Jishan Liang
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| Nationality |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | November 8, 1991 Tianjin, China | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Table tennis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Jishan Liang (born November 8, 1991) is an American table tennis player and coach.
Early life
[edit]Liang was born in Tianjin, China, and began table tennis at seven years old. At 19 years old, he was eligible for an EB-1A green card, and moved to the United States. He resides in Cary, North Carolina and is a coach at NC International Table Tennis.[1]
Career
[edit]Liang made his international debut for the United States at the 2022 Pan American Table Tennis Championships and won a silver medal in the team event.[2]
He made his World Table Tennis Championships debut in 2023.[3] On October 13, 2023, he was named to team USA's roster to compete at the 2023 Pan American Games.[4] During the Pan American Games, he won a bronze medal in the team event.[5]
In February 2024, he competed at the 2024 World Team Table Tennis Championships in the team event. On February 20, 2024, during the final group stage match against Kazakhstan, Liang was disqualified due to his racket's rubber being too thick. This automatically forced the team to fourth place in the group, and as a result did not advance to the playoffs.[6] USA Table Tennis challenged the disqualification, however, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) jury committee declined the appeal.[7]
In October 2024, he competed at the 2024 Pan American Table Tennis Championships and won team USA's first ever gold medal in the team event at the Pan American Table Tennis Championships, along with Kanak Jha, Nandan Naresh and Sid Naresh. He also won a bronze medal in the mixed doubles event, with Amy Wang.[8]
Major League Table Tennis
[edit]In 2023, Liang became a charter member of Major League Table Tennis (MLTT) after being drafted by the Princeton Revolution. Competing in the league's inaugural 2023–24 season, he helped lead the Revolution to the playoffs as the second-place team in the East Division. During the 2024 MLTT Championship Weekend, Liang competed in the finals against the Texas Smash, eventually finishing as a league runner-up.[9] Known for his powerful forehand and "all-in" playing style, he was frequently featured in league highlights for his high-energy performances.[10]
For the 2024–25 season, Liang joined the New York Slice.[10] Throughout his tenure in the league, he has remained one of the top-ranked American players in the MLTT "SPINDEX" rating system, consistently competing in both singles and doubles events.
Personal life
[edit]Liang's wife, Hong Lin, is a professional table tennis player and coach. They have a son named Willam.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Daw, Dena (March 1, 2023). "Cary's Jishan Liang Serves Up Excellence on an International Stage". Cary Magazine. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ Dyke, Joshua (November 2, 2022). "USA Begins 2022 Pan Am Champs Medal Run with a Pair of Team Event Silver". ittf.com. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ "Jishan Liang". teamusa.com. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ Wei, Barbara (October 13, 2023). "US Table Tennis Roster Announced for the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile". ittf.com. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ Wei, Barbara (November 5, 2023). "US Men's & Women's Teams Secure Medals at Pan Am Games". ittf.com. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ "Jishan Liang (team USA) is disqualified due to rubber too thick". pingsunday.com. December 5, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ Wei, Barbara (February 29, 2024). "Recap: USA Athletes at the 2024 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships". ittf.com. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ "USA Men's Team Makes History by Winning Gold at 2024 ITTF Pan American Championships". ittf.com. October 23, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Championship2024was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
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External links
[edit]- 1991 births
- Living people
- American male table tennis players
- American people of Chinese descent
- Sportspeople of Chinese descent
- Table tennis players at the 2023 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in table tennis
- Sportspeople from Tianjin