Raising the future

Liu looks back on being a student at Peking University as a time when she gained a deeper understanding of table tennis. While age prevents her from returning to a competitive level, she is focused on passing on her insights to athletes.

Pan Yifan, a 21-year-old student at the School of Government, joined the university's table tennis team in 2023 through a special recruitment program for top athletes, and became part of Liu's squad.

Even before his training began, Pan had an admiration for Liu's dual role as a world champion and professor. As they worked together, he found the former athlete to be strict yet approachable, and she helped him tackle technical and mental challenges. "Her coaching has improved my technique and my understanding of the sport," Pan says.

When matches get tough, Liu calls a timeout to guide Pan through the difficult situation, teaching him to think independently and solve problems. "Her insights have shaped my mindset, especially after hearing other athletes' stories at the Champion Lectures," Pan adds.

Balancing training and academics is demanding, but Liu's guidance has helped him manage. "She encourages us to apply our determination on the court to our studies, and the calm of our studies to the game," Pan says.

Since 2009, Liu has been speaking to children around the country, sharing her experience and her message about the sport and its spirit. This year is her 16th year of outreach and her athletics career, doctoral studies and teaching enrich her talks.

"Winning seven world championships wasn't the most important thing for me," Liu says. "It's the sportsmanship I internalized that truly matters. That's my greatest wealth."

In December, she delivered a lecture on table tennis and sportsmanship at the China Table Tennis Museum in Shanghai to students from the School of Marxism at Peking University.

"With more than 8,000 objects at the International Table Tennis Federation Museum and over 3,000 at the China Table Tennis Museum, these places are the spiritual heart of the sport," Liu said. "To speak about the national sport and its spirit here as a world champion is incredibly meaningful to me."