Liu Jia

Liu Jia
Liu Jia in Vienna, Austria in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Liu Jia
Nationality	Austria
Residence	Linz, Austria
Born	16 February 1982 Beijing, China
Playing style	Shakehand
Equipment(s)	Tibhar
Highest ranking	9 (2005, 2014)[1]
Club	Linz AG Froschberg
Height	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Weight	48 kg (106 lb; 7.6 st)
Medal record Women's Table Tennis Representing  Austria European Table Tennis Championships 2005 Aarhus Singles 2008 St Petersburg Singles 2010 Ostrava Singles 2002 Zagreb Mixed 2005 Aarhus Mixed 2012 Herning Singles EURO-Top 12 2005 Rennes Singles

Liu Jia (Chinese: 刘佳; born 16 February 1982 in Beijing, China) is a female Chinese-born table tennis player who now represents Austria.

Early life

From 1992 to 1995 Liu attended Shischa Sporting High School in Beijing. Afterwards she became a member of professional club Shian Nuntan, where she played with Zhang Yining. Despite Liu's successes as a Cadet and Junior, competition within the Chinese team was strong and prospects for a future international career were dim. Instead of following a call to Japan, Liu travelled to Austria when the opportunity arose to play for Austrian team Linz AG Froschberg.

She arrived in March 1997 without speaking either German or English, but quickly learned German within the year that she settled in Austria. She won the 1st International Austrian Youth Championships soon after her arrival. On 16 February 1998, her sixteenth birthday, she became an Austrian citizen and a member of the Austrian table tennis squad. Husband David Arvidsson is an international Danish table tennis player.

Career

Liu continued her success on youth level by taking Gold in the Singles, Doubles and Mixed competition at the 1998 European Youth Championships in Norcia. In 1999, she once again claimed the Singles and Mixed titles in Frydek-Mistek.

She competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, reaching the third round of the singles competition in each of them. She also competed in the team competition in Beijing. In May 2011, she qualified for her fourth Olympic attendance in the 2012 London Olympics where she was knocked out in the third round.^[2][3]

Results

European Championships

• European Champion Women's Singles: 2005 Aarhus
• Silver medal Women's Singles: 2008 St Petersburg
• Silver medal Women's Singles: 2010 Ostrava
• Bronze medal Mixed: 2005 Aarhus (with Werner Schlager)
• Bronze medal Mixed: 2002 Zagreb (with Werner Schlager)

World Championships

• Quarterfinals Women's Singles and Doubles: 2001 Osaka
• 6th place Women's Team: 2008 Guangzhou

Pro Tour

• Winner 2012 Czech Open: Women's Singles
• Winner 2008 German Open: Women's Singles
• Winner 2004 Brazil Open: Women's Singles
• Winner 2004 US Open: Women's Doubles
• Runner-up 2006 Polish Open: Women's Singles and Doubles
• Runner-up 2004 Egypt Open: Women's Singles
• Runner-up 2004 Croatia Open: Women's Singles
• Runner-up 2003 Korea Open: Women's Singles
• Runner-up 2001 Brazil Open: Women's Singles
• Runner-up 2001 Croatia Open: Women's Doubles
• Runner-up 1999 Czech Open: Women's Doubles
• Runner-up 1999 Australian Open: Women's Doubles
• Runner-up 1999 Qatar Open: Women's Doubles^[4]

References

1. http://www.ittf.com/ittf_ranking/world_ranking_per_name.asp?Siniors=1&Player_ID=105469 ITTF World Ranking (accessed 2011-11-01).
2. http://www.ittf.com/Stories/pictures/qualified_players_london_m.pdf Players qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games (accessed 2011-11-01).
3. http://www.olympic.org/olympic-results/london-2012/table-tennis/singles-w
4. http://www.ittf.com/ittf_stats/All_events3.asp?ID=4287&NAMES=LIU+Jia+%28AUT%29&Assoc1=AUT&Assoc=&s_Gender=&s_Names=liu+jia& ITTF Statistics – Liu Jia (accessed November 1, 2011).