Li Furong

Li Furong (Chinese李富荣/李富荣, Pinyin lǐ Furong, W.-G. Li Fu - Jung; * 1942 in Shanghai) is a Chinese table tennis player and functionary. He is a three-time runner-up.

Career as a table tennis player

Li Furong played in the penholder style. He won the 1961 Chinese National Championships in singles, doubles (with Zhuang Zedong ) and mixed ( with Han Yucheng ).

From 1961 to 1973 he participated in five world championships. Three times in a row, he became vice world champion in singles behind Zhuang Zedong, namely 1961 in 1963 and 1965. These WMs he reached in a double with Wang Jiasheng the semi-finals, he also won a gold medal with the Chinese team, as again in the 1971 World Cup. 1973 he ended his career as a competitive athlete.

1967 and 1969, China avoided because of the Cultural Revolution, the World Championships.

Coaches and officials

After the end of his active career Li Furong coached the Chinese national team, the 1981 and 1983 world champion was under his leadership. In 1979, he became vice president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association. From 2001 to 2009 he was president of the Asian Table Tennis Association and Vice President of the Table Tennis Association of China.

He was inducted into the ITTF Hall of Fame in 1999.

Private

Li Furong studied in Shanghai at the Institute of Physical Culture. He lives in Beijing.

Results from the ITTF database