A crouching tiger on the dance floor?

Chinese table tennis player Zhang Jike has got Twitter fans abuzz with a unique, eye-catching on-court gesture

May 02, 2015 03:27 pm | Updated April 02, 2016 07:41 pm IST - Suzhou (China)

Chinese table tennis player Zhang Jike’s motion of lying on the floor to give way for a teammate’s ball return has triggered wide imitation among fans.

In the men’s doubles second round at the World Championships here, Jike, twice a singles World Champion, crouched on the floor to give teammate Xu Xin a clear way to return the ball on Wednesday, reports Xinhua.

Zhang’s picture was later posted on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) website and the governing body launched “Do The Zhang Jike” on Twitter, which obtained active response worldwide among table tennis fans.

Talking about the gesture, Zhang said he had to do it otherwise the ball would have been blocked by his body, comparing himself as a Sumo wrestler.

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