Tokyo Olympics: a 58-year-old table tennis player is finding online fame as the ‘Shanghai auntie’

Ni Xialian has represented Luxembourg for five straight Olympics but was born and raised in Shanghai

A match with a South Korean teenager was dubbed a fight between ‘grandma and grandchild’

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Ni Xialian is the oldest table tennis competitor in Olympics history. While representing Luxembourg, the Chinese native is being dubbed the ‘Shanghai auntie’. Photo: 163.com

Published: 9:00am, 4 Aug 2021Updated: 1:31pm, 9 Aug 2021

A 58-year-old table tennis player representing Luxembourg at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has been dubbed the “Shanghai auntie” by the Chinese internet.

Ni Xialian was born and raised in Shanghai and is the oldest athlete to compete in table tennis in Olympic history. She has competed at five Games.

When Ni played Shin Yu-bin, a 17-year-old South Korean athlete, on July 25, people described the match as a “fight between a grandma and a grandchild”. Ni lost the match 3-4.

Ni started her Olympic table tennis career at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia. Photo: 163.com

As Ni’s profile grew, cyber-sleuths discovered that she was once a top athlete for China’s national table tennis team.

At her peak, she helped China win the team championship at the 37th World Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo in 1983. Ni and her partner Guo Yuehua won the mixed doubles championship at the same tournament.

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