It's easy to find devoted athletes on Virginia's varsity and club sports teams. With former athletic greats the likes of J.C. Mathis, Bryson Spinner or Jermaine Harper donning Cavalier uniforms, there has always been an abundance of athletes who excel in their respective endeavors.
And though the athletic ability of faculty members often flies under the radar, this is not always the case. University Prof. Chen Jian, a well-known expert in East Asian history, also happens to be a decorated table tennis player, who most recently won the Virginia 2003 Intramural Championship.
"When I was nine years old in 1961, the 26th World Table Tennis Championship was held in China," Chen said. "There was a huge ping-pong fever in China then, and everyone was playing, so I did that too."
Chen experienced events such as the Cultural Revolution first hand, growing up during Mao Zedong's domination of China at the height of the Cold War.
Ping-pong in China, particularly in the 1960s, was a full-blown cultural phenomenon. Many people have heard stories about Sammy Sosa using a milk carton for a glove when he was growing up in the Dominican Republic; ping-pong fever encouraged the same kind of resourcefulness in Chen and his peers.
"I never had a real coach, but everyone played on every surface," Chen said. "On the ground or even on a small table, you played ping-pong."
Chen plays a traditional "ping" style of table tennis, holding the paddle and maneuvering it so he only utilizes one of its sides. This style provides Chen with certain advantages over more orthodox players who grip the handle more like a tennis racket and use both sides of the paddle, making him a frustrating player to take on.
"I'm very quick and my control of ball movement is very good, so that's why people hate me," Chen said. "With my backhand block, I can control the ball very well, and that is what allows me to beat some of the youngsters."
Chen speaks highly of the Charlottesville ping-pong community, particularly Sean O'Neill, a five-time national champion and two-time Olympian. O'Neill helped Chen develop his game even more when the professor arrived in Charlottesville.
"O'Neill taught me some small tricks, and while he doesn't play my style, because he is a professional he is familiar with it," Chen said.
Recently, there has been a resurgence in competitive ping-pong's popularity in the United States, and ESPN has carried several table tennis events. This represents a major step for a sport that the general public often regards as a recreational activity. In contrast, ping-pong in China has recently been reduced in stature, especially with the emergence of basketball and Yao Ming's popularity in the NBA.
Chen's expertise in China's modern history and his first-hand experiences, such as being arrested twice during the Cultural Revolution, provide him with a unique perspective on the historical importance of ping-pong. In 1971, the American ping-pong team arrived in China, the first American delegation to come to China in 22 years, and had a surprisingly profound effect on Sino-American relations.
"I would say that ping-pong diplomacy and [the ensuing] Chinese-American rapprochement were part of the decline of the Cultural Revolution," Chen said.
With two active table tennis clubs in the Charlottesville area, there are many opportunities to learn the game and play, including O'Neill's own classes run through the University's intramural sports program. Chen himself enjoys regular Friday games at Slaughter gymnasium, and although the exercise aspect of the game has become more important to him, a certain competitive fire still burns in the professor.
"After the week you can relax and play different people," Chen said. "At my age, I still want to win, but I do not get upset if I lose."
But Chen made it clear that he's no pushover.
"Most times I do win though," Chen said before laughing confidently.
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