Wilson Zhang

Wilson Zhang
Full name Zhang Peng
Nationality  Canada
Residence Ottawa, Ontario
Born (1979-09-23) 23 September 1979
Anda, Heilongjiang, China
Playing style Right-handed, shakehand[1]
Equipment(s) Butterfly Korbel[1]
Highest ranking 99 (February 2007)[2]
Current ranking 140 (January 2010)[2]
Club National Table Tennis
Centre[1]
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight 65 kg (143 lb)
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang.

Wilson Zhang (also Zhang Peng, simplified Chinese: 章鹏; traditional Chinese: 章鵬; pinyin: Zhāng Péng; born 23 September 1979 in Anda, Heilongjiang, People's Republic of China) is a Canadian table tennis player of Chinese origin.[3] As of January 2010, Zhang is ranked no. 140 in the world by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).[2] He is right-handed, and uses the shakehand grip.[1]

In 2003, Zhang moved with his family to Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, where he worked as a full-time table tennis coach at the Bridgeport Sports Club.[4] He also met and married a Canadian and now has two babies, and finally resided to Ottawa, Ontario, where he obtained a citizenship four years later, and eventually trained for the National Table Tennis Centre under his personal and head coach Marles Martins. Zhang also reigned as Canadian table tennis champion for three straight years (2005–2007), finished second at the 2007 U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nevada, and most significantly, attained the championship title at the North American Tour finals.[5]

Zhang earned a spot on the Canadian team for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, by placing second over his teammate Pradeeban Peter-Paul in the men's singles from the North American Qualification Tournament in Vancouver.[6] Zhang joined with his fellow players Peter-Paul and Qiang Zhen for the inaugural men's team event. His team placed fourth in the preliminary pool round, against Germany, Croatia, and Singapore, receiving a total of three points and three straight losses.[7][8][9] In the men's singles, Zhang defeated Trinidad and Tobago's Dexter St. Louis in the preliminary round, before losing his next match to Japan's Seiya Kishikawa, attaining a set score of 2–4.[10][11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "ITTF World Player Profile – Wilson Zhang". ITTF. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "ITTF World Ranking – Wilson Zhang". ITTF. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  3. ↑ "Wilson Zhang". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  4. ↑ Bell, Terry (1 August 2008). "Table tennis team members excited to represent Canada". Canwest News Service. Canada.com. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Cook, Chris (1 August 2008). "Canada's hope in China's favourite sport". CBC Sports. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  6. ↑ Marshall, Ian (6 April 2008). "Two Places Booked at North American Olympic Qualification Tournament". ITTF. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "Men's Team Group B (SIN–CAN)". NBC Olympics. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  8. ↑ "Men's Team Group B (GER–CAN)". NBC Olympics. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "Men's Team Group B (CAN–CRO)". NBC Olympics. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  10. ↑ "Men's Singles First Round". NBC Olympics. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "Tough day for Canadians at table tennis". Canwest News Service. Canada.com. 19 August 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
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