Shi Zhihao's contribution to women's table tennis can also be described as indispensable, and his opinions can always be pointed to the point, playing a lot of key roles in the growth of women's table tennis.
In a sense, table tennis is Shi Zhihao's life, and he has always struggled unremittingly for this goal.
Understated gorgeous
In November 2005, the National Table Tennis Coach conference was held in Beijing Temple of Heaven Apartment.
At this time, China's table tennis has gone through more than 50 years of history, which is also the first open recruitment.
As one of the 8 candidates, Shi Zhihao also became one of the first people to "eat crabs".
If you think from the coach's point of view, coaching a weak team seems to be a simple thing, but women's table tennis is an "undefeated teacher" that always shines brightly, and coaching them is a huge challenge for any coach.
When talking about his task, Shi Zhihao also said: "The results of women's table tennis are really too good, it can be said that after I became the coach of the women's team, there is nothing that can be surpassed in terms of results, and the only thing that can be done seems to be to continue the brilliant achievements of the women's team at the Beijing Olympic Games." ”
At that time, women's table tennis has always been a prominent key team, and Deng Yaping, Wang Nan and now Zhang Yining in the past, betting all the "treasures" on one person is a risky thing in itself.
Facing the camera, he seems to be able to talk about some things about women's table tennis, and gradually, everyone will also focus on himself.
Shi Zhihao is an authentic Shanghainese man, and in front of the camera, he always calls himself a "Chinese".
He himself was born in Shanghai, went to Beijing at the age of 13, and then went to Japan and Germany, and after 9 years, he returned.
After close contact, it is not difficult to find that his body has the feeling of meticulousness and elegance like a Shanghai man, but in the process of coaching and even in life, he has the thick lines of the northerners.
Sometimes, he can't even figure out how much money he has in his wallet, because in his mind, career is always in the first place, and the rigor of doing things has some German cautious feelings.
He is a rational person, and when he encounters important things, he will also show a sexually anxious side, which may also be his unique personality charm.
These also seem to have invisibly affected his marriage.
As early as 1981, his success at the 36th World Table Tennis Championships also allowed him to reach the peak of his sports career, but after his relationship with his ex-wife Cao Yanhua was exposed, Shi Zhihao was "adjusted out of the team".
Based on this background, Shi Zhihao had to consider the next problem of survival.
It will not be a few years after the reform and opening up, the country is not rich, so the position of coach is not very abundant.
To this end, Shi Zhihao considered that there was an opportunity to earn money outside, and then chose to go abroad.
Only 4 months after he and his ex-wife Cao Yanhua were married, Cao Yanhua went to Japan to give lectures, Shi Zhihao also went, and a year later, in 1987, they went to Germany together and returned to Shanghai, in 1995.
After several years of experience abroad, Shi Zhihao has a more profound thinking about table tennis.
When he returned to Shanghai, the country's economy also improved, and based on his unique ability, Shi Zhihao also came to the Shanghai table tennis team to coach.
During the 1997 World Table Tennis Championships, Shi Zhihao accepted an invitation from a local TV station in Shanghai to serve as a commentator.
And it was this time that the unique vision of his speech really surprised everyone.
After Cai Zhenhua, deputy head coach of the Chinese table tennis team, saw it, he specially invited Shi Zhihao to Beijing to serve as the coach of the Chinese table tennis youth team.
In the new post, Shi Zhihao's life really shined, and he also completely showed his strength.
In 1999, he was also promoted to coach of the Chinese women's team, which was his first systematic exposure to women's table tennis.
For the invincible Chinese table tennis team, Shi Zhihao's view is always different from others, he once said: "The biggest pleasure of table tennis is to guess the opponent, if I guess you all, you can't fight with me, not to say that the other party has no ability to fight back." ”
After that, women's table tennis continued its glory, from Zhang Yining and Wang Nan in 2004 to Zhang Yining in 2008, these red names all over the streets and alleys are Shi Zhihao's proud protégés.
There is also a beloved apprentice, named Li Nan, who is the 2003 Asian Championship women's team, women's doubles, mixed doubles champion.
It is estimated that when Shi Zhihao was coaching Li Nan, he would never have thought that li Nan in front of him would be completely integrated into his life.
The first acquaintance of the two was probably around 1997, when Shi Zhihao, who had just returned to the national women's second team, was in his thirties, had both fame and fortune, had a successful career, and was full of vigor.
At that time, Li Nan was a teenager and his mind was not mature enough, and Shi Zhihao's deepest impression of him was: truth.
When happy, Li Nan's smile will be written on his face; When I was sad, the tears couldn't be stopped.
During the training camp in Huangshi that year, Li Nan lost a game, and his heart was twisted, followed by a round of nonsense.
Shi Zhihao suppressed his anger and calmly talked to her, but Li Nan still went his own way and was still unwilling to take it seriously in the next few games.
But Li Nan does have a confident capital: in the entire women's second team, she has maintained the level of the top three.
