Today's National Feather can be described as a family in the middle of the road, whether it is men's singles or women's singles, from the ruler to the challenger. Today's national feathers are anxious about the lack of good players, but once lost some players due to fierce competition, and Pi Hongyan is one of them. Due to being kicked out of the country, Pi Hongyan had a huge pressure in life, had to go to Europe, and joined the French nationality, and the Beijing Olympic Games almost defeated the Olympic champion Zhang Ning.
Pi Hongyan, who began practicing at the age of 8, was selected for the national team at the age of 18 and showed a good talent. In the 1999 US Open, 20-year-old Pi Hongyan won the championship. However, shortly after returning to China, Pi Hongyan was transferred to the Sichuan team. Coach Wang Junjie's explanation is that Pi Hongyan is only 1 meter 64, and the development of playing style is not promising. In this way, a player who had just helped The National Feather win the championship was kicked out of the national team.
After returning to the provincial team, Pi Hongyan can only participate in 2 games a year, earning less than 600 yuan per month. Faced with such a dilemma, Pi Hongyan once thought of retiring. It was at this time that a Danish club extended an olive branch and invited her to go. In 2001, at the age of 22, Pi Hongyan traveled to Denmark, during which time she received an invitation from the French team. Initially, the French team asked Pi Hongyan to be a sparring partner, but she refused. Half a year later, the French team issued an official invitation, and Pi Hongyan gladly agreed this time, because she could not wait for a call from Guoyu. In the 2003 French Open Badminton Championships, Pi Hongyan won the women's singles championship for the host, showing her own standards and becoming a veritable sister of the French team.
In January 2004, Pi Hongyan's world rankings had risen to eighth place. A month before the Athens Olympic Games, Pi Hongyan finally obtained a French passport and represented the French team in the Olympic Games, but because of a sprained ankle before the game, she stopped in the round of 32. After recovering from injury, Pi Hongyan's status continued to rise, winning the French Open women's singles championship for three consecutive years, showing a very high level. On February 18, 2005, Pi Hongyan's world ranking came to second place, becoming the main opponent of The National Feather.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Pi Hongyan went out again. In the women's singles quarterfinals, Pi Hongyan met defending champion Zhang Ning. In this game, Pi Hongyan started very smoothly, and she easily won the first set 21-8. In the second game, Zhang Ning found his form, the two played very fiercely, and Pi Hongyan finally lost 19-21. Coming to the decider, Pi Hongyan once again lost 19-21 and was reversed 1-2. Being able to win this game shows that Zhang Ning's psychological quality is very strong, but it also surprises everyone into a cold sweat.
In August 2009, Pi Hongyan, who was over 30 years old, still competed in top competitions such as the World Championships, and she met Xie Xingfang in the semi-finals, but lost 0-2, which was also another loss to her opponents after the 2006 World Championships, but it also created her personal world championship best. After playing in the London Olympics, the 33-year-old Pi Hongyan chose to retire and began to live the life of a husband and son.
After traveling to France, Pi Hongyan not only won the honor, but also gained love. After going to France, Pi Hongyan went to school to learn French while playing ball, and met her current husband Nicola, a main member of the French sailing team and a world-class champion. Today, Pi Hongyan and her husband have the eldest son Matisse and a young daughter, and the family of four now settles in Marseille.
Despite her happy life, Pi Hongyan still has some regrets: "The biggest regret and loss is that she cannot stand on the podium on behalf of the Chinese national team and listen to the national anthem." Pi Hongyan said it was her dream, and that dream was particularly strong during the 2008 Olympics. Pi Hongyan also said that at that time, all the audience cheered Zhang Ning, and the taste was very uncomfortable.