乒乓球界的“中國(guó)制造”：大陸球員遍布世界

Ni Xialian helped the Chinese team win a gold medal at the world championships of table tennis in 1983. But even that was not enough to convince her coaches that she could forge a career alongside the best players in her country. So she left.

1983年，倪夏蓮幫助中國(guó)隊(duì)贏得了一枚世界乒乓球錦標(biāo)賽的金牌。但即便如此，她也沒(méi)能讓教練們確信她能夠進(jìn)入這個(gè)國(guó)家的頂尖選手之列。于是她離開(kāi)了。

Ni was a 7-year-old schoolgirl in Shanghai when she first fell in love with the game. Last week, at the age of 53, she competed in her third Olympics, wearing for a third time the uniform of Luxembourg, the nation she adopted as her home in 1991. In a sport that rewards the skill of subtle anticipation, her unconventional move 25 years ago has proved prescient.

倪夏蓮最初喜歡上這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)時(shí)，還是一個(gè)七歲的上海小學(xué)生。上個(gè)星期，53歲的她第三次征戰(zhàn)奧運(yùn)會(huì)，第三次穿上盧森堡的奧運(yùn)隊(duì)服，1991年，她移民到這個(gè)國(guó)家。在這項(xiàng)需要精細(xì)預(yù)判的運(yùn)動(dòng)里，她在25年前顯得不合傳統(tǒng)的行為如今看來(lái)頗具先見(jiàn)之明。

Back then, there was only a trickling migration of players from China to certain countries in Europe. But that movement grew, and today it has produced a full-fledged, far-flung diaspora of athletes on six continents that has reshaped the landscape of the sport.

當(dāng)時(shí)，只有少數(shù)中國(guó)運(yùn)動(dòng)員移民到若干特定的歐洲國(guó)家。但是這股潮流不斷發(fā)展，如今，六大洲都遍及著成熟的中國(guó)乒乓球海外軍團(tuán)，他們重塑了這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)的面貌。

At the Summer Olympics here, Chinese-born table tennis players represented China, of course. But they were also playing for 21 other countries, out of 56 in the tournament. Of the 172 table tennis players at the Games, at least 44 were born in China.

在本屆夏季奧運(yùn)會(huì)上，中國(guó)出生的乒乓球運(yùn)動(dòng)員當(dāng)然會(huì)代表中國(guó)參賽，但在56個(gè)參賽國(guó)中，還有其他21個(gè)國(guó)家也派出了中國(guó)出生的運(yùn)動(dòng)員參賽。在參加奧運(yùn)會(huì)的172名乒乓球運(yùn)動(dòng)員中，至少有44人是在中國(guó)出生的。

Many sports at the Olympics feature athletes who were born outside the country they represent. The United States, for example, has dozens of athletes born outside the country, across more than 20 sports. But table tennis is an outlier: About a third of its participants this summer were born outside the nation they are representing. All other sports are far behind.

奧林匹克賽事中，有很多運(yùn)動(dòng)員都不是在自己所代表的國(guó)家出生的。比如美國(guó)就有幾十名運(yùn)動(dòng)員不是在本土出生，他們分別參加20多個(gè)項(xiàng)目。但是乒乓球是一個(gè)異數(shù)：今年的夏季奧運(yùn)會(huì)上，三分之一的乒乓球選手都不是在自己所代表的國(guó)家出生。這個(gè)數(shù)字遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)高于其他項(xiàng)目。

No two athletes’ stories or circumstances are the same. But considered together, the list of Chinese-born table tennis players highlights the huge scope of China’s influence in the sport and illustrates its perhaps most pressing question: Is this the best way for table tennis to grow?

每個(gè)運(yùn)動(dòng)員的故事或成長(zhǎng)環(huán)境都不相同。但是總的看來(lái)，中國(guó)出生的乒乓球運(yùn)動(dòng)員反映出中國(guó)對(duì)這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)的廣泛影響，也反映出一個(gè)或許是最為迫切的問(wèn)題：這是乒乓球運(yùn)動(dòng)發(fā)展的最好方式嗎?

“It’s not a problem,” Thomas Weikert, the president of the International Table Tennis Federation, the sport’s governing body, said last week in an interview. “It’s an issue.”

“這不是一個(gè)問(wèn)題，”這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)機(jī)構(gòu)，國(guó)際乒乓球聯(lián)合會(huì)的主席托馬斯·韋克特(Thomas Weikert)上周在接受采訪時(shí)說(shuō)。“而是一項(xiàng)課題。”

At these Olympics, it has been business as usual. Ding Ning of China beat Li Xiaoxia of China to win the gold medal in the women’s singles tournament. Ma Long of China defeated Zhang Jike of China to win the men’s competition. On Tuesday, the Chinese women won gold in the team competition, and the men are expected to do the same on Wednesday.