Shi Zhihao's anger surged, and he immediately gathered the team and announced a decision to everyone: to adjust Li Nan back to the Tianjin team.
After returning home, Li Nan gradually reflected on his mistakes and felt that some things were indeed overheated.
She finally let go of her pride and finally returned to the national team with her outstanding performance at the World Championships.
The two became masters and apprentices again, and Shi Zhihao also completely witnessed the potential of Li Nan, and he wanted to do a good job of this "Bole" and cultivate Li Nan into a seeded player of the national team.
Feeling the coach's good intentions, Li Nan trusted Shi Zhihao more, whether it was things on the court or in life, Li Nan was willing to confide in Shi Zhihao, and the feelings of the two gradually moved closer to the direction of father and daughter, which is also the reason why the difference between them is 22 years old.
After getting busier and busier, his relationship with his wife Cao Yanhua gradually faded, or went to divorce.
There is no doubt that the love between Shi Zhihao and Cao Yanhua is a true love, the two have lived through many difficult moments in life, and they have long been family with each other.
Shi Zhihao, who had experienced all this, once no longer believed in love, and in his eyes, no matter how strong the love, it would disappear.
Maybe it was too much of a blow, he didn't want to get married since then, for the most part, he wasn't young anymore.
If there is another girl to confess, then the other party is still not looking at him as a person, and it is difficult for him to have an answer in his heart.
In this way, he and Li Nan became "good friends", especially in 2004, when Li Nan's mood was the most depressed, and she always shared her joy with Shi Zhihao.
This also shows that in the depths of Li Nan's heart, she can already feel a strong sense of security from Shi Zhihao's body.
Although Li Nan did not say it explicitly, judging from the performance during this time, Li Nan already had a different good feeling for Shi Zhihao, but she herself did not know how to express it.
In this way, this state remained until 2008.
The Olympic Games at the doorstep of his home is a severe test for Shi Zhihao, that is, there can be no mistakes at all, otherwise, how can the sports projects that make the Chinese people proud be accountable to the people of the whole country?
When preparing for the Olympics, Shi Zhihao's pressure was already written on his face, and Li Nan had also grown into a big girl, and she could see it.
Li Nan understood very well that she never talked to Shi Zhihao about these issues, and those team members were her teammates.
This also made Shi Zhihao more firmly believe that Li Nan was the person he was looking for.
Shi Zhihao witnessed Li Nan's growth and decided to spend the rest of his years with Li Nan.
But in his heart, Shi Zhihao must consider the impact, he is the coach of the national team, if his girlfriend is his own little apprentice, then how to say it will be discussed.
In such a comparison, Li Nan is "bold" a lot, she thinks: you are single, I am also single, two people are free to love, no one has an impact, love how to say how to say.
After being together, Li Nan did not have a traditional sense of love.
Shi Zhihao's work was very busy, and he didn't have much time for Li Nan.
Li Nan also wants to play, the harvest of one season is still considerable, and she also wants to be independent.
But considering that if the love affair is announced to the public at this time, the love between a coach and a player will inevitably be criticized by many people, she still chose to leave the national team in 2009.
Soon, the two sides announced their relationship.
Shi Zhihao is older, and he has forgotten how to be romantic, when proposing, Shi Zhihao said: "I have no shortcomings except for being older." You are all this age, basically into the ranks of 'leftover fighters', almost. ”
Li Nan cried and laughed, and also accepted the marriage proposal, and the two received their marriage licenses on December 24, 2010, which was Christmas Eve in the West.
The wedding ceremony was held at the Crystal Palace Hotel in Tianjin, with only 6 tables.
After marriage, Li Nan's stomach quickly reacted, and Shi Zhihao knew that he was going to be a father again, and a strong sense of happiness surrounded him.
Keep on your journey
After Li Nan left the national team, Shi Zhihao felt that this girl had sacrificed too much for herself and would have to double her compensation in the future.
The daughter "smiled" and was born under the care of her parents.
After the establishment of a new family, Shi Zhihao had to devote himself to the court even more wholeheartedly.
However, during this time, Shi Zhihao was criticized by many Guo Yue's fans, believing that he was very eccentric.
It was on the evening of May 30, 2010, when women's table tennis lost the 17-year-old Cup of Cobilon.
Suddenly, this matter has become a topic that female table tennis fans are always talking about, as China's "dream team", but in Moscow planted a heel, it is natural not to be understood.
As a veteran fan who often waits in front of the TV to watch the game, in the women's table tennis final, the snow hid guo yue and Li Xiaoxia, two powerful players, and the two young players went to play the game.
This triggered the condemnation of fans: why did Shi Zhihao arrange such an important game in this way?
In response to the most concerned issues of the majority of fans, the coaching staff has never given a clear statement.
Logically, after the retirement of Wang Nan and Zhang Yining, Guo Yue should obviously become the successor of "First Sister", and her past achievements are enough to take over this position.
However, Guo Yue did not develop according to the plot, and she was getting farther and farther away from that position, which was very intriguing.
