Student table tennis champ heads to World University Games

Before the opening ceremonies of the World University Games, table tennis player Gina Fu ’28 needed to squeeze in extra training – and a bit of financial modeling for her summer internship.

Fu, one of Canada’s top table tennis players and a statistics and economics major in the College of Arts and Sciences, is set to compete in the 2025 International University Sports Federation Summer World University Games. The table tennis competition kicks off July 17 in Germany. She’ll compete in women’s singles, women’s doubles and women’s teams.

Recognized by the International Olympic Committee, the Summer World University Games bring together student-athletes from around the world to compete every other year. This year, athletes will compete in 18 sports, from 3x3 basketball (including 3x3 wheelchair basketball) to archery and water polo.

“It’s really cool to see how other student athletes balance academics and their sports career,” she said, “This event lets us all come together and celebrate.”

Fu began playing when she was 6 years old, tagging along with her grandparents every weekend to play table tennis at their local community center in Hong Kong. She loved the speed and competitiveness of the sport. It taught her how to handle pressure.

“It’s really fast paced,” she said. “You have so little time to make decisions.”

At 15, Fu moved to Toronto, where she attended high school and joined Canada’s national table tennis team.

She has played in multiple Pan American Championships, and in 2022 she competed against the top 30 players in the world at the Commonwealth Games in the United Kingdom.

At Cornell, she is vice president of the Table Tennis Club. She and the team practice three times a week in Appel Commons Community Center.

The club team grew in popularity and competitiveness this year, Fu said. In April they traveled to the College Table Tennis National Championships in Rockford, Illinois, where the women’s team placed second.

As the spring semester closed, Fu knew she’d likely have the opportunity to play in the University Games, so she lined up an internship she could do remotely.

In the future she hopes to coach kids in table tennis, alongside building a career in banking. “It’s part of my identity, and it always will be,” she said.

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