Ping Pong Life (2021)

一将功成万骨枯 (Yī jiāng gōng chéng wàn gǔ kū)

“For every champion lie thousands withered bones.” Most of the times, we see only the glory of a champion – an Olympic swimmer, a World Champion gymnast and skater - but we rarely see the struggles, sacrifices, obstacles, pressures, emotional turmoil that each has to endure. This drama brings us behind the scenes and helps us appreciate how such successes come with the price these champions have paid and the sacrifices made.

This is a story about setting goals, perseverance, and overcoming failures. It is unexpectedly funny and enjoyable to watch. For the last decades, China has been consistently producing world champions in every sports in particular in table tennis. This drama gives us a peek at how these champions are created. Having played table tennis growing up, I have an affinity for the game and hence have enjoyed watching the matches and prolonged sessions at the table. At the end of each episode, table tennis is being explained in details: the terminologies, techniques, rules, competitions, etc. and I find myself enthralled.

The story depicts two very different characters: Xu Tan (acted by Bai Jing Ting) is scrawny, wimpy and lack of confidence, but kind, humble and friendly; Yu Ke Nan (acted by Xu Wei Zhou aka Timmy Xu), with a powerful athletic physique, is overly confident, arrogant, rebellious, impulsive and hot headed. The story begins when both are 17 years old in 2007, and follows their journey to become champions of the world. This unlikely “ying yang” pair becomes best friends and root for each other especially in their most trying period. Countless times, both get punished but unknown to them, their punishment is actually a form of training that helps them grow, such as raising pigs in a farm and becoming a janitor in a boxing gym. Daily details of the years are well taken care of with changing of technology and apparel over the years, from nameless flip phones to Apple smart phones, from Butterfly sportswear to Nike and Adidas.

The drama dwells deep into the various style of coaching by the national coaches and their relationship with their players. Xu Tan and his coach, Lei Cheng (Liu Zhi Bing), are like father and son. His coach inspires him, helps him discover himself and grow. Yu Ke Nan and his coach, Teng Biao (Wang Jian Xin), are like a pair of good old friends, continue kicking each other’s ass and calling each other names, at the same time, they love and trust each other. There is also a super strict coach who produces top ranking players but such players are also the most unhappy with high injury and burnout rates. Another coach has a soul mate relationship with his player, seeing their own shadows in each other. Every character has its flaws and faces personal obstacles. The development of the characters shows how they overcome their obstacles, grow and succeed.

Acting
Here in this drama, I discover Bai Jing Ting. He nails the role as the wimpy kid that grows to become the world champion. Bai Jing Ting has given us some amazing acting and he is so convincing as a world class table tennis player. Whether it’s his body double or not (I really can't tell), I feel Bai Jing Ting can play the game very well; he has the styles, his actions and shots are perfect. Xu Wei Zhou’s acting here is good too especially when he becomes the adult Yu Ke Nan. Like Bai Jing Ting, his playing of the game is immaculate and convincing, making Yu Ke Nan the most formidable table tennis player in the world. I really love watching them playing the game, and there’s a lot of such scenes to satisfy ping pong fans.

My Verdict
If you’re a sports fan and love table tennis in particular, you’d love this drama as it gives us many amazing real-life games with shots and fantastic camera work. Every smash, every torque, every curve is thrilled to watch and viewers can feel the excitement and satisfaction of the shots perfectly executed.

You’d see how China trains its youth, which is nothing like the western world. The greatest difference is, for the west, winning is for personal glory, whereas for the Chinese, it is for their national pride.

If you have watched “Hikaru No Go” and liked that drama, you may like “Ping Pong Life” too. To be honest, I like “Ping Pong Life” better because I find the character development better and more realistic, and it covers a wider range of three-dimensional characters. I love the part when the two leads begin to build their deeper understanding with each other, they really spend a lot of time, literally tied, together. They learn to feel and trust each other without words and the process in doing so is hilarious and adorable. This process is not captured enough in “Hikaru No Go”.

I really love this drama because it reminds me not to look at the glory of any success. We should not lament why we have not been as successful as others, whether in music, sports or anything else, but rather we should ask ourselves if we are willing to sacrifice everything to achieve success, and that’s the message in this drama.

