By Justin Kor

When it comes to the Commonwealth Games, paddler Feng Tianwei reigns supreme. Her achievements have been astonishing, her numbers legendary. Eight golds, three silvers and a bronze makes her the Games’ most decorated paddler.

Smashing her way into the history books, it is little wonder that she recently came in 3rd out of 13 nominees in a Commonwealth Games GOAT (Greatest of All Time) poll. From heartbreak to history, from young gun to grizzled veteran, we revisit her memorable moments and chart her evolution at the Games.

UNLEASHED IN DELHI

“I want to win the gold medals.”

Nothing but perfection was the goal for Feng as she prepared to make her Games debut in 2010. Then the world No.2, the pressure was on her to deliver in India’s capital of New Delhi. But she simply shrugged it off. “It’s always there, you just have to deal with it,” she had said.

Dealt with it she did. After leading Team Singapore as flagbearer at the opening ceremony, she also flew the country’s flag high at the Yamuna Sports Complex. Against a heavily backed Indian team on home ground, she helped the Republic defend their Commonwealth crown in the women’s team final. Riding on this momentum, the debutant then drove her way through to become the women’s singles champion.

Unfortunately, she was unable to complete a perfect set of golds in the women’s events, after she and doubles partner Wang Yuegu fell short in the final. Nonetheless, it was an utterly dominant performance from Singapore’s paddlers as they swept six of the seven golds on offer, marking their best showing at the Games.

GLORY IN GLASGOW

Having narrowly missed out on a clean sweep of golds in India, Feng headed for Scotland four years later looking to set things straight. Now the women’s team captain, she not only had to live up to expectations, but also lead.

Relishing her newfound responsibilities, the then World No.4 first steered the women’s team to glory with a 3-1 victory over Malaysia in the final. She then accomplished her aim of complete dominance in the women’s events, defending her title as singles champion and finally capturing that elusive doubles gold with Yu Mengyu.

While Feng’s Glasgow outing was largely a success, she also suffered a shocker. In the mixed doubles semi-final, the unheralded English pair of Liam Pitchford and Ho Tin-Tin had stunned her and Zhan Jian – the top seeds in the competition – in a 3-2 victory. Losing the bronze-medal match also meant that it marked the only time that Feng has failed to be on the podium at the Commonwealth Games so far.

Despite the blip, Singapore’s paddlers had produced yet another commanding performance by bagging six golds – equalling their record haul four years earlier.

NO GOLD RUSH IN GOLD COAST

Win it all. That was the target set by the Singapore Table Tennis Association ahead of the 2018 Games in Gold Coast. While the Australian city may be famous for Surfers Paradise, the talismanic Feng and her fellow paddlers were unable to ride on their wave of past Commonwealth successes there.

Singapore’s proud streak of winning every women’s team gold at the Games came to an end as its paddlers fell to India in the final. Individually, Feng also could not complete a hat-trick of women’s singles golds, finishing with a bronze. There was a little moment of redemption when she and Yu managed to defend their title in the women’s doubles. But it was scant consolation.

After gunning for seven golds, Singapore only ended up with three, marking the first time it had failed to top the medal table in table tennis at the Games. “I got a medal of every colour, but overall I’m a bit disappointed,” Feng had admitted.

BOUNCING BACK IN BIRMINGHAM

Now in twilight of her career, Feng is in England a very different athlete. No longer the force of nature that dominated in Scotland and India, she has morphed into a battle-hardened veteran bringing some much-needed experience and calm to a young team of starlets – half of whom are making their Games debut in Birmingham. However, one thing remains the same: an unyielding resolve to win. She is out to right what went wrong in Australia.

She is off to a good start, with the women’s team having already reclaimed their gold after trumping Malaysia 3-0 in the final, and beating teammate Zeng Jian to the women’s singles title. The double victory is also a historic one for Feng as it propels her outright as the Games’ most bemedalled paddler, eclipsing Li Jiawei’s haul of 10 medals. The tournament’s top seed now turns her attention to the doubles event. Can this Commonwealth legend stage what is likely a final hurrah and go all the way? We can’t wait to find out.