On August 16, 2008, the women's singles final of the Beijing Olympics badminton staged an eye-catching Chinese derby. The battle between Xie Xingfang and Zhang Ning attracted the attention of global audiences. Xie Xingfang took the lead in winning the first game with a score of 21-15, and victory was in sight.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Ning became more and more courageous, reversed two games in succession, and finally won the championship. Xie Xingfang burst into tears on the field, and although she hung up the silver medal, she felt like she was carrying a thousand pounds of burden.
"I'm just a little bit ......," Xie Xingfang said in a choked up after the match. Yes, it was just a little bit away from her Olympic dream.
Looking back at 2005, when Xie Xingfang defeated Zhang Ning in the final of the World Championships to win the championship, no one could compare to the scenery for a while. In 2006, she successfully defended her World Championship title and secured the No. 1 ranking in the world.
Xie Xingfang's regret for this silver medal is difficult to let go, but the will of God does not fulfill people's wishes. In November 2009, Xie Xingfang retired in regret and has since moved to the business world.
Surprisingly, Xie Xingfang's life script does not have only one card. In December 2010, her marriage to Lin Dan, the king of the badminton world, was eye-catching, and this "strong team" drama left a deep impression on the world.
In 2016, Lin Dan was exposed to a cheating scandal, and the situation was not optimistic. Xie Xingfang cried again in public.
"I choose to forgive him." Xie Xingfang said this. What a familiar scene, like returning to that Olympic arena, she stood up resolutely again.
Xie Xingfang, 42, while working as an executive in a company, also takes care of family responsibilities, strives to maintain her marriage and educate her children. Judging by her current state, she has found a temporary point of harmony.
Xie Xingfang's story tells us that both in the Olympic arena and in the arena of life, there is a lot of uncertainty. It's not about how many gold medals you win, it's about how you bounce back from your failures.
Perhaps, this is the real "gold medal life".
Handicap, as an unspoken rule common in competitive sports, has staged a series of tragedies and comedies in the Chinese table tennis team. Jiao Zhimin and He Zhili, these two talented players, have completely changed their life trajectories because of their different attitudes towards handicaps.
Jiao Zhimin, who used to be the leader of the Chinese women's table tennis team, has comprehensive skills and excellent strength. However, her career was full of heartache. In three World Table Tennis Championships, she was asked to concede in the semifinals.
"I've conceded five times in eight years of international competition because I don't want to play anymore." Many years later, Jiao Zhimin said with tears in his eyes in an interview. In 1989, she resolutely decided to retire and finally chose to marry Korea.
On the other hand, He Zhili also faced the situation of being asked to handlie the ball in the 39th World Table Tennis Championships in 1987. But she resolutely refused and defeated teammate Guan Jianhua with a score of 3:0 to successfully advance to the final and win the eventual championship.
This decision made her a world champion, but she also lost her qualification for the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
"We only signed up for one women's singles event, while the rest of the team had to compete in doubles and team events. If I lose, I have nothing. He Zhili explained after the game.
The choice of these two people, one chooses to obey and the other chooses to rebel. However, the results were not as good as they could have been. Jiao Zhimin chose to obey, but in exchange for inner torment and regret; And He Zhili chose to resist, although she won the honor, but also paid the price.
Jiao Zhimin and He Zhili, two table tennis players, married to Korea and Japan respectively, continued their table tennis careers in foreign countries. Jiao Zhimin played in Japan clubs until he was in his 30s, and He Zhili won the women's singles championship for Japan at the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games under the name "Tomori Koyama".
This story teaches us that everyone has a choice when faced with injustice. But whatever the choice, take responsibility for your own decisions. Jiao Zhimin and He Zhili fight against fate in their own ways, maybe this is their best answer to life.
When people talk about Qiao Hong, their first reaction is often: "Oh, Deng Yaping's partner!" Indeed, under Deng Yaping's bright aura, Qiao Hong seems to always be a supporting role like a green leaf.
In 1989, Qiao Hong successfully won the women's singles championship at the World Championships, and partnered with Deng Yaping to win the women's doubles championship, becoming famous in one fell swoop. However, with the rise of Deng Yaping, Qiao Hong's light was gradually obscured.
At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Qiao Hong and Deng Yaping worked together to win the women's doubles gold medal. However, in the women's singles final, she lost to Deng Yaping and only won the runner-up.
At the 1995 Tianjin World Table Tennis Championships, history played out again. Doubles partners Qiao Hong and Deng Yaping successfully won the women's doubles title, but Deng Yaping defeated her in the women's singles final and won the championship again.
At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Qiao Hong and Deng Yaping won the women's doubles championship again, but in the women's singles event, Qiao Hong only won the bronze medal.
