In January 2007, Deng Yaping was appointed Deputy Director of the Olympic Village Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG). Since then, people who know the former Olympic gold medalist for table tennis have begun to call her "village head."

Not many Chinese people would fail to recognize the face of the 35-year-old, who once dominated table tennis and won 18 world champion titles and four Olympic gold medals during her sporting career. She has so far been the only women's single player to win Olympic gold medals in table tennis in two consecutive games.

"The difficulty of managing the Olympic Village well and winning an Olympic title is roughly the same," said Deng. She explained that both missions require a strong sense of responsibility and leave little room for any mistake. "The Olympic Village Department has to work as a team in managing the Olympic Village," she said.

Deng believes that her experience of living in several Olympic Villages has provided her with good references for her current job. "Being an athlete for many years, I know exactly what kind of Olympic Village an athlete needs. When I worked as a member of the Athletes' Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), we had to take turns to be stationed at the Olympic Village during the Olympic Games. I spent a great deal of time at different Olympic Village during that period, which improved my knowledge of facilities in them."

Sweet home

"The Olympic Village should be first and foremost a home for the athletes," Deng said. To ensure that athletes give their best performances at the Beijing Games, village administrators should make them feel at home with the most considerate service, Deng added. When receiving visiting officials from Olympic committees of other countries and regions, she always asks for their suggestions to improve the operation of the Beijing Olympic Village.

Deng said facilities in the Beijing Olympic Village will not be significantly different from those of previous Olympic Games since it has to meet IOC standards. Decoration of the Beijing Olympic Village, according to Deng, will not be luxurious but will include elements of Chinese culture.

Since the Olympic Village will also accommodate athletes for the Special Olympics, Deng and her colleagues have worked on details in design to make life there more comfortable for disabled athletes. "For example, all wardrobe bars in the athletes' apartments have been lowered to the perfect height for wheelchair-confined athletes," Deng said.

There are many similar examples. "These details in redesigning are simple, but have taken a lot of thinking about. A lot of work needs to be done to make the Olympic Village a home to all athletes," Deng said.

Impossible is nothing

Anybody who has ever watched Deng in competition will have little doubt of her capacity and determination to achieve in whatever she does.

The legendary player with 18 world titles to her credit was physically unfit for her sport. Standing five feet one inch, she was once refused by an amateur sports school. Luckily, Deng received good home schooling from her father, a table tennis coach. He told young Deng that her only winning chip lay in becoming an aggressive player with faster ball speed and faster steps.

At the age of 13, Deng won her first national title by defeating a world champion. Despite this, the national team rejected her due to her height. Her victories over the next year quickly landed her a spot in the national team.

Deng believes that her admission to the national team also boosted the confidence of other athletes who are not blessed with the perfect physical shape. "Seeing my success, they can believe they still have a chance," Deng said.

Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC President from 1980 until 2001, has said on different occasions that Deng was his favorite table tennis player. "I like her character and I had the great honor of presenting her with her medals at the Olympic Games in both Barcelona and Atlanta," he said.

Deng does not conceal the unyielding personality that helped her to win. "Whatever games I competed in, as long as I stood in front of the table, I would try my best to win. The court is no place to show your soft side, even for a second," she said.

After she retired in 1997, she was admitted by the prestigious Tsinghua University to study for a Bachelor's degree in the English language. At the entrance test, Deng struggled to write down all the 26 characters. To catch up with her classmates, she studied 14 hours every day. The same year she received her Bachelor's degree, Deng was admitted by the Business School of the University of Nottingham in Britain for her Master's degree. Then she went on to get her doctorate in economics at Cambridge University. During her days at Cambridge University, she was an active student in the classroom. Her professor once jokingly said one could tell she was a former world champion by seeing how hard she studied.

Deng has been working for BOCOG since its foundation in December 2001. In her spare time, she works as a volunteer for the Beijing Olympic Games.

"I take part in any activity where my image can be used for charitable or promotional purposes," she said. "Being of service to the Olympic Games is nothing less spectacular than the experience of winning an Olympic gold medal."