Many media also think that when writing analytical articles, coaches can accumulate experience according to their own preferences when selecting team members to play awards, but to promote Liu Shiwen so quickly, there is obviously some taste of seedlings, it is estimated that Shi Zhihao did not think of losing this ball before the game, so he will not release Guo Yue and Li Xiaoxia.
After that, according to Yang Ying, Guo Yue's body was injured.
This has deepened the suspicion of all the media, and everyone has targeted Shi Zhihao together.
The local media even went to the battlefield in person, and they specifically interviewed Guo Yue, who was practicing.
The reporter also quickly found that Guo Yue could practice from 8:30 to 11:30 in a class at that time, and in order to improve her physical fitness, she even tied a heavy sandbag on her leg, anyway, the reporter did not see any injuries to Guo Yue.
Moreover, Guo Yue's state has always been very good, which inevitably leads to speculation from the media: Guo Yue is hidden in the snow, and obviously has other hidden feelings.
Shi Zhihao once commented on Guo Yue: "She is relying on inspiration to play, her consciousness is ahead, but the basic skills are a little poor, and she is smart and needs to be practical." ”
Behind these words, people can also read a lot of information, a heavyweight player who has won the championship many times, why is the basic skill poor?
Moreover, in Lu Yuansheng's time, Guo Yue's performance seems to soon suppress the limelight of Wang Nan and Zhang Yining, but Shi Zhihao did not play cards according to common sense after he came to power, he would not take the initiative to emphasize "the general shuai lost peace", and would only use some other adjectives to express his meaning.
Some media also commented that because of Shi Zhihao's arrogance and prejudice, women's table tennis could only watch the champion and herself pass by.
However, some insiders said: "There is support behind the coach, which may also be the bold use of new talents for women's table tennis for the 2012 London Olympic Games." ”
The defeat in Moscow also made the women's table tennis head "cloudy" for a long time.
At the 2011 Polish Open Table Tennis Championships, Guo Yue lost the match 2:4 and was blocked out of the quarterfinals.
It was also the biggest underdog of the whole game.
But Shi Zhihao did not seem surprised by this, he told the reporter who came to interview: "Guo Yue lost, because her recent state is not good. ”
Previously, countless fans thought that Guo Yue should appear on the field of the London Olympic Games, but Shi Zhihao did not comment on anything when interviewed.
Just when everyone thought Shi Zhihao was right, in the team final of the 2012 London Olympic Games, Li Xiaoxia, Ding Ning and Guo Yue successfully defended their title with a 3-0 victory over the Japanese team, and Guo Yue successfully won his second Olympic gold medal.
This year, Shi Zhihao chose not to participate in the competition for the head coach of the women's team and stepped down from the position of coach for 8 years.
He said: "I believe that the young coaches in the future can take on this responsibility, and not participating in the competition will be of greater benefit to the sustainable development and continued glory of Chinese table tennis." ”
After him, the era of Kong Linghui was opened.
In 2018, the Papua New Guinea Training Center of the China Table Tennis Academy of Shanghai University of Sport was officially established.
Surprisingly, this time Shi Zhihao made another appearance, he and Zhang Yining personally came to guide, and there were 30 PNG national team members and table tennis enthusiasts involved.
According to reports, this is because PNG wants to use table tennis as a breakthrough in competitive sports, and even the image of the country and the nation, which is why it sought help from the INTERNATIONAL Table Tennis Federation.
The Shanghai Institute of Sport has actively responded to the call of the International Table Tennis Federation under such circumstances and has been preparing for this matter since May 2018.
With China's help, countless fans are looking forward to it, not knowing whether a top coach like Shi Zhihao can bring out a group of good students.
Today, Shi Zhihao is 63 years old, judging from the photos previously released, he looks a lot older, and he is more low-key after leaving the handsome position, as if all the past events have gradually faded.
Shi Zhihao is also the president of the Central Table Tennis Academy.
At the graduation ceremony in 2022, he sincerely hoped that you could use what you have learned in your life to take a new journey in life, and strive to realize your personal "dream of becoming a talent" and a great "Chinese dream".
It is not difficult to see that his focus at the moment is still education.
Until now, when netizens mentioned Shi Zhihao, they seemed to be still studying the matter of Guo Yue in the snow, which was also because Guo Yue's performance after leaving the national team was getting better and better, and he also participated in a lot of social activities, but everything eventually became history.
However, all this is just a smoke cloud of the past for Shi Zhihao, and his life is very exciting.
In marriage, the ex-wife and the second marriage disciple Li Nan; Coaching, from the national team to the PNG coaching; In terms of employment, from the disciple's name to the world to the abandonment of Guo Yue, it has caused controversy.
All right and wrong are just the marks he once left.
reference
Shi Zhihao was not surprised by Guo Yue's loss in China Youth Daily
Small-ball diplomacy helps China and Papua New Guinea exchanges International Online
Teacher-student love: The happy life of 53-year-old Shi Zhihao and 31-year-old Li Nan (photo) North Network