寒さもへっちゃら　中国高齢者の衰えぬ「卓球愛」

【北京ＡＦＰ＝時事】中国の年金受給者レン・チャンさん（73）の卓球への情熱は、北京市の過酷な冬の寒さの中でも衰えることはない。レンさんは一年中、屋外でプレーをする。（写真は中国・北京で卓球をする男性）
　レンさんは健康維持のためここ２年間、妻と同市東部の慶豊公園に通っている。
　「子どもの頃は、みんなあちこちで卓球をしていました」とレンさんは思い出を語る。「学校には卓球のチームがあって、ほぼすべての学校が毎年、卓球大会を開催しました。だから、私の世代の多くは卓球がうまいのです」
　レンさんが卓球に興味を引かれたのは、１９５９年のこと。中国建国から１０年のこの年、容国団選手が世界卓球選手権大会で優勝。すべてのスポーツを通じて、中国初の世界チャンピオンになった。
　レンさんは、それが卓球人気に火をつけ、「以来、ほぼ皆が卓球を始めました」と説明した。
　慶豊公園の静かな一角にある卓球台の周りには、高層ビルがそびえ立つ。
　気温が氷点下のときでさえ、レンさん夫婦は卓球仲間とプレーをする。午前８時から午後１０時まで、１０台ある卓球台は大抵埋まっている。
　寒さ対策の帽子と手袋に加え、コロナ禍で人々はマスクも着けている。だが、ひとたび熱が入り卓球台の周りを動き回ると、皆一枚ずつ身に着けているものを脱ぎ始める。北京の他の公園でも、同じ光景が見られる。
　レンさんの妻、ビー・ジンランさん（７０）は「今日、中国はほぼすべての卓球の国際大会で優勝しています」と語った。「中国人として、卓球をすることを誇りに、うれしく思います」【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/12/23-09:46）

Chinese pensioner Ren Qian's passion for table tennis keeps him playing outside all year round, even in the depths of Beijing's brutally cold winters.
The 73-year-old has been coming to Qingfeng Park in the city's east with his wife for the past two years, in a bid to stay fit.
When I was in school, you could see students play table tennis almost everywhere, he remembers.
We had ping-pong school teams, and almost all the schools held ping-pong competitions every year -- that's why many people in my age play very well.
His own interest was piqued in 1959 when, 10 years after the founding of communist China, Rong Guotuan became the country's first world champion not just in table tennis, but in any sport.
That's how it became popular, he said.
Almost all the Chinese started to play ping-pong since then.
The skyscrapers of Beijing's business district tower over the tables, tucked away in a quiet corner in Qingfeng Park.
Even as temperatures plunge to freezing, Ren and his wife have to compete for a table with fellow ping-pong lovers.
The park's 10 public tables are usually packed from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm.
People come bundled up against the cold in hats and gloves, wearing face masks because of the ever-present threat of the coronavirus -- but as they heat up, bouncing around the court, the layers gradually start coming off.
It's a scene replicated in parks across the city.
Anyone can play here without booking, but must bring their own bats and balls.
Some even come on their own to practise, hitting balls repeatedly over the net -- by the end, dozens lie scattered on the ground.
Most of the players are older men but there are women too, also usually retirees. For many, ping-pong harks back to their childhood and is a way to remain active even as they enter late life.
Ren and his wife live nearby and play for about an hour each day.
Many of those playing in the park also see China's enduring success in the sport as a source of national pride -- at the 2016 Rio Olympics, China won all four gold medals.
China wins almost every international ping-pong competition nowadays, said Ren's wife Bi Jinglan, 70.
So for the Chinese, we are very proud and delighted to play ping-pong.