在奧運(yùn)會(huì)上，一切都和往常一樣。中國(guó)的丁寧戰(zhàn)勝了中國(guó)的李曉霞，獲得女子單打金牌。中國(guó)的馬龍戰(zhàn)勝了中國(guó)的張繼科，獲得男子單打金牌。星期二，中國(guó)女子隊(duì)獲得團(tuán)體競(jìng)賽金牌，中國(guó)男子隊(duì)有望在星期三同樣獲得金牌(本文中文版發(fā)布時(shí)，中國(guó)男乒已獲得團(tuán)體金牌——編注)。

China has now won 27 of the 31 gold medals awarded in all competitions since table tennis was added to the Olympics in 1988. Eight years ago in Beijing, China won the gold, silver and bronze medals in both men’s and women’s singles. In 2012, after a new rule was instituted limiting singles competitions to two players from each nation, China merely swept the gold and silver medals.

自從1988年乒乓球被列入奧運(yùn)賽事以來(lái)，中國(guó)已經(jīng)獲得了31枚金牌中的27枚。八年前在北京奧運(yùn)會(huì)上，中國(guó)包攬了男子和女子單打的金銀銅牌。2012年的新規(guī)則規(guī)定，每個(gè)國(guó)家只許派出兩名運(yùn)動(dòng)員參加單打比賽，中國(guó)繼續(xù)包攬了男女單打的金牌和銀牌。

One byproduct of China’s dominance — and the popularity of the sport in the country — has been an extremely large group of talented players who are not quite good enough to play in the national program. In the Chinese system, perfected over many decades, provincial clubs draw players from city teams before sending their best to the national program. Only the best 50 men and best 50 women reach the top.

中國(guó)的統(tǒng)治地位，以及這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)在中國(guó)的流行程度造成了這樣一個(gè)副產(chǎn)品：一大批運(yùn)動(dòng)員雖然很有能力，但仍不足以入選國(guó)家隊(duì)。經(jīng)歷了幾十年的完善，中國(guó)形成了這樣的體系：省隊(duì)從市隊(duì)中選拔人才，之后再把最佳人才送進(jìn)國(guó)家隊(duì)。只有最好的50名男運(yùn)動(dòng)員和女運(yùn)動(dòng)員才能到達(dá)頂峰。

“There was too much competition,” said Ni, who left the national team in 1986 to attend college, before joining a professional club in Germany in 1989. “I didn’t have the courage anymore.”

“競(jìng)爭(zhēng)太激烈了，”倪夏蓮說(shuō)，1986年，她離開(kāi)國(guó)家隊(duì)去上大學(xué)，1989年加入了一個(gè)德國(guó)的職業(yè)俱樂(lè)部。“我再也沒(méi)有信心了。”

Such decisions became widely possible only after economic reforms in the country in 1978 loosened the rules for overseas movement and work.

這樣的決定只有在1978年中國(guó)實(shí)行經(jīng)濟(jì)改革，放開(kāi)了到海外定居和工作的規(guī)定之后才能實(shí)現(xiàn)。

Before the 1988 Olympics, Massimo Costantini, now the coach of the United States team, was playing for Italy in the European qualifying tournament when he encountered Ding Yi, a player who had moved from China to Austria. Costantini lost to Ding that day, and he remembered the other players, coaches and fans feeling bewildered about what had happened.

1988年奧運(yùn)會(huì)之前，如今已成為美國(guó)隊(duì)教練的馬西莫·科斯坦蒂尼(Massimo Costantini)代表意大利隊(duì)參加歐洲資格賽，他遇到了來(lái)自中國(guó)、代表奧地利參賽的丁毅。那天科斯坦蒂尼輸給了丁毅，他還記得其他運(yùn)動(dòng)員、教練和球迷們對(duì)此都感到大惑不解。

“We were shocked, actually, to be playing against someone Chinese,” said Costantini, who was later added to the Olympics as a wild-card entrant.

“面對(duì)中國(guó)對(duì)手，說(shuō)真的，我們都震驚了，”科斯坦蒂尼說(shuō)，后來(lái)他憑借外卡參加了奧運(yùn)會(huì)。

Ding played in four Olympics for Austria, and the trend only grew. Players facing dim prospects in China have increasingly sought to extend their careers as both players and coaches in other countries eager to host them.

丁毅代表奧地利參加了四屆奧運(yùn)會(huì)，這股趨勢(shì)還在持續(xù)增長(zhǎng)。越來(lái)越多在中國(guó)希望渺茫的選手去往渴望接納他們的國(guó)家，發(fā)展自己的運(yùn)動(dòng)員和教練員事業(yè)。

“After I lost my opportunity to get into the Chinese national team, I was still young, I still had my dream,” said Eugene Wang, 30, who was offered a spot on the Canadian team shortly before the 2012 Games. “At the same time, I had this invitation. I just went for it.”

