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SCMP Sport

Chinese table tennis megastar Sun Yingsha said she could resonate with the late Kobe Bryant after reading the autobiography of the former Los Angeles Lakers superstar during the closed training period before the World Championships.
China beat Japan 3-2 in the women’s final at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in London behind two solid wins from Sun, who remained undefeated in nine outings in the English capital as China won their 24th world title.
In a pre-recorded interview with state broadcaster CCTV that was filmed last month and first aired on Thursday, Sun revealed that she was deeply inspired by Bryant’s mentality as she finished reading the NBA legend’s autobiography, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play, while training in Chengdu before the biennial tournament.
“The thing that impressed me the most was that Kobe noted the gym was very quiet when he had his morning exercise every day,” world No 1 Sun said. “He enjoyed being alone there, and I could understand that very well.
“He also said when he entered the arena to play, he couldn’t hear the cheers from the crowd because he was used to training alone day after day and was able to shut out the outside noise. I could really relate to this.”

Bryant, who tragically died in January 2020 in a helicopter accident, was famous for starting his personal training in Los Angeles at 4.00am. While Sun admitted “I haven’t seen much of the world at 4”, she said she had consistently trained in Beijing, Weihai and Chengdu at 6.00am for many years.
In the CCTV interview, Sun, who has 20 Olympic, World Championships and World Cup titles to her name, was also seen encouraging herself with shouts of “Come on, China’s Kobe” when she was about to increase the intensity of her weight training.
Bryant’s attention to detail, such as practising his shooting early in the morning, also inspired Sun’s training standards. The Hebei native reportedly asked for extra practice during the closed training period if her backhand straight shot deviated from the desired landing point by even 1cm, so as to strengthen her stability during the key points.
An ultra dominant player, Sun, who has now been the world’s top player for 201 consecutive weeks, did not keep her learnings from Bryant’s autobiography to herself, but would often take photos of what she had read and share them with her teammates.
“We are all very positive and possess only positive energy towards one another,” said the 25-year-old. “When I’m tired, they encourage me, and when they’re tired, I encourage them as well.
“I share [pictures of the contents of the book] with my teammates to help us stay focused and motivated.”

Following the airing of the CCTV programme, Sun became a trending topic on social media. Among those commenting and reposting her story, Kobe Bar, a self-created Weibo account by Bryant fans since 2003, wished Sun luck at the next Olympic Games, referring to her back-to-back women’s singles defeats to the now-retired Chen Meng in Tokyo and Paris.
“Come on, China’s Kobe. May your dream come true in Kobe’s city, Los Angeles,” it said.


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‘China’s Kobe’ Sun Yingsha deeply inspired after reading book by late NBA star Bryant

Sun Yinghsa has been seen encouraging herself with shouts of “Come on, China’s Kobe” when she increases the intensity of her weight training. Photo: Handout

Sun Yingsha said she read Kobe Bryant’s autobiography while training for the World Championships. Photo: Handout

Kobe Bryant said in his book he learned to shut out outside noise through training alone. Photo: Getty Images

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Fan Zhendong (left) was praised for not stealing the spotlight during the trophy presentation. Photo: handout

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China

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Table tennis star reveals on CCTV programme that she tries to emulate mentality and training standards of the basketballer, who died in 2020


Table tennis star reveals on CCTV programme that she tries to emulate mentality and training standards of the basketballer, who died in 2020.


Sun Yingsha

CCTV

‘China’s Kobe’ Sun Yingsha deeply inspired after reading book by late NBA star Bryant

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Table tennis star reveals on CCTV programme that she tries to emulate mentality and training standards of the basketballer, who died in 2020

Table tennis star reveals on CCTV programme that she tries to emulate mentality and training standards of the basketballer, who died in 2020