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Mike Chan

Chinese table tennis star Wang Chuqin is expected to start his master’s degree at Peking University after his name appeared on the admission list on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old enrolled as an Olympic mixed doubles champion and was exempt from the initial examination. He scored 86 points in the second part to rank first among 13 potential students and is scheduled to start his studies as a full-time student at the Teaching and Research Department of Physical Education in September.
The news received a mixed response on Weibo, though most of the comments were positive.
“He really thinks and plans ahead of time for each of his next steps,” one user wrote, with another adding: “Let’s worship the master of time management”.
Other comments praised Wang as a “truly inspiring athlete” and “the role model for young people”.

There were, however, some users who suggested Wang owed his success at the Paris Olympic Games – and therefore his place at Peking University – to his teammates.
“Fan Zhendong was the Olympic champion”, one comment read, while another user said Wang “made full use” of the two gold medals he won with the help of his teammates and mixed doubles partner Sun Yingsha.
The hashtag “Wang Chuqin could do one big thing each month” also went viral on Weibo, listing his roll of honours over the past nine months.
In that time, Wang graduated from Peking University and won the mixed doubles gold medal in Paris in July, followed by the men’s team title in August. The Jilin native then secured a full-time job at Xiannongtan Sports Technical School as an athlete in September.
He then went on to win at least one major title each month from October to March, including the men’s doubles at the World Table Tennis (WTT) China Smash, the men’s singles champion at WTT Finals in Fukuoka and the Asian Cup, as well as the men’s singles winner at WTT Champions Chongqing.
One user said that she suspected Wang was “listening to revision recordings whenever he was wearing his earpiece”, attracting a few dozen likes.
Another comment questioned how Wang is going to split his time as a national team athlete, full-time student and an employee at Xiannongtan.
“Does he not work and get paid to go to school full-time? Or does he go to work without attending classes? Or does he train and compete, get paid but not work and get his diploma without attending classes?” the user wrote.
While Wang was not among the list of players competing at WTT Champions Incheon, he is expected to feature at the International Table Tennis Federation Men’s and Women’s World Cup, which runs in Macau from April 14 to 20, and the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships in Doha next month.
Wang is not the only famous Chinese table tennis player to have been accepted by the university’s master’s programme. In 2021, former Olympic women’s singles champion Ding Ning was also accepted by the Teaching and Research Department of Physical Education.
The Heilongjiang native began her studies in September that year and graduated in July 2023. Ding in February appeared as one of the six flag carriers at the Asian Winter Games’ opening ceremony in Harbin.


Ex-Chinese table tennis head Liu Guoliang tipped to leave federation role to focus on WTT

Departure of table tennis chief comes at a critical time

Fan Zhendong expected back in action soon, after naming of ‘mentor’ Wang Liqin as CTTA head

Table tennis finals set to serve Hong Kong well

ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation)

Weibo split after Wang Chuqin enrols for master’s degree as Olympic mixed doubles champ

Wang Chuqin poses at the award ceremony of WTT Champions Chongqing last month. Photo: Xinhua

Wang Chuqin in action during the singles final at last month’s WTT Champions Chongqing. Photo: Xinhua

Sport

China

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‘Let’s worship the master of time management’ is just one of the many reactions to the news on Chinese social media


‘Let’s worship the master of time management’ is just one of the many reactions to the news on Chinese social media.
