Wang Hao (Chinese: 王皓; born 15 December 1983) is a retired Chinese table tennis player and multiple Olympic medallist. He competed for the Chinese national team for most of the 2000s and early 2010s, won the men's singles title at the World Table Tennis Championships in 2009, and later became head coach of the Chinese men's team. Some sources give his birth date as 1 December 1983, not 15 December.
Early career
Wang was born in Changchun, Jilin Province, China. He began to play table tennis in 1990. He was later assigned to the Bayi Team, and in 1998 he was selected for the second Chinese national squad. He gained a place on the first team in 2000.
Major results
Wang's record includes world, continental and Olympic events. The principal titles are:
- World championships: He won the men's singles at the 2009 event in Yokohama, defeating three-time World Champion Wang Liqin 4–0 in the final. He also won doubles titles, with Chen Qi in 2009 (2009 World Table Tennis Championship – 1st doubles (with Wang Hao)) and with Kong Linghui in 2005. His team titles at the World Table Tennis Championships came in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2013.
- World Cup: He won the World Cup three times, with the titles dated to 2007 or 2008, and 2010 depending on the source.
- Asian competition: He won the men's singles at the Asian Championships and Asian Cup, and he won titles at the Asian Games in 2006 and 2010.
- Olympic Games: Wang Hao played in the men's singles final at the Olympic Games three times in a row (2004, 2008 and 2012) and lost each time. He also won team gold at the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.
Olympic singles finals
Wang's Olympic singles results are the most discussed part of his career. In Athens in 2004, third seed Ryu Seung Min of South Korea stunned the table tennis world when he defeated Wang Hao of China in the men's singles final on 23 August 2004. The loss ended China's run of table tennis golds, since the Chinese had won all four table tennis golds at the Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Games. Wang lost again in the 2008 final in Beijing. In 2012 in London, he lost the final to Zhang Jike in five games.
Because of these results, Wang is often described as the leading male singles player of his generation without an Olympic singles gold medal. Olympic records list him with two golds (team events) and three silvers (singles).
Playing style
Wang used a penhold grip. He is representative of a new wave of penhold players, having good attacking and defensive skills off both wings of the table. The greater freedom of the wrist involved in a penhold grip allows Wang to generate large amounts of spin on the forehand side. Some commentators credit him with a reverse penhold backhand that made penhold players more effective on the backhand, but this claim comes mainly from non-academic sources.
World ranking
Wang reached world No. 1 several times. One source lists the periods as December 2004, October 2007–July 2009, and April–September 2011. Another states that he was previously ranked #1 on the official ITTF world rankings for 27 consecutive months, from October 2007 to December 2009. The sources differ on the exact dates of his tenure at the top. He lost the top position to Ma Long in January 2010.
Retirement and coaching
Wang retired from the national team at the end of 2014. Chinese sources give the announcement date as late December 2014. After retiring, Wang Hao transitioned to coaching. In December 2022, he became head coach of the China men's national table tennis team. Other sources report that as of 2023, he is the head coach of the Chinese Men's Table Tennis Team.
Sources and discrepancies
Biographical details of Wang Hao vary across sources, including his birth date, the exact dates of his world No. 1 periods and some tournament results. Where the sources conflict, this entry has given both versions.
References
- Wang Hao (table tennis, born 1983)en.wikipedia.org
- Wang Hao (table tennis player) - China Wikiwiki.china.org.cn
- News. Wang Hao (China)tt-kharkiv.com
- Chen Qi (table tennis)en.wikipedia.org
- Olympic Gold Medal Winners - Table Tennis 2004allabouttabletennis.com
- Olympicchinadaily.com.cn
- Wang Hao - Former Chinese table tennis player and coachbaike.baidu.com
- Hao WANG - Olympics.comolympics.com
- Wang Liqinen.wikipedia.org