The biggest obstacle in Deng Yaping's Table Tennis career was not her opponents, but her height. When she was 9 years old she won a provincial junior championship but was denied a place on the provincial team because she was too short. In 1988, when she was 13 years old, Deng won the national championship, but was refused a spot on the national team because she was too short. The national coaching staff finally gave in and, in 1989, Deng, still only 16 years old, teamed with Qiao Hong to win the doubles title at the world championships. In 1991, by which time she had topped out at 1.49 meters tall, Deng defeated Li Bun-hui of North Korea to win the singles world championship.

     At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Deng and Qiao won the doubles title. In the final they beat their Chinese teammates, Chen Zihe and Gao Jun 21-13, 14-21, 21-14, 21-19. Two days later, Deng and Qiao faced each other in the singles final. Deng won the first two games easily, 21-6 and 21-8.