DENG Yaping

Deng Yaping is a Chinese table tennis player who secured 18 world championships and 4 Olympic gold medals across a 14-year career. She held the world No. 1 ranking for 8 consecutive years, a record for female table tennis players.

Following her retirement, she earned a bachelor's degree from Tsinghua University, a master's degree from University of Nottingham, and a doctorate from University of Cambridge. From 1997 to 2010, she served on International Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission, Sport and Environment Commission, and Ethics Commission.

She participated and served as ambassador for Beijing's Olympic bids in 1993 and 2001. In 2007, she was deputy minister of the Olympic Village and spokesperson for the Olympic and Paralympic Villages. From 2009 to 2010, she was deputy secretary of Beijing Communist Youth League Committee, and from 2010 to 2016, deputy secretary-general of People's Daily. In 2016, she and the Henan provincial government jointly initiated China's first sports industry investment fund named after an athlete.