Li Jiawei

For the singer, see Jess Lee (Malaysian singer).
In this Chinese name, the family name is Li.

Li Jiawei
Li at the ITTP Pro Tour Liebherr Austrian Open
Personal information
Full nameLi Jiawei
Nationality Singapore
ResidenceSingapore
Born (1981-08-09) 9 August 1981 (age 43)
Beijing, China
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) (2008)[1]
Weight60 kg (132 lb) (2008)[1]
Table tennis career
Playing styleRight-handed shakehand grip[2][3]
Equipment(s)Stiga blade[3]
Highest ranking3rd (Oct 2005)[4]
ClubBeijing Holdings (in China Table Tennis Super League)
Medal record
Women's table tennis
Representing  Singapore
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Team
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Moscow Team
Silver medal – second place 2008 Guangzhou Team
Silver medal – second place 2012 Dortmund Team
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Zagreb Doubles
World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2010 Dubai Team
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Urumqi Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Magdeburg Team
Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place 2007 Yangzhou Team
Silver medal – second place 2012 Macau Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2012 Macau Mixed Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2012 Macau Team
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Jeju-do Singles
Li Jiawei
Chinese李佳薇
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLǐ Jiāwēi
Wade–GilesLi Chia-wei
IPA[lì tɕjáwéɪ]

Li Jiawei (Chinese: 李佳薇; pinyin: Lǐ Jiāwēi; born 9 August 1981) is a retired Chinese-born former Singaporean table tennis player, four-time Olympian and twice Olympic medalist. She trained in Beijing's famous Shichahai Sports School with Olympic medalist Zhang Yining. In 1995, she moved to Singapore and in the following year, she commenced her international career as a competitive table tennis player. She became a Singapore citizen at the age of 18 years under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme.

Li's highest world singles ranking was in December 2005, when she was placed third. Li was also a key player for the Singaporean women's team and doubles, and mixed doubles events, having participated in three Olympics and achieving a medal for the latter two. She finished in fourth place in singles at both the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing at which she was an official flagbearer.[5]

On 15 August 2008, the Singapore women's team, composed of Li and her teammates Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu, defeated South Korea 3–2 in the semifinals. However, in the finals on 17 August, the team lost to China and earned a silver medal, marking the first time that Singapore had won an Olympic medal since the nation's independence in 1965. The momentous occasion came 48 years after Tan Howe Liang won the country's first medal, a silver in weightlifting at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Li ended 2008 on a high, winning gold in the women's team event with Feng and Wang at the ITTF Pro Tour ERKE German Open in Berlin in November, and in the doubles with Sun Beibei at the ITTF Volkswagen Pro Tour Grand Finals in Macau in December 2008.

Li won the women's team bronze medal with Feng and Wang at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Soon after, she announced her retirement from competitive sports on 27 December 2012.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Beijing 2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Ian Marshall (19 June 2005), First ITTF Pro Tour women's singles title, International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), archived from the original on 18 May 2011, retrieved 15 August 2008
  3. ^ a b LI Jia Wei, ITTF, archived from the original on 1 August 2008, retrieved 23 August 2008
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference ITTF world ranking was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "NLB profile". Retrieved 17 August 2016.