A wonderful watch. Highly recommended!

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A most compelling story on coming-of-age and overcoming-almost-insurmountable struggles...

This is just the third time that I got to fully finish a full-length Chinese TV Drama where I eagerly looked forward to watching the next episodes not only because of the generally well-written plot and storylines, but also because of the excellent acting and portrayal of characters by the main leads.

Xu Tan, angst and expectations-driven, initially evokes a cerebrally calculating but physically weak youth with a generous-to-a fault wholesome, almost naive, personality in the beginning, but then evolves into this emotionally strong, mentally focused, and physically tough athlete who emerges as a champion in his own right. Bai Jing Ting exceptionally and convincingly plays Xu Tan whose remarkable physical transformation and emotional maturity over the years was matched in real life by Bai Jing Ting's physique-change and character portrayal. Xu Tan withstands and emerges triumphant over multiple adversities that life hurls at him: struggles and challenges in his family life, love-life, career, and more importantly, in his relationship with his main rival/friend, Yu Ke Nan. (Bai Jing Ting, also excellently portrays the lead, Xing Ke Lei in "You Are My Hero")

Yu Ke Nan, sternly brought up by his Pingpong-crazed father through rigid training and selfless discipline is a naturally-gifted pingpong athlete whose initial persona is that of a self-assured, arrogant and selfish individual single-mindedly devoted to winning at any cost. Eventually, his personal friendship and professional relationship with the amiable and selfless Xu Tan transforms him. In a sense, while coming from the opposite ends of the personality spectrum that makes them clash often, the differences between the two, their almost parallel career tracks, and their apparent love and respect for each other are what will eventually forge their deep and lifelong friendship. Timmy Xu Wei Zhou perfectly captures the wide-range of emotions that run through the tough but broken and temperamental yet sensitive Yu Ke Nan. Of note, especially, is his charged performance in Episode 43 where he visits and reconciles with his estranged father. (Timmy Xu Wei Zhou was likewise outstanding when he portrayed the challenging role of the pensive and emotionally-conflicted Bai LuoYin in "Addicted").

Over-all, the plot is great, with the scriptwriters carefully establishing the pains, struggles, growth, and maturity of our main protagonists as they journey through their lives. The writer(s) carefully interwove the positive influence of the main supporting characters, especially the masterful approach with which they molded the sagacious, staunch & steady father-figure types of the personal coaches, Lei Cheng (Liu Zhi Bing) and Teng Biao (Wang Jian Xin), respectively for Xu Tan and Yu Ke Nan. Another notable figure is that of delightful romantic, Liu Shi (aptly played by Wan Guo Peng) , best friend / teammate / roommate of both Xu Tan and Yu Ke Nan. Of last important note is the antagonist character of Coach Zheng Hao (Gao Dong Ping) that superbly stitched and strikingly prototyped the seemingly hopeless and endless struggles of both Xu Tan and Yu Ke Nan. On the other hand, the storyline could have been tightened a little by doing away with some unnecessary sub-plots like the post-pingpong career and mischief of Jia Yu, or in tempering some of the overly-written romantic twists.

While primarily a sports drama, the storyline touches deeply to the core of human desires---sentimental reminders about our own hopes and dreams, of our failures and triumphs, of our loves--lost and found, of our disappointments and betrayals, but more importantly of our constant and unquenchable quest for meaning and self-actualization. The more than few superbly written phrases and one-liners about living a more meaningful life makes this series worthy of multiple re-runs.

For even non-sports enthusiasts, the brilliant demonstration of the beautiful game of Pingpong inspires awe, and the most exciting exchange of volleys in many tournament scenes warrant deep admiration for these exceptional table tennis athletes at the peak of their game. An added bonus are the enlightening technical narratives of the game, or mini-glossaries that follow at the end of every episode.

Cinematography is tastefully and greatly done especially showcasing the economic, scientific, and cultural achievements of Modern China as gleaned from depictions of ordinary Chinese life and of China's magnificent cities. Finally, the whole story fully succeeds in the triumphal portrayal of the Chinese Sports programs---the science & rigor involved, and the human & material resources allotted to their perfection, as exemplified by Pingpong, its national sport---particularly timely for the 70th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

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