“失去入選中國(guó)國(guó)家隊(duì)的機(jī)會(huì)時(shí)，我還很年輕，我還有自己的夢(mèng)想，”30歲的王臻(Eugene Wang)說(shuō)，2012年奧運(yùn)會(huì)前不久，他在加拿大隊(duì)中獲得了一個(gè)位置。“就在那時(shí)，我得到了這個(gè)邀請(qǐng)，我就去了。”

Marcos Madrid, a player from Mexico, sighed and smiled when asked how players felt about the spread of Chinese players worldwide. “It’s complicated,” he said, echoing the sentiments of many players in the game.

被問(wèn)到運(yùn)動(dòng)員們對(duì)中國(guó)選手遍布全球作何感想時(shí)，墨西哥運(yùn)動(dòng)員馬科斯·馬德里(Marcos Madrid)微笑著嘆息。“很復(fù)雜，”他說(shuō)，很多乒乓球運(yùn)動(dòng)員都有同感。

Everyone acknowledges how far ahead China remains in terms of training and skill. The thinking for many national federations, then, has been that having such skilled players and coaches around — beyond giving them a chance to win competitions in the short term — will raise the skill levels of a country’s other players.

所有人都承認(rèn)，中國(guó)在訓(xùn)練和技巧方面遙遙領(lǐng)先。于是，很多國(guó)家的乒乓球聯(lián)合會(huì)希望得到這樣優(yōu)秀的選手和教練，不僅僅是在短期內(nèi)給他們機(jī)會(huì)去贏得比賽，也希望他們能提高這個(gè)國(guó)家其他選手的競(jìng)技水平。

“I know in my mind I need to practice more because they are there,” Madrid said. “我心里知道，因?yàn)樗麄兊某霈F(xiàn)，我需要更加刻苦訓(xùn)練，”馬德里說(shuō)。

In most parts of the world, there are simply not enough good players to measure oneself against. Chinese players often double as coaches and valuable sparring partners for players in their adopted countries.

在世界上的大多數(shù)地方，優(yōu)秀的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手很難尋覓。在接受他們的國(guó)家里，中國(guó)選手通常得兼任教練和寶貴的陪練角色。

When Ni was asked to come to Luxembourg, it was mostly to coach. She only committed to playing full-time again when it became clear she was the country’s best player.

倪夏蓮被邀請(qǐng)到盧森堡去時(shí)，主要是擔(dān)任教練。結(jié)果她顯然成了這個(gè)國(guó)家最出色的選手，只得再次成為全職運(yùn)動(dòng)員。

“I feel that it’s great that they can help other players improve,” said Ma, the world’s top men’s player.

“我覺(jué)得他們能幫助其他運(yùn)動(dòng)員進(jìn)步，這樣很好，”男子乒乓球世界排名第一的馬龍說(shuō)。

At the same time, many players become irked when the spirit of competition seems to be undermined.

與此同時(shí)，很多選手覺(jué)得競(jìng)賽精神遭到了破壞，對(duì)此感到憤怒。

Players notice when recently transferred athletes appear interested only in furthering their own careers, or fail to exceed some ambiguous threshold of enthusiasm about their new homes, or spend most of their time in their home countries.

這些選手們注意到，最近才更換國(guó)籍的運(yùn)動(dòng)員們只顧著發(fā)展自己的運(yùn)動(dòng)生涯，他們沒(méi)有走過(guò)某些模糊的門(mén)檻，對(duì)自己的新國(guó)家毫無(wú)興趣，抑或大多數(shù)時(shí)間還是呆在自己原來(lái)的祖國(guó)。

Such judgments — if they have a purpose — seem hard to make. Circumstances vary hugely from player to player, with only their talent as a common factor.

就算這樣的判斷有任何意義，也很難這樣去下結(jié)論。每個(gè)運(yùn)動(dòng)員的情況都是不一樣的，只有他們的才能是共同之處。

Some players, for example, move when they are young and thus develop easy, deep ties to their new countries. Gui Lin, 22, who represented Brazil this summer, moved from China to Brazil at age 12 on an exchange program. She ended up staying to play table tennis.

比如說(shuō)，有些運(yùn)動(dòng)員在很年輕的時(shí)候就移居海外，所以很容易和新國(guó)家產(chǎn)生深切的聯(lián)系。22歲的林桂今年在奧運(yùn)會(huì)上代表巴西參賽，12歲那年，她因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)交流項(xiàng)目從中國(guó)來(lái)到巴西，最后留在這里打乒乓球。

“I feel totally adapted to Brazil; all my colleagues consider me Brazilian,” said Gui, speaking crisp Portuguese. “But I can’t forget that I’m Chinese also, because I was born there. But for me I think this is very cool, a really unique experience, to be born in one country but grow up in another one.”

