Liu Jia

Liu Jia
Liu Jia in Vienna, Austria in 2008
Full name	Liu Jia
Nickname(s)	Susi
Nationality	Austria
Residence	Linz, Austria
Born	(1982-02-16) 16 February 1982 (age 35) Beijing, China
Playing style	Shakehand
Equipment(s)	Tibhar
Highest ranking	9 (2005, 2014)
Current ranking	25 (August 2016)
Club	Linz AG Froschberg
Height	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Weight	46 kg (101 lb; 7.2 st)

Liu Jia (Chinese: 刘佳; born 16 February 1982 in Beijing, China) is a female Chinese-born table tennis player who now represents Austria.

From 1992 to 1995 Liu attended Shischa Sporting High School in Beijing. Afterwards she became a member of professional club Shian Nuntan, where she played with Zhang Yining. Despite Liu's successes as a Cadet and Junior, competition within the Chinese team was strong and prospects for a future international career were dim. Instead of following a call to Japan, Liu travelled to Austria when the opportunity arose to play for Austrian team Linz AG Froschberg.

She arrived in March 1997 without speaking either German or English, but quickly learned German within the year that she settled in Austria. She won the 1st International Austrian Youth Championships soon after her arrival. On 16 February 1998, her sixteenth birthday, she became an Austrian citizen and a member of the Austrian table tennis squad. Husband David Arvidsson is an international Danish table tennis player.

Liu continued her success on youth level by taking Gold in the Singles, Doubles and Mixed competition at the 1998 European Youth Championships in Norcia. In 1999, she once again claimed the Singles and Mixed titles in Frydek-Mistek.

She competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, reaching the third round of the singles competition in each of them. She also competed in the team competition in Beijing. In May 2011, she qualified for her fourth Olympic attendance in the 2012 London Olympics where she was knocked out in the third round.