Chen Meng on Olympic success: "My mentality towards winning and losing has changed"
The double Olympic champion tells Olympics.com how winning two golds at Tokyo 2020 in 2021 has changed her game, who her role model in table tennis is, and what she's like away from the court.
Winning an Olympic gold medal is undoubtedly the dream for many athletes. Chen Meng achieved just that in table tennis at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021, when she won both women's singles and team events for the People's Republic of China.
And, as the 30-year-old explains, it is a life-changing moment not just in terms of one's sporting career.
Speaking to Olympics.com via World Table Tennis, the former world number one expresses that the way she approaches the sport has shifted completely.
"The most important change in me is my mentality around winning and losing," she states. "Things like that are different from before. And with my age, I have become more mature.
"I think when facing opponents, when it comes to winning or losing, I definitely still want the win deep down. But, now I (also) feel I need to do my best in every game and do so with no regrets. I think that's actually the most important thing for me."
Being a double Olympic champion also brings with it new challenges. "It's a new level, a new starting point," Chen admits.
"Through all my hard work with our coaches and my teammates every day, and their encouragement, and my dedication, this was a reward. So having two gold medals is a new starting point to face whatever comes at a higher level."
Chen Meng taking a leadership role and learning from role model Ma Long
Chen is a former world number one in women's singles, although with the rise of younger guns like teammates Sun Yingsha and Wang Yidi, she has fallen down the pecking order to third in the world, with another younger player in Wang Manyu right behind her in fourth.
However, Chen relishes her new role as the "elder stateswoman" of the Chinese women's team, thanks to advice from the national team captain, five-time Olympic gold medal winner Ma Long.
"I consider Long-ge to be one of my role models," she says, using a Chinese honorific meaning 'older brother' to refer to Ma, often considered the greatest men's singles player in history.
"Aside from him, I may be one of the oldest in the Chinese team right now, but I will always be able to learn a lot from Long-ge: his focus on and dedication to his career, his never-give-up and never-say-die attitude once he is on court.
"I've really learned a lot from him, including learning to take on kind of a responsibility in the team. He has been a great role model for me to follow, and I hope I continue to improve in this area."
Chen Meng: "Excited" to see other countries improve
While Chinese paddlers continue to dominate both men's and women's table tennis rankings, Chen is excited about what she's seeing from elsewhere, which she believes can help keep her and her teammates on their toes.
"I think there are actually many players from some countries (to watch out for)," she says. "Some young athletes in particular from Japan and the Republic of Korea. And even Europe has some young athletes to pay attention to," Chen adds.
"In fact, they have advanced their techniques and have a lot of energy while playing, and I'm quite excited watching this. In these young athletes, there are times when I recollect how I was in my younger days when I first began competition."
Like many Chinese players, not too much is known of what Chen is like away from the court, as she prefers to let her play do the talking.
However, she gamely answers the question put to her: What is Chen Meng like when not competing?
"Away from court, well, I would say I'm quite vivacious," she offers. "Honestly, during competitions, that's the main focus. It requires total attention, and when you give your all, you will probably appear quite serious.
"But once I leave the court, I will smile more often. And I hope to smile more on court in future. Of course after winning there will be more smiles!"
Win or lose, with her new mentality towards not obsessing over results, Chen has one new goal: "Hopefully I can help show the charm of sports more," she smiles.