It is said that "a tiger father does not have a dog daughter," and this saying applies equally to Liu Guoliang and his daughter Liu Yujie. As a former Olympic champion in table tennis and now the head coach of the national team, Liu Guoliang's name is well-known to everyone!
Having such a father has made Liu Yujie the focus of attention since she was young. However, she did not follow in her father's footsteps to continue a career related to table tennis but instead chose the sport of golf. Despite her young age, Liu Yujie has shown remarkable abilities. She won a championship at the age of 8, with the goal of participating in the 2028 Olympics and becoming the world's number one.
It remains to be seen whether Liu Yujie's current efforts will allow her to achieve this lofty goal...
Before introducing her daughter Liu Yujie, it is necessary to talk about her father Liu Guoliang first. Liu Guoliang's professional achievements can be described as "brilliant." He truly opened up history and is a superstar in the table tennis world.
Table tennis has always been a highly competitive sport, and when Liu Guoliang joined the national team, he faced the daunting challenge of Kong Linghui.
It wasn't until the Atlanta Olympics that Liu Guoliang, who was not favored by everyone, managed to overcome all obstacles. He first teamed up with Kong Linghui to win the men's doubles gold medal, and later defeated his teammate in the singles final, winning two Olympic gold medals on his own!
The victory at the Atlanta Olympics marked the beginning of Liu Guoliang's legendary career. In the subsequent World Cup and World Table Tennis Championships, Liu Guoliang had excellent performances. By the time of the 1999 World Table Tennis Championships, Liu Guoliang narrowly defeated his teammate Ma Lin, becoming the first player in the world to achieve the super grand slam.
Through his own efforts, Liu Guoliang created history and became a legendary figure in the table tennis world. After achieving such brilliant professional accomplishments, Liu Guoliang transformed into a coach.
Excellent people shine wherever they go. As an athlete, he could write new chapters, and as a coach, he could do the same. He trained many grand slam winners, such as Ma Long, Zhang Jike, Fan Zhendong, etc., and is an extremely outstanding coach.
Regardless of which identity, Liu Guoliang is undoubtedly the number one in table tennis. This also means that as his daughter, Liu Yujie has been labeled as the "daughter of an Olympic champion" since birth. For Liu Yujie, she has a higher starting point than ordinary people, but she also bears more expectations.
Basking in her father's glory, Liu Yujie did not choose to continue her father's career in table tennis as fans might have expected but instead chose the completely different sport of golf.
When Liu Yujie was very young, Liu Guoliang and his wife, also an athlete, intended to cultivate their daughter's athletic talent. Of course, Liu Guoliang is not an authoritarian person; he did not demand that his daughter must pursue a path related to table tennis but allowed her to make choices based on her own preferences.
By chance, Liu Yujie came into contact with the relatively niche sport of golf, and this contact made her fall in love with the sport.
At that time, she was not even as tall as the golf club, yet she enjoyed swinging the club around. Liu Guoliang didn't take it seriously, thinking his daughter was just being mischievous, so he let her be. Unexpectedly, during the constant play, Liu Yujie displayed her talent in golf.
By this time, Liu Guoliang, who had already transitioned to become a coach, immediately expressed support and sent his daughter to a professional training institute, with the idea of developing her towards becoming a professional athlete.
Despite her young age, Liu Yujie worked hard, either training or on her way to training. When she was 7 years old, Liu Yujie participated in the World Junior Golf Championship. This was the first time Liu Yujie participated in such a large-scale competition, which was significant for her.
After the start of the competition, Liu Yujie was somewhat nervous, but fortunately, she remembered her father's instructions before the match, suppressed her tension well, and silently focused all her thoughts on the club. In the end, Liu Yujie made a decisive shot and won the championship in the U8 group.
However, at the age of 7, she was able to win a world championship, which earned Liu Yujie a lot of attention. Especially after learning that her father is the famous Liu Guoliang, it made people even more hopeful for Liu Yujie's future. Liu Yujie continued to train steadily with the support of her parents.
When she was 8 years old, Liu Yujie began to participate in more international events. That year, Liu Yujie won championships in multiple international competitions, with the Buick China Junior Golf Masters being the most prestigious.
Liu Yujie was unafraid of her opponents and won the championship with outstanding performance, once again proving the saying that "a tiger father does not have a dog daughter."
Being so young and achieving such high accomplishments did not make Liu Yujie lose herself in the joy of victory but instead continued to work hard, hoping to stand on a bigger stage one day.
In 2023, Liu Yujie stepped onto a larger stage and participated in the Junior Players Elite Tournament. Liu Yujie performed outstandingly as usual and won the championship in the women's A group.
The following year, Liu Yujie even participated in adult competitions, which meant she would face even stronger opponents. Despite this, Liu Yujie had no psychological pressure. She controlled the rhythm of the game, adjusted her state, and perfectly concluded the game with a runner-up finish.
The consecutive achievements not only proved Liu Yujie's absolute strength in golf but also opened the curtain on her glorious career.
Liu Yujie's excellent results have attracted the attention of various sectors of society. If people paid more attention to her because of her identity as Liu Guoliang's daughter before, now they are attracted by her personal abilities. Based on this situation, Liu Yujie received an invitation to participate in the documentary "More Than Just Gold Medals."
During a face-to-face interview with journalists, Liu Yujie clearly stated her goal: "I hope to participate in the 2028 Olympics and strive to become the world's number one."
After the broadcast of the documentary, people couldn't help but admire Liu Yujie's ambition and look forward to the daughter of an Olympic champion achieving something in golf. It is hoped that the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will fulfill Liu Yujie's wishes, allowing her to fully display herself on this stage where top players compete and not disappoint the years of effort.
In the days to come, Liu Yujie will continue to strive and fight in the world of golf. It is hoped that one day, people will no longer view her as Liu Guoliang's daughter but rather call Liu Guoliang the father of an Olympic champion!
If Liu Yujie wants to achieve this grand goal, she still has a long way to go. Regardless of the future, Liu Yujie is currently working hard towards her dream, and we look forward to her having wonderful performances in the future.