ssc_marcomms posted on January 05, 2012 21:58
Pang Xuejie, 18, is a rising young talent specialising in Table Tennis. Born 11 Mar 1993 in Singapore to parents who were also paddlers, Xuejie grew up with the sports deeply woven into his everyday life. While other kids were playing or watching TV, Xuejie juggled his time between school work and at the training halls practising table tennis.
All those hours honing his skills paid off for Xuejie when he was drafted into the national men’s squad at the tender age of 15. He parlayed his athletic talents into representing Singapore on many occasions. To name a few, Xuejie cut his teeth competing in the SEA Junior Table Tennis Championships, Kuwait Open, Italian Junior & Cadet Open, Malta Junior & Cadet Open, Egypt Junior & Cadet Open and the ITTF Pro Tour.
In recognition of his hard work, Xuejie has also been presented with the SNOC’s Meritorious Award for a few years running and the British Chamber of Commerce's annual “Dream" award on more than a few occasions.
As a member of Team Singapore, he was also one half of the team which smashed their way to Gold (Men’s Doubles) at the 26th SEA Games 2011 in the all-Singapore finals showdown against Yang Zi and Gao Ning. He considers this as the best moment he had thus far as an athlete.
“Before the match I was telling myself to play as usual with no burden of any sort because we were the underdogs. As the match went on and we got closer to winning, I was getting more and more nervous.” Xuejie acknowledged.
Echoing his motto in life of “Never giving up when faced with difficulties”, he handled the fight well and the men’s team went on to win the match. “After the final point, I couldn’t believe that we’ve done it and I was just overjoyed.”
The Singapore Sports School alumnus is currently balancing studies (a Diploma in Sports & Leisure Management at Republic Polytechnic) along with trainings and competitions for the coming year.
Inspired by one of Singapore’s finest paddler, Feng Tian Wei, Xuejie sees himself pressing on to greater achievements in the future.
Don’t miss the opportunity to see Feng Tianwei & Pang Xuejie in action at the launch of the STTA west zone training centre at Jurong West Sports Hall on 7 January 2012. For more details on the event, visit www.stta.org.sg.