Synopsis
After taking a position as a table tennis coach in Italy, Dai Min Jia (Deng Chao) thought all his ties with China’s men’s national table tennis team had been severed. Having retired from the team at the age of twenty-four, Min Jia has put that part of his life behind him. But when he’s approached with an offer to coach his former team, he finds it hard to say no.
Hesitant to take on the task of coaching a team on a heavy downward spiral, Min Jia isn’t sure coaching China’s team is worth the trouble. But with his wife Wang Ying (Sun Li) heavily pregnant, he decides it’s time to leave Italy and settle back down in his home country. Taking the job, Min Jia sets about the nearly impossible task of breaking the team’s losing streak and getting them back on their feet.
Over the next five years, Min Jia guides his team through numerous ups and downs. Training hard and competing even harder, will Min Jia be able to lead his underdog team to victory?
Inspired by actual events, “Ping Pong: The Triumph” is a 2023 Chinese sports film directed by Deng Chao and Yu Bai Mei.