Adriana Díaz exclusive: Reaching new heights in table tennis and why she speaks fluent Chinese
Puerto Rico's world number 11, recently crowned Pan American Games champion, spoke to Olympics.com in Santiago about learning Mandarin and what it means to represent her island around the world.
Table Tennis
"It's taken a lot of effort," Adriana Díaz laughed when Olympics.com asked the table tennis star recently about learning to speak Chinese.
The outgoing 23-year-old from Puerto Rico has been leading her island's charge in the sport for many years, thanks to having honed her craft in the People's Republic of China, where it is the national game.
She currently sits 11th in the world, two spots shy of her career-high, having been in the world top 20 since February 2020. But that's been just reward for all the hard work that can be traced back to when she visited China for the first time as an eight-year-old to learn the sport in-depth.
So it's no surprise that Diaz speaks Mandarin pretty fluently, and she even recorded a message in Chinese thanking her fans for their support. But Díaz played down her ability with Asian languages. "I speak a bit of Chinese, and I haven't begun (learning) Japanese," she said.
"I love languages and the different cultures. Table tennis is dominated by Asian athletes, that’s why I love to be there. (Being in Asia) is how I can learn from the best in the world and why I spend most of my time there."
Her friendship with the Chinese players – especially world number one Sun Yingsha, or "Sha Sha" as Díaz calls her – is well-documented. And thanks to hanging out with them, Diaz has picked up the language pretty quickly.
"I have a lot of Chinese friends and I speak to them now and then. It's something that is part of me now. It's very hard (to learn) and it's more complicated when they speak very fast, like native Chinese speakers do.
"But when I'm with my friends, they teach me and explain. The most complicated thing for me I would say are the accents, they're very difficult but I can (understand)."
Table tennis: A Díaz family affair
Díaz was born into a table tennis-loving family – her father Bladimir coaches both her and her sister Melanie, who is also her doubles partner.
That means that her entire life, she has been around the same people, both at home and in sport.
"My life has been complicated (as) I’ve been travelling since young – I was in school until sixth grade. All my friends are table tennis players from other countries so none of them are really in my life, but I’m already used to it and I don't regret anything."
How has that affected her family ties?
"I have a beautiful relationship with my dad," Díaz said. "We've travelled around the world together, and I've also spent a lot of time with my sister." But? There's always a but.
"Table tennis has been part of our home since I can remember, and so it's hard to separate my father from my coach. Sometimes of course we argue, that's normal," she admitted.
"At the end of the day, we love each other and this brings us together – we want the best for everyone. This has always helped me obtain these medals and achievements."
And one thing her father has instilled in her since she was young still sticks with Díaz.
"He has always told me 'Whatever happens, it's important to continue on and trust your instinct'. I already know the sport deeply and I've always believed in myself and my mental strength.
"I would say the mental is around 70 per cent of every sport. It's how strong you are mentally that will lead you to do extraordinary things."
Adriana Díaz scaling new peaks for Puerto Rico
Díaz has not had an easy run to get to where she is these days. Díaz and her family have had to overcome funding shortfalls to continue representing the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico around the world.
Coming from an island where baseball players – and Rio 2016 tennis champion Monica Puig – are among the most famous sportspeople, Díaz has managed to carve her name and her sport in Puerto Rico's sports landscape.
In 2018, reggaeton star Daddy Yankee stepped up to help pay for Díaz, her sister, and father, to travel to two events in Europe after her federation were unable to help with funding.
Now, other Puerto Rican musical artists know of her. "Residente… I have not met him yet but we've spoken on Instagram, and every time we talk I get nervous and I don't know what would happen if I met him one day.
"I've met Bad Bunny, I wanted to speak to him more but I couldn't find the words and I was speechless. He was very kind. I know all of them support me and I'm very proud to represent the Puerto Rican people."
That strand, of being Boricua and representing an entire island and making it proud, runs strong in Díaz, the 2023 Pan American Games champion.
"If you asked me five years ago whether I was going to reach the top 16 or win a gold medal at the Pan American Games, I would have said it wasn't possible. Not because I don't believe in myself, but because in this part of the world, in Latin America and especially in Puerto Rico, we've never seen it happen.
"I turned 23 recently; I'm still young and have a lot to learn. I'll try to continue as long as I can to represent Puerto Rico around the world."