China's Liu Wei admitted to Jurade de Saint-Emilion

SAINT-EMILION, France, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's former world table tennis champion Liu Wei has been admitted to the Jurade de Saint-Emilion, an ancient tradition which honors people who have made a great contribution to world culture and history.

The seven-time world champion has been working on innovative approaches to physical education and spreading of table tennis culture around the globe since she retired as a player in 1996.

"It's an honor, not only for me, but also for all of the table tennis players in the world," Liu said in the induction ceremony.

An associate professor at the prestigious Peking University since 2003, Liu received a PhD degree in 2015.

Sports stars previously inducted in the Jurade de Saint-Emilion included Zinedine Zidane (football), Henri Leconte (tennis), Aurelien Bonneteau (cycling) and Thomas Castagnede (Rugby).