By Neha Aggarwal

Posing for the Men’s Uno Magazine, photographed by Jumbo Tsui, a famous fashion photographer in China, Zhang Jike simply looked “stunning”.

He described his current life as “Still busy, still have no holidays during the Chinese new year, still focused on table tennis.”

He is one of the most famous athletes in China; he has more than 7.8 million followers on Weibo. His fans adore his versatile persona. His colossal talent and success as an athlete along with his style, good looks and quirkiness makes him a complete superstar.

He knows the reason for his stardom. He said, “I act as myself, I think that’s why many people follow me.”

On Saturday 31st December 2016, he released his own song titled “Xin Cang”. Within nine days of the release, over 1,90,000 audio tapes have been sold. The song translates to, “Pursuing the dream is difficult, but thanks for you trusting me and supporting me.”

“Be yourself, dream your dream”- Zhang Jike

According to statistics released by Sina Sports in December 2016, Zhang Jike alone accounted for 10 per cent of all Olympic related searches during the Rio Olympic Games in August on Sina Weibo. On Thursday 15th December 2016, the Grand Slam champion received the Most Popular Male Athlete of the Year award at the prestigious China Top 10 Benefiting Laureus Sports for Good Awards held in Beijing, China.

There is more to him. In the new year, he plans to overcome his injuries and make a comeback with great success.

“This year will soon end. In the coming new year, I will work even harder. That is for the team and much more for the glory of China. I will be giving everyone more surprises”- Zhang Jike