Ding Ning returns the ball during the women's singles Top 4-seed battle against Sun Yingsha of China at World Table Tennis (WTT) Macao 2020 Tournament in Macao, Nov. 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)
Table tennis Grand Slam winner Ding Ning will pursue master's degree at Peking University.
BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese table tennis star Ding Ning has been enrolled by the prestigious Peking University in a sports master's degree program.
According to a list recently published by the Department of Physical Education at Peking University on its official website, the 30-year-old multiple world and Olympic champion will be a full-time student.
Ding took up table tennis in 1996, before being recruited to the Chinese national junior team in 2003 and senior team in 2005.
Gold medalist Ding Ning attends the awarding ceremony for the women's singles final at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Aug. 10, 2016. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)
She completed a grand slam of titles in 2016 after winning the Rio Olympics gold medal. She was appointed the captain of the Chinese women's team in February, 2017.
Ding has been preparing for a role change in her life, after she took part in the China Table Tennis Super League (CTTSL) as a player-coach representing Beijing last year.
(Photo courtesy of Ding Ning)
Ding is the latest paddler to pursue a degree at Peking University. Former world champion Liu Wei spent 16 years in the university before being awarded a doctorate degree in July, 2015.
Peking University has witnessed a close connection with table tennis, a sport widely enjoyed in China, as the first national competition was staged there in 1952, and the venue inside the university also played host to the Olympic table tennis matches in 2008.
