Small stature big talent
Deng Yaping began playing table tennis at a very early age. When she was only nine years old she won her first important championship but it looked as if that was as far as she would go in the game because she was considered too short to become a top table tennis player.
But this didn't discourage Deng (left) and at 13 she won a national championship title. Even with this great success under her belt, team selectors thought she was too short to become world class and refused her a place on the Chinese national table tennis team.
At the age of 19, Deng was 1.49 metres tall, but national coaches had changed their minds about her potential. In 1992 she represented China at the Barcelona Olympics, winning two gold medals. Four years later at the Atlanta Olympics, Deng repeated her 1992 success by winning two more golds.
In 1996, Deng retired from championship table tennis, but stayed involved in Olympic organisation. She worked as an International Olympic Committee delegate for the organisation of the Beijing Games. In 2003, Deng was named Chinese Athlete of the Century.
Question
1 What is the meaning of the phrase 'to have something under your belt'?