Table tennis, known as pingpong in China, is China's national sport, which is a source of pride right up there with the Great Wall and pandas.
乒乓球是中國的國球，就如長城與熊貓一樣，代表著這個國家的自豪與榮耀。
The Chinese have played a major role in transforming table tennis from a pastime of Victorian gentlemen to a sport of the masses.
乒乓球從維多利亞時代紳士們的一項娛樂活動變為了今日的一項大眾體育運動，中國人在這個過程中起到了重要的作用。
The Dominance
壓倒性優勢
China owns table tennis like the United States once dominated men's basketball.
中國在乒乓球上的優勢就如同昔日的美國在籃球運動上的壓倒性優勢一樣。
China has won every gold medal in four Olympics, and eight years ago in Beijing, it swept all possible medals.
在過去的四屆奧運會中，乒乓球項目的每一塊金牌全部被中國包攬。而在八年前的北京奧運會上，中國更是狂攬所有的獎牌。
The Chinese teams do not have a weak link. If you take away any of the team members, they remain very strong. As a matter of fact, they could even enter two teams and still win a gold and a silver medal.
中國隊可以說無懈可擊。無論你帶走其中哪一位隊員，整支球隊仍舊實力超群。實際上，即便將這支球隊分成兩隊，他們仍能摘金奪銀。
China's supremacy even prompted the International Table Tennis Federation to alter its rules, hoping to give a few others a chance.
中國在乒乓球上的實力如此強大，以至于國際乒聯為了給其他國家一些機會多次修改規則。
A look at national table tennis teams in various countries over the last few decades shows hundreds of Chinese players who took their superior game abroad. More often than not, they became the best players wherever they landed.
縱觀過去幾十年里，不同國家的乒乓球國家隊成員，可以發現，數以百計的中國乒乓球運動員遠赴他國發展，而無論這些球員走到哪里，他們往往都成為了當地最出色的乒乓球健將。
The dominance of the Chinese players has caused some consternation in Canada, where three of the four members of the Olympic table tennis team are Chinese born.
華裔乒乓球運動員在這項運動上的壓倒性優勢甚至曾在加拿大國內引起過一些非議與擔憂，因為加拿大國家隊中的4名隊員中有3位都是出生在中國的。
Even though table tennis is played all around the world, not many nations can even compete with China. Japan and South Korea probably present the strongest challenge from Asia, with Germany the top threat from Europe.
盡管乒乓球是一項全球各國都參與的運動，但能與中國哪怕是相持對抗的國家都很少。在亞洲，也只有日本和韓國應算是對手，而德國是來自歐洲的最強對手。
Secret to Success
成功背后的秘密
With China's undeniable dominance on the pingpong table, some might wonder what the secrets are to China's success.
中國在乒乓球運動上所顯示出的絕對的壓倒性優勢令很多人不解并試圖探究中國乒乓球成功背后的秘密。
The Chinese are often criticized by the Western media for running Soviet-style sports mills, in which children are selected for particular sports based on their physique. But with table tennis, there seems to be a large enough reservoir of enthusiastic talent in the population of 1.3 billion.
西方媒體經常批判中國的競技體育訓練體制，稱其為蘇聯式的“體育工廠”，即為了培養奧運人才，運動員年齡很小時就被國家根據個人條件挑選出來，并專門接受某一項運動的長期集中訓練。但就乒乓球這項運動而論，在中國13億的龐大人口中，似乎人才很是充盈。
"It was a perfect sport for the Chinese physique," said Liang Geliang, a former world champion and a professor at Peking University Health Science Center. "It is not important if you're strong. You have got to be smart and you've got to have good nerves."
前世界乒乓球冠軍、北京大學醫學部教授梁戈亮認為，乒乓球這項運動與中國人的體質是絕配。運動員是否體格強壯并不重要。這項運動需要的是機敏靈活與快速反應。
Bettine Vriesekoop, a two-time European champion from the Netherlands who lives in China, said that when she first came to China to play, she was curious about the secret of the Chinese players.
曾兩度奪得過歐錦賽冠軍的前荷蘭乒乓國手弗里斯庫普曾長年在中國生活。她說，當自己第一次來到中國打球時，她對中國乒乓球運動員是如何訓練的感到很好奇。
"Well, there was really no secret," she said. "They have a very simple and practical way of training. They do three or four basic exercises, and then they play until they learn to play without making mistakes."
“嗯，確實沒有什么秘密可言。”弗里斯庫普道。“中國運動員的訓練方法非常簡單，也非常實際。他們做三四組基本訓練，然后就是一直不停地訓練，直到可以控制自如而不失誤為止。”
Chinese sports legend Deng Yaping is considered to be one of the greatest table tennis players of all time. When she retired at the age of 24, she had won more titles than any other player in the sport, including four Olympic gold medals, and had been World Champion 18 times.
前奧運冠軍鄧亞萍曾被認為是中國最出色的乒乓球運動員。她24歲退役前曾摘得4塊奧運金牌并18次奪得世錦賽冠軍。她所獲得的榮譽是與她同時代的其他乒乓球運動員都無法比擬的。
When asked what the secrets are of being so good at table tennis, Deng replied: "Practice."
當被問及她在乒乓球上的成功秘訣是什么時，她回答道：“不斷訓練。”
（作者厲振羽，系國際主流媒體雙語體育專欄作家、中國日報網特約專欄作家）
來源：人民網
