guotuan in the compound of the Municipal Sports Commission. On April 5, 2009, the 50th anniversary of the Chinese table tennis team's first world championship was held in Zhuhai.On the same day, the Rong Guotuan Memorial Hall was opened in Zhuhai Huafa New Town Yung Wing School.The memorial hall displays a large number of precious historical photos, as well as the handwriting left by Rong Guotuan, "How many times can you fight in life, if you don't fight now, when will you wait?"

Although Rong Guotuan has only 30 years of life, he is closely connected with the four firsts of Chinese sports.He won the first world championship, was also a member of the first team world championship team, and led the team to win the first women's team world championship.He shouted "How many times can you fight in life", which still affects Chinese sportsmen.