BACK AFTER BURNOUT : Chinese Ping-Pong player, who at 23 gave up sport, came back from retirement to earn national title in U.S.

At age 23, Wei Wang retired from professional table tennis, moved to the United States to attend college and said she would never compete again.

“For Chinese player, you’re old at 23,” Wei said. “You’re done . I was burned out because I had played for so long.

“But I guess word got around that I was here in U.S. and other Ping-Pong players wanted me to play. I said, ‘No way. I’m burned out. I’m already retired for good.’ Then they said, ‘At least teach us.’ So I did and I’ve had good results.”

After teaching the game for several years, Wei decided she wanted to play again. She came out of retirement in 1988 and at 30, is a national table tennis champion. Last year she made the U.S. national team.

The United States Table Tennis Assn. allows foreigners to compete on the national team except in Olympic events. Wei will miss the Olympic Festival in July and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona because she is not eligible to become a U.S. citizen until December 1992.

“That is really frustrating,” Wei said. “I really want to be in the Olympics. But that’s the way the rules are.”

Wei’s American table tennis career started in 1986 when she moved to Alhambra with some friends. She took an intense, eight-month English course and started teaching table tennis. Two years ago, one of Wei’s longtime students asked her to teach in the South Bay.

“At the beginning we had some kids that had absolutely no idea what table tennis was,” Wei said. “Now they know and they really like it.”

In 1989, Wei helped the Manhattan Beach Recreation Department start a table tennis program.

“At first it was tough getting our minimum amount of students for classes, but now we have the maximum,” Manhattan Beach Recreation Coordinator Jim Grudgen said. “She’s one of the finest instructors in the country because she learned from one of the top programs in the world.”

The 5-foot-3 Wei started playing the game when she was 10. When she was 13, Wei earned a living competing for a professional team in Beijing. During her 10-year pro career, she was ranked among China’s top five women.

“She’s one of the best because she learned from the best,” Grudgen said. “She really knows the mechanics of the game.”

Wei continues to make a living teaching, although she spends a lot of time competing. She also teaches in Orange County and the San Gabriel Valley.

She says it was difficult to be around the game for so long without competing. That’s why she decided to give it another try.

“I hadn’t played in about three years and at first it was really hard,” Wei said. “I didn’t have the confidence to do it. I used to lose a lot and I thought ‘I lost my skill. I can’t do this any more.’ ”

It wasn’t long however, before Wei was in top form. In December 1988, she won the women’s open title at the North American Championships in Las Vegas. In February 1989, she won the All-Stars singles title in Pittsburgh, Pa. That tournament attracts the country’s top women players.

Wei also won last year’s National Championships in San Diego. In April she helped the U.S. National team place 17th out of approximately 50 teams at the World Championships in Japan. On June 20-23 she will compete in the U.S. Open, which will be held in Santa Monica.

“I’m glad I’m playing again,” Wei said. “I missed it because I really like the sport a lot. Not playing wasn’t as easy as I thought.”

Wei has been ranked among the country’s top three women in 1991. In addition to winning big events, she’s swept more than 15 tournaments in the past two years, often beating top-notch male players.

“She’s very intense,” said Wei’s husband, Diego Schaaf, whom she met at a tournament four years ago. “She’s friendly and talkative, but she’s a different person when you see her on the court. She’s very serious.”

Schaaf, an intermediate player, takes lessons from his wife. He says her method of teaching is unique.

“People really like her style because she’s hands-on,” he said. “Lots of coaches stand by and tell students what to do. She actually plays with them and that really helps.”

Wei also trains intensely for up to two hours a day. A year ago she made an instructional video that has received favorable response. She’s also written a series of articles for the United States Table Tennis Assn.

“Sure I still want to win, but now I play for pleasure,” Wei said. “I will still try my best to push as hard as I can to improve.”

At the moment, retirement is the last thing on Wei’s mind.