Liu Jia
Encyclopedia
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
player who now represents Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Early life
From 1992 to 1995 Liu attended Shischa Sporting High School in BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. Afterwards she became a member of professional club Shian Nuntan, where she played with Zhang Yining
Zhang Yining
Zhang Yining is a female Chinese table tennis player. She is considered one of the greatest female table tennis players in the history of the sport.-History:...
. Despite Liu's successes as a Cadet and Junior, competition within the Chinese team was strong and prospects for a future international career were dim. Instead of following a call to Japan, Liu travelled to Austria when the opportunity arose to play for Austrian
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
team Linz AG Froschberg.
She arrived in March 1997 without speaking either German or English, but quickly learned German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
within the year that she settled in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. She won the 1st International Austrian Youth Championships soon after her arrival. On February 16, 1998, her sixteenth birthday, she became an Austrian
Austrian
Austrian can refer to:* Someone from Austria or of Austrian descent. See Austrians.* Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen. See Austrian nationality law.* Something associated with the country Austria...
citizen and a member of the Austrian
Austrian
Austrian can refer to:* Someone from Austria or of Austrian descent. See Austrians.* Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen. See Austrian nationality law.* Something associated with the country Austria...
table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
squad.
Career
Liu continued her success on youth level by taking Gold in the Singles, Doubles and Mixed competition at the 1998 European Youth ChampionshipsTable Tennis European Youth Championships
The Table Tennis European Youth Championships were first held in 1955 in Stuttgart. The tournament has been held yearly . The tournament included several competitions during its history...
in Norcia
Norcia
Norcia is a town and comune in the province of Perugia in southeastern Umbria, located in a wide plain abutting the Monti Sibillini, a subrange of the Apennines with some of its highest peaks, near the Sordo River, a small stream that eventually flows into the Nera...
. In 1999, she once again claimed the Singles and Mixed titles in Frydek-Mistek
Table Tennis European Youth Championships
The Table Tennis European Youth Championships were first held in 1955 in Stuttgart. The tournament has been held yearly . The tournament included several competitions during its history...
.
She competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, the 2004 Olympics in Athens
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
and the 2008 Beijing Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, reaching the third round of the singles competition
Table tennis at the Summer Olympics
Table tennis competition has been in the Summer Olympic Games since 1988, with singles and doubles events for both men and women. Athletes from China have dominated the sport, winning a total of 41 medals in 24 events, including 20 gold medals.-Events:...
in each of them. She also competed in the team competition in Beijing. In May 2011, she qualified for her fourth Olympic attendance in the 2012 London Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
.
European Championships
- European Champion Women's Singles: 2005 Aarhus
- Silver medal Women's Singles: 2008 St Petersburg
- Silver medal Women's Singles: 2010 Ostrava
- Bronze medal Mixed: 2005 Aarhus (with Werner SchlagerWerner SchlagerWerner Schlager is a former world champion table tennis player from Austria.-Career:Schlager began playing table tennis when he was six years old, learning from his father and brother who were also top Austrian players, making them ideal training partners...
) - Bronze medal Mixed: 2002 Zagreb (with Werner SchlagerWerner SchlagerWerner Schlager is a former world champion table tennis player from Austria.-Career:Schlager began playing table tennis when he was six years old, learning from his father and brother who were also top Austrian players, making them ideal training partners...
)
World Championships
- Quarterfinals Women's Singles and Doubles: 2001 OsakaWorld Table Tennis ChampionshipsThe World Table Tennis Championships are held since 1926, biennially since 1957. Seven events were included in the Championships. The World Team Table Tennis Championships, which include men's team and women's team events, were first their own competition in 2000. The Team Championships are held in...
- 6th place Women's Team: 2008 Guangzhou
Pro Tour
- Winner 2008 German Open: Women's Singles
- Winner 2004 Brazil Open: Women's Singles
- Winner 2004 US Open: Women's Doubles
- Runner-up 2006 Polish Open: Women's Singles and Doubles
- Runner-up 2004 Egypt Open: Women's Singles
- Runner-up 2004 Croatia Open: Women's Singles
- Runner-up 2003 Korea Open: Women's Singles
- Runner-up 2001 Brazil Open: Women's Singles
- Runner-up 2001 Croatia Open: Women's Doubles
- Runner-up 1999 Czech Open: Women's Doubles
- Runner-up 1999 Australian Open: Women's Doubles
- Runner-up 1999 Qatar Open: Women's Doubles