“我覺(jué)得自己完全適應(yīng)了巴西;同事們都覺(jué)得我是巴西人，”林桂用流利的葡萄牙語(yǔ)說(shuō)。“但是我沒(méi)有忘記自己也是中國(guó)人，因?yàn)槲页錾谀抢铩２贿^(guò)我覺(jué)得這很酷，出生在一個(gè)國(guó)家，在另一個(gè)國(guó)家長(zhǎng)大，這是一種獨(dú)特的體驗(yàn)。”

On the other end of the spectrum are the many players like Li Ping, 30, who left the Chinese national team only last year to compete for Qatar.

李平的情況則與她截然不同，他今年30歲，去年才離開(kāi)中國(guó)國(guó)家隊(duì)，代表卡塔爾參賽。

“I don’t think it’s important which country you’re representing,” said Li, who was ranked 28th in the world before the Olympics. “The important thing is to be able to participate in the Olympics and demonstrate your abilities on the competition grounds.”

“我覺(jué)得自己代表哪個(gè)國(guó)家參賽并不重要，”李平說(shuō)，在奧運(yùn)會(huì)之前，他排名世界第28位。“重要的是能夠參加奧運(yùn)會(huì)，在賽場(chǎng)上展現(xiàn)自己的實(shí)力。”

In the end, it is hard for anyone to articulate which players are considered to have switched national allegiances the “right way.”

到頭來(lái)，任何人都很難說(shuō)哪一種更換國(guó)家的選手選擇的是“正確的方式”。

That may explain why Weikert feels further adjustment of the rules is necessary before the next Olympics. At the moment, players who switch allegiances after turning 21 are not eligible to play in events like the world championships, the World Cup and the World Team Cup. But they are allowed to play in the Olympics.

這也許可以解釋為什么韋克特覺(jué)得下屆奧運(yùn)會(huì)前有必要進(jìn)一步調(diào)整規(guī)則。目前，21歲以后更換效力隊(duì)伍的球員沒(méi)有資格參加世錦賽、世界杯和世界團(tuán)體錦標(biāo)賽等賽事。但他們可以參加奧運(yùn)會(huì)。

Weikert said he would like a single rule that allowed a player to compete for a new country after a lengthy period of residence.

韋克特說(shuō)，他希望出臺(tái)一條規(guī)則，要求運(yùn)動(dòng)員在新的國(guó)家居住滿(mǎn)一段較長(zhǎng)時(shí)間后，才能代表該國(guó)參加比賽。

“It doesn’t mean we can change the rule immediately,” Weikert said, noting that 222 national associations would need to vote. “Maybe other people are thinking another way, and I accept this.”

“這并不意味著我們可以馬上改變規(guī)則，”韋克特說(shuō)，他指出，改變規(guī)則需要222個(gè)乒乓球協(xié)會(huì)成員國(guó)投票通過(guò)。“也許其他人有別的想法，我接受這一點(diǎn)。”

Whether the rule changes or not, Weikert said he would like to do more to change the global imbalance in skill.

無(wú)論規(guī)則是否改變，韋克特表示，他都希望能做更多，以改變世界乒乓球技巧水平失衡的狀態(tài)。

In the interview, Weikert revealed that the I.T.T.F. had begun work in recent months on a project through which young, non-Chinese players, with the cooperation of the Chinese association, could live and train in the country’s training sites for years at a time, learning and improving in that highly competitive ecosystem.

韋克特在采訪中透露，國(guó)際乒聯(lián)近幾個(gè)月來(lái)已經(jīng)開(kāi)始推進(jìn)一項(xiàng)計(jì)劃，與中國(guó)乒協(xié)合作，讓年輕的非中國(guó)選手能夠常年在中國(guó)訓(xùn)練基地居住和訓(xùn)練，在這個(gè)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)激烈的系統(tǒng)中學(xué)習(xí)和提高。

The plan, still in its early stages of development, has an internal name: Made by China.

這一計(jì)劃仍處在初期階段，它有一個(gè)內(nèi)部名稱(chēng)：中國(guó)制造(Made by China)。

“Of course, it’s difficult for a sport if only one nation is winning,” Weikert said. “But this is not the fault of the Chinese. The others have to practice hard.”

“當(dāng)然，一項(xiàng)體育運(yùn)動(dòng)中如果只有一個(gè)國(guó)家能贏，對(duì)于這個(gè)項(xiàng)目來(lái)說(shuō)是很困難的情況，”韋克特說(shuō)。“但這不是中國(guó)人的錯(cuò)。其他選手必須要刻苦訓(xùn)練。”