Qiao Hong was nicknamed "Green Leaf" and "Deng Yaping's foil" by the media and fans. However, we can't ignore that a player who can advance to the finals many times is definitely not weak.
She just unfortunately met Deng Yaping, a famous table tennis player known as the "Big Demon King".
Qiao Hong also suffered a deep lovelorn in her love life. Her boyfriend Zhou Xingjiang proposed to break up because of low self-esteem, which made Qiao Hong struggle in the pain of falling out of love for many years.
may be because of this relationship, Qiao Hong did not enter the marriage hall until she was 50 years old, and she has no children of her own.
Qiao Hong's story tells us that life is mostly unsatisfactory. Even if you are good, you may meet people who are better than you. But that doesn't mean you're useless.
Qiao Hong's strong perseverance and unremitting struggle have made her life a legend.
Perhaps, this never-give-up spirit is the real champion quality.
Lai Yawen, Ma Yunwen, Wang Yimei, three outstanding female volleyball players, the story is like the "regret trilogy" of the Chinese women's volleyball team. They have all been in the main team of the national team, but unfortunately they have missed the gold medal in the world championship schedule again and again.
Lai Yawen, a legendary star of the Chinese women's volleyball team in the 90s, was as tall as 1.87 meters tall and was known as the first vice attack in Asia at that time. In the 10 years she has competed in the national team, she has participated in 8 international competitions, including 2 Olympic Games, 3 World Cups, and 3 World Championships.
However, in these 8 major tournaments, Lai Yawen was the main secondary attacker, but he never lifted the world championship trophy.
In 1999, Lai Yawen retired with tears and deep regret. Four years later, she returned to the Chinese women's volleyball team as an assistant coach and helped the team realize her dream of becoming a world champion. In 2003, the Chinese women's volleyball team won the World Cup, and Lai Yawen was so excited on the sidelines that she burst into tears, like a child.
Finally, at this moment, my years of grievances and unwillingness were released.
Ma Yunwen is the main secondary attack of the Beijing Olympics and the London Olympics, and in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she helped the Chinese women's volleyball team win the bronze medal; At the 2012 London Olympics, the Chinese women's volleyball team stopped in the quarterfinals.
Ma Yunwen, who was in the year of fighting, was abandoned by Lang Ping, and her dream of being a world champion and an Olympic champion was shattered.
Finally, let's talk about Wang Yimei, a super attacker known as "another Lang Ping". In the 2006 Women's Volleyball World Championships, she ranked 2nd and 3rd in both the total scoring list and the service list, so she was praised by foreign media as "another Lang Ping".
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she was the team's leading scorer. At the 2012 London Olympics, she still played an important role.
However, since Lang Ping coached the national team in 2013, Wang Yimei was abandoned due to weaknesses in one-pass and defense. To this day, at the age of 35, she is still single and unmarried, and her personal youth seems to be dedicated to volleyball.
The stories of these three girls make people sigh at the hardships of the road to the championship. They used their own way to interpret the spirit of the women's volleyball team of "not abandoning, not giving up".
Jiao Zhimin married Korea, He Zhili went to Japan for development, and Ma Yunwen moved to United States. When the doors of their homeland closed to them, these female athletes chose to leave for another chapter in their lives.
Jiao Zhimin's story has the most twists and turns. After retiring in 1989, she did not hesitate to choose to marry Korea Hideyuki Koyama. After going abroad, she picked up a racket again and played for Japan clubs.
However, cultural differences and huge gaps in living habits caused Jiao Zhimin to divorce in 2000. Today's Jiao Zhimin is 59 years old, still single, with no children and no daughters.
Her face is full of vicissitudes, and people can't help but sigh.
Ho's story is even more dramatic. Originally, after retiring in 1989, she chose to stay away from China and continue playing in Japan. However, by the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games, Ho had changed her name to Koyama and represented Japan in the competition.
In the women's singles competition, she defeated Chinese players Qiao Hong and Deng Yaping one after another, and finally won the women's singles championship! This scene undoubtedly made countless Chinese people feel emotional. Every time she hits a good ball, Ho Chi-ri always excitedly shouts "Yaxi" in Japanese.
However, this has sparked backlash and attacks from the domestic media and fans.
The path Ma Yunwen chose was relatively gentle. In 2019, after retiring from the Shanghai women's volleyball team, she chose to marry United States. Her husband Leiter, who is 1.92 meters tall, was a physical trainer of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
Ma Yunwen has given birth to a daughter and is living happily in a foreign country.
These stories teach us that an athlete's life should not be limited to the field. At the same time that one door closes, perhaps another window is opening. Jiao Zhimin, He Zhili and Ma Yunwen used their own stories to explain: The excitement of life lies not only in the glory on the field, but also in how to rewrite life in adversity.
This may be the real "champion life", right?