Han Ying is a German table tennis player of Chinese origin and one of the most accomplished modern defenders in women’s table tennis. She was born in 1983 in China and later became a key member of the German national team, especially in team competitions and European events. Her game is built around extreme consistency, calmness under pressure and a very clear defensive identity.
She plays right‑handed with shakehand grip, using short pips on the backhand and inverted rubber on the forehand. On the backhand she produces very heavy backspin from mid‑ and far distance, mixing float and cut to force errors or weak loops. With the forehand she can both chop safely and suddenly counterattack with precise, flat topspins, so that opponents never know whether the next ball will be pure defence or a surprise attack.
Internationally, Han Ying has won multiple medals with the German women’s team, including Olympic silver in Rio 2016, and has been a permanent presence around the top of the world rankings for many years. She is particularly feared in team competitions and at European tournaments, where her stability and experience often decide tight matches. For material players and defenders, she is a textbook example of how to combine classical short‑pips defence with modern, proactive tactics at the highest level.