Background and career
Ding Ning (Chinese: 丁宁; pinyin: Dīng Níng; born 20 June 1990) is a former Chinese table tennis player. She is the 2016 Olympic Champion in women's singles and was the winner of women's singles in the 2011 World Table Tennis Championships.
At the 2015 World Table Tennis Championships, Ding won her second world title in women's singles by defeating her compatriot Liu Shiwen 4–3 in the final. At the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in Düsseldorf Ding defeated Zhu Yuling 4–2 in the final, becoming World Champion for the third time. She won the women's table tennis singles gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics where she beat compatriot Li Xiaoxia in the women's singles final. She previously won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the women's singles event in which she also faced Li Xiaoxia but lost after receiving several penalty points from the umpire. She was part of the Chinese team that won the gold medal in the team event at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. She is one of the most successful female table tennis players (alongside Li Xiaoxia, Deng Yaping, Wang Nan, Zhang Yining) having won the gold medal in each of the Table Tennis World Cup, the Table Tennis World Championships, and the Olympic Games.
She is currently retired, and studying in Peking University for a master's degree in Physical Education. Ding officially announced her retirement in September 2021.
