Liu Guoliang to act as commentator on Zhibo.TV for Table Tennis Team World Cup

The Chinese table tennis legend and former head coach of the Chinese Men's National Table Tennis Team, Liu Guoliang, has announced he is to join forces with China Sports Zhibo.TV (Zhibo.TV), an internet-based live streaming platform for sports events, during the 2018 ITTF Table Tennis Team World Cup. 

Under this partnership, Liu will act as commentator of Zhibo.TV’s broadcast of the ITTF World Cup on Feb 24 and 25. It is the first time Liu will comment on table tennis matches on an internet-based broadcasting platform such as Zhibo.TV. 

Liu has also explained the purpose of his appearances on Zhibo.TV’s broadcasting programs. As Liu told the media, “table tennis has been a sport highly enjoyed by middle-aged people in China for a long time, rather than by young people but this has changed with emerging internet-based broadcasting platforms capturing young people’s attention over the past few years." 

As a result, Liu sees this type of platform, including Zhibo.TV, as a new approach to engage young people to watch table tennis matches. 

“Many fans have sent messages to me asking for more information about the development of table tennis and how the Chinese national table tennis team’s players prepare for games. So, I hope I can interact with these fans and deliver more authentic content about what they care about, so creating a relationship between table tennis and young people’s daily lives,” stated Liu.   

After the World Cup, Liu will remain in his position as commentator on other table tennis match broadcasting on Zhibo.TV. Currently, the platform has captured the rights to broadcasting ITTF matches and has become the first choice platform for table tennis fans in China when they want to watch table tennis games. 

Liu Guoliang, born in Xinxiang (Henan province), is a table tennis legend who has won all titles at major world tournaments including World Championships, World Cups and Olympic Games. He was the second man to achieve a career grand slam of 3 majors (Olympic Gold, World Cup, World Championships). He retired after the 2001 season and was head coach of the Chinese Men's National Table Tennis Team from 2003 to 2017. 

Founded in 2015, Zhibo.TV is an internet-based live streaming platform for sports events where grassroot sports enthusiasts can act as commentators. 

Source: Yutang Sports

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick