We Are Butterfly Club Feature: Passion Leads the Way at New York International Table Tennis Center
by Barbara Wei

A lifetime of passion and determination from New York International Table Tennis Center (NYITTC) founder and Coach Li Yuxiang culminates in the 8 table 5,000 square foot training facility in Flushing, NY (Queens, NYC). 10 years ago, in 2005, Coach Li founded the club with the goal of popularizing table tennis in the US through professional coaching, training and development. Although the club had humble beginnings, it prospered under the leadership of Coach Li. Today, the club has over 45 members and is open 7 days a week for open play, group training and private lessons. In addition, the club runs USATT sanctioned tournaments and focuses on increasing the popularity of the sport locally within the Flushing and NYC communities.

Coach Li has over 50 years of global experience in the sport of table tennis, having trained professionally since the age of 10. After collecting such prestigious top honors as Chinese National Men’s Singles Champion (1977), Chinese National Teams Champion (1978) and Chinese National Doubles Champion (1978) in his native China, he chose to move abroad to share his passion for the sport. Starting in 1985, Coach Li traveled to Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Japan to coach some of today’s table tennis legends including Rye Seungmin (Korea), Vladimir Samsonov (Belarus), Michael Maze (Denmark) and Koji Matsushita (Japan). Recently within the US, Coach Li has helped develop the Alguetti Brothers (Sharon, Adar, Gal) who are now topping the US Cadet Boy’s rankings.

In the future, NYITTC and Coach Li hope to continue promoting and expanding the sport of table tennis in the local Flushing, NYC community and abroad. By growing and professionalizing the sport for many years to come, Coach Li hopes to be a part of growing table tennis in the US.