乒乓球界的中國製造 大陸球員遍佈世界

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，倪夏蓮幫助中國隊贏得了一枚世界乒乓球錦標賽的金牌。但即便如此，她也沒能讓教練們確信她能夠進入這個國家的頂尖選手之列。於是她離開了。

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運動時，還是一個七歲的上海小學生。上個星期，53歲的她第三次征戰奧運會，第三次穿上盧森堡的奧運隊服，1991年，她移民到這個國家。在這項需要精細預判的運動裏，她在25年前顯得不合傳統的行爲如今看來頗具先見之明。

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.

當時，只有少數中國運動員移民到若干特定的歐洲國家。但是這股潮流不斷髮展，如今，六大洲都遍及着成熟的中國乒乓球海外軍團，他們重塑了這項運動的面貌。

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.

在本屆夏季奧運會上，中國出生的乒乓球運動員當然會代表中國參賽，但在56個參賽國中，還有其他21個國家也派出了中國出生的運動員參賽。在參加奧運會的172名乒乓球運動員中，至少有44人是在中國出生的。

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，有很多運動員都不是在自己所代表的國家出生的。比如美國就有幾十名運動員不是在本土出生，他們分別參加20多個項目。但是乒乓球是一個異數：今年的夏季奧運會上，三分之一的乒乓球選手都不是在自己所代表的國家出生。這個數字遠遠高於其他項目。

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?

每個運動員的故事或成長環境都不相同。但是總的看來，中國出生的乒乓球運動員反映出中國對這項運動的廣泛影響，也反映出一個或許是最爲迫切的問題：這是乒乓球運動發展的最好方式嗎？

“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.”

“這不是一個問題，”這項運動的領導機構，國際乒乓球聯合會的主席托馬斯•韋克特(Thomas Weikert)上週在接受採訪時說。“而是一項課題。”

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.

在奧運會上，一切都和往常一樣。中國的丁寧戰勝了中國的李曉霞，獲得女子單打金牌。中國的馬龍戰勝了中國的張繼科，獲得男子單打金牌。星期二，中國女子隊獲得團體競賽金牌，中國男子隊有望在星期三同樣獲得金牌（本文中文版發佈時，中國男乒已獲得團體金牌——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賽事以來，中國已經獲得了31枚金牌中的27枚。八年前在北京奧運會上，中國包攬了男子和女子單打的金銀銅牌。2012年的新規則規定，每個國家只許派出兩名運動員參加單打比賽，中國繼續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.

中國的統治地位，以及這項運動在中國的流行程度造成了這樣一個副產品：一大批運動員雖然很有能力，但仍不足以入選國家隊。經歷了幾十年的完善，中國形成了這樣的體系：省隊從市隊中選拔人才，之後再把最佳人才送進國家隊。只有最好的50名男運動員和女運動員才能到達頂峯。

“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.”

“競爭太激烈了，”倪夏蓮說，1986年，她離開國家隊去上大學，1989年加入了一個德國的職業俱樂部。“我再也沒有信心了。”

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年中國實行經濟改革，放開了到海外定居和工作的規定之後才能實現。

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年奧運會之前，如今已成爲美國隊教練的馬西莫•科斯坦蒂尼(Massimo Costantini)代表意大利隊參加歐洲資格賽，他遇到了來自中國、代表奧地利參賽的丁毅。那天科斯坦蒂尼輸給了丁毅，他還記得其他運動員、教練和球迷們對此都感到大惑不解。

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

“面對中國對手，說真的，我們都震驚了，”科斯坦蒂尼說，後來他憑藉外卡參加了奧運會。

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會，這股趨勢還在持續增長。越來越多在中國希望渺茫的選手去往渴望接納他們的國家，發展自己的運動員和教練員事業。

“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.”

“失去入選中國國家隊的機會時，我還很年輕，我還有自己的夢想，”30歲的王臻(Eugene Wang)說，2012年奧運會前不久，他在加拿大隊中獲得了一個位置。“就在那時，我得到了這個邀請，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.

被問到運動員們對中國選手遍佈全球作何感想時，墨西哥運動員馬科斯•馬德里(Marcos Madrid)微笑着嘆息。“很複雜，”他說，很多乒乓球運動員都有同感。

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，中國在訓練和技巧方面遙遙領先。於是，很多國家的乒乓球聯合會希望得到這樣優秀的選手和教練，不僅僅是在短期內給他們機會去贏得比賽，也希望他們能提高這個國家其他選手的競技水平。

“I know in my mind I need to practice more because they are there,” Madrid said.

“我心裏知道，因爲他們的出現，我需要更加刻苦訓練，”馬德里說。

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.

在世界上的大多數地方，優秀的競爭對手很難尋覓。在接受他們的國家裏，中國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.

倪夏蓮被邀請到盧森堡去時，主要是擔任教練。結果她顯然成了這個國家最出色的選手，只得再次成爲全職運動員。

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

“我覺得他們能幫助其他運動員進步，這樣很好，”男子乒乓球世界排名第一的馬龍說。

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

與此同時，很多選手覺得競賽精神遭到了破壞，對此感到憤怒。

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，最近才更換國籍的運動員們只顧着發展自己的運動生涯，他們沒有走過某些模糊的門檻，對自己的新國家毫無興趣，抑或大多數時間還是呆在自己原來的祖國。

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，也很難這樣去下結論。每個運動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，有些運動員在很年輕的時候就移居海外，所以很容易和新國家產生深切的聯繫。22歲的林桂今年在奧運會上代表巴西參賽，12歲那年，她因爲一個交流項目從中國來到巴西，最後留在這裏打乒乓球。

“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.”

“我覺得自己完全適應了巴西；同事們都覺得我是巴西人，”林桂用流利的葡萄牙語說。“但是我沒有忘記自己也是中國人，因爲我出生在那裏。不過我覺得這很酷，出生在一個國家，在另一個國家長大，這是一種獨特的體驗。”

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，去年才離開中國國家隊，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.”

“我覺得自己代表哪個國家參賽並不重要，”李平說，在奧運會之前，他排名世界第28位。“重要的是能夠參加奧運會，在賽場上展現自己的實力。”

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，任何人都很難說哪一種更換國家的選手選擇的是“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.

這也許可以解釋爲什麼韋克特覺得下屆奧運會前有必要進一步調整規則。目前，21歲以後更換效力隊伍的球員沒有資格參加世錦賽、世界盃和世界團體錦標賽等賽事。但他們可以參加奧運會。

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，他希望出臺一條規則，要求運動員在新的國家居住滿一段較長時間後，才能代表該國參加比賽。

“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.”

“這並不意味着我們可以馬上改變規則，”韋克特說，他指出，改變規則需要222個乒乓球協會成員國投票通過。“也許其他人有別的想法，我接受這一點。”

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

無論規則是否改變，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。

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.

韋克特在採訪中透露，國際乒聯近幾個月來已經開始推進一項計劃，與中國乒協合作，讓年輕的非中國選手能夠常年在中國訓練基地居住和訓練，在這個競爭激烈的系統中學習和提高。

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

這一計劃仍處在初期階段，它有一個內部名稱：中國製造(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.”

“當然，一項體育運動中如果只有一個國家能贏，對於這個項目來說是很困難的情況，”韋克特說。“但這不是中國人的錯。其他選手必須要刻苦訓練。”