The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) honored six outstanding individuals with the ITTF Merit Award during its 2026 summit held in London on May 4. Among the recipients were Chinese table tennis icons Cai Zhenhua and Li Furong.
This year’s awardees spanned multiple continents, eras, and fields, reflecting the sport’s evolution over the past century.
Cai Zhenhua, who won a World Table Tennis Championships medal in the 1980s, later served as head coach of the Chinese men’s national team, leading it back to world dominance. He mentored a generation of legends including Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui. Cai also chaired the Asian Table Tennis Union from 2009 to 2021, strengthening the sport’s governance in Asia.
Li Furong, a four-time World Team Cup champion as a player, played a pivotal role in the historic ping-pong diplomacy of 1971. He later coached the Chinese men’s national team and chaired the Asian Table Tennis Union from 2001 to 2009. He was inducted into the ITTF Hall of Fame in 1999 and received the International Olympic Committee’s Silver Medal in 2018.
Other recipients included Lisette Gaitan Rivera of Puerto Rico, Masahiro Maehara of Japan, Ian Marshall of England, and Wu Yuguang of Chinese Taipei.
The ITTF said the Merit Award was established as the sport enters its second century, to honor those who have dedicated themselves to competition, coaching, governance, research, and event broadcasting. The awards underscore that the remarkable journey of table tennis is built not only on the efforts of athletes but also on the lifelong contributions of coaches, administrators, researchers, and pioneers.
The ITTF Centennial Congress and the 2026 World Team Table Tennis Championships were also held concurrently in London.
