Confucius Institute at Cairo University invites ping-pong world champion Liu Wei to meet & greet with students

On April 6-7, both the Confucius Institute at Cairo University and the teaching site it runs at the Egypt-China Friendly Demonstration School hosted the “The Ping-Pong Life, a Date With Health: China National Ping-Pong Team Meet & Greet”. The Confucius Institute extended a special invitation to ping-pong world champion Liu Wei, who currently teaches at Peking University, to be the main speaker at the event. Confucius Institute Egyptian Director Rehab Mahmoud, Chinese Director Lin Xiaoying, Egypt-China Friendly Demonstration School Principal Essam, and teachers and students from the Confucius Institute were also in attendance.

Liu Wei delivering the main speech entitled “Be Your Best Self, Because Everyone Can Be a Champion”

Liu Wei talked about ping-pong diplomacy, her insights on life, the spirit of ping pong, and many other aspects of her experience as a professional athlete and student, and encouraged everyone present to become their best selves, because everyone can become a champion. She described the spirit of ping-pong as “never be defeated, don’t fear defeat, and never admit defeat”, and persuaded Confucius Institute students to always pursue excellence and never lose the drive to outdo themselves in their study of Chinese.

Liu Wei’s career as a professional athlete lasted 16 years, and her education took 16 years. When speaking about her plan for the next 16 years, she said she had a clear goal, which is to begin her world speaking tour at the Confucius Institute at Cairo University in a sustained effort to promote the sport of ping-pong and its development around the world.

Liu Wei and Essam playing ping-pong

Liu Wei also gave a live, interactive demonstration of her ping-pong skills with the students. When the students heard they had the chance to play with a world champion, they were all very excited. Students who knew the game became more confident with her coaching and instruction, and for those with no experience, Liu Wei started with the basics, and soon the students could perform the simple serves and returns, which garnered cheers from the audience. At the Egypt-China Friendly Demonstration School leg, the students showed the same passion and excitement. Even the school’s principal Essam joined in. Students cheered as he exchanged passes with Liu Wei.

Group photo

The Confucius Institute at Cairo University considers the speaking tour an opportunity, because in the latter half of 2016, it plans to host its first ping-pong championship as a means to deepen Egyptian students’ understanding of Chinese sports and foster Egyptian students’ interest in learning ping-pong, through which it hopes to promote dialogue and exchange between the athletic communities of China and Egypt during the Sino-Egyptian Year of Culture, promote Chinese ping-pong, and foster a harmonious relationship between the two countries.

Text/Images: Li Ning