Li Furong
Encyclopedia
Li Furong was a Chinese male table tennis
player. He was a native of Zhejiang
province starting to play table tennis at 15 and joined national team in 1959. Li helped the Chinese men's team win four team titles at the World Table Tennis Championships
in 1961, 1963, 1965 and 1971. In men's singles competitions, he made 3 consecutive appearances at the finals of the World Championships in 1961, 1963, and 1965. However, Li lost to compatriot Zhuang Zedong in all of the three finals, making himself become one of four players who played in three finals without winning (together with Hungarian Laszlo Bellak, Polish Alojzy Ehrlich
and countryman Ma Lin
). Rumor had it that Li's losses at the finals were prearranged. The 1961 Championships was referred as the commencement of match fixing
in history of Chinese table tennis.
In 1999, Li was inducted into the ITTF Hall of Fame. Li became the president of Asian Table Tennis Union
(ATTU) in 2001. The post was succeeded by Cai Zhenhua
in 2009 and Li was awarded the ATTU Honorary Life President in 2010.
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
player. He was a native of Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
province starting to play table tennis at 15 and joined national team in 1959. Li helped the Chinese men's team win four team titles at the World Table Tennis Championships
World Table Tennis Championships
The World Table Tennis Championships are held since 1926, biennially since 1957. Seven events were included in the Championships. The World Team Table Tennis Championships, which include men's team and women's team events, were first their own competition in 2000. The Team Championships are held in...
in 1961, 1963, 1965 and 1971. In men's singles competitions, he made 3 consecutive appearances at the finals of the World Championships in 1961, 1963, and 1965. However, Li lost to compatriot Zhuang Zedong in all of the three finals, making himself become one of four players who played in three finals without winning (together with Hungarian Laszlo Bellak, Polish Alojzy Ehrlich
Alojzy Ehrlich
Alojzy "Alex" Ehrlich , also called "King of the Chiselers," was a Polish table tennis legend, widely regarded as one of the best players in Polish history of this sport, who three times won silver in the World Championships....
and countryman Ma Lin
Ma Lin (table tennis)
Ma Lin is a male table tennis player. He is the world's number four ranked player as of June, 2011 in the International Table Tennis Federation ....
). Rumor had it that Li's losses at the finals were prearranged. The 1961 Championships was referred as the commencement of match fixing
Match fixing
In organised sports, match fixing, game fixing, race fixing, or sports fixing occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. Where the sporting competition in question is a race then the incident is referred to as...
in history of Chinese table tennis.
In 1999, Li was inducted into the ITTF Hall of Fame. Li became the president of Asian Table Tennis Union
Asian Table Tennis Union
The Asian Table Tennis Union is an Asian table tennis governing body formed on May 7, 1972, and recognized by International Table Tennis Federation in 1975...
(ATTU) in 2001. The post was succeeded by Cai Zhenhua
Cai Zhenhua
Cai Zhenhua is a male former table tennis player from China. From 1980 to 1985 he won several medals in singles, doubles, and team events in the Asian Table Tennis Championships and in the World Table Tennis Championships.-References:...
in 2009 and Li was awarded the ATTU Honorary Life President in 2010.