For more than five decades, Ni Xia Lian has built an extraordinary career defined by focus, resilience and continuous improvement.
At the time of our interview, she had just finished a tournament in Skopje and was preparing to head to another one in Zaghreb. Her sights are fully set on qualifying for the LA 2028 Olympic Games in the U.S., though Ni says it has been difficult to “start at zero”, given that the wrist fracture she suffered last year forced her to sit for months of recovery. Nevertheless, at the time of the interview, she had reached the 159th ranking in the women’s singles category, per the International Table Tennis Federation.
Ni has already represented Luxembourg in six Olympic Games; when she qualified at age 58 in the 2020 Summer Olympics, she became the oldest table tennis player to do so. But she has also smashed other records too, like playing the longest professional match in history (1:33:42) at the 2017 Austrian Open, when she defeated Japan’s Honoka Hashimoto.
Born and raised in Shanghai, China, Ni first discovered table tennis at the age of 7. She won gold medals (team, mixed doubles) in the 1983 World Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo, representing China. And, although she has been honoured “Sportswoman of the Year” in Luxembourg twice, she admits that when she moved to Germany and then, two years later, to Luxembourg in 1991, “I was never thinking when I came to Europe that I would want to play at another high level for another country. Later, however, “you realise the team needs you, and you feel the responsibility.”
“If you never try, you’ll never know where your limits are.”
Ni says it’s one thing to have a good foundation but another to keep it solid, which is why she focuses on training both physically but also mentally. She adds that she’s lucky to have met Tommy Danielsson, her husband and coach. Ultimately, her advice is to learn from mistakes but not to be afraid to try anything. “If you never try, you’ll never know where your limits are.”
This exclusive portrait was published in the 10th edition of Forbes Luxembourg.
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