New vision of cultural entertainment
Editor丨Sports Entertainment New Vision
preface
On March 6, 2019, this day is Ning Zetao's birthday, and on this day, his announcement of retirement caused an uproar.
For those who once liked him, the news was a bit abrupt.
However, for those who really keep an eye on him, the news is not at all surprising.
An athlete who just won a gold medal in the 100m freestyle at last year's championships, even if he is physically competitive, is not once at his peak.
However, in China, the level of competition is still top.
His retirement eventually attracted a lot of embarrassment, and there must be many reasons behind Ning Zetao's retirement.
In particular, his retirement inevitably reminds people of the Tian Liang incident in the past, so as to arouse people's thinking and attention to how to achieve a balance between the national team and athletes.
The only gold medal
Born in 1993 in Henan Province, Ning Zetao was an athlete on the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy swimming team, specializing in short distance swimming.
Ning Zetao was able to enter the road of swimming because of a swimming practice in his childhood, was discovered by the coach, and entered the Navy swimming team at the age of 14.
In 2009, after the Jinan National Games, Ning Zetao gave up medley to specialize in short distance freestyle.
In April 2013, at the National Swimming Championships, in the 100m freestyle final, Ning Zetao broke the Chinese record with a time of 48.60 seconds.
Two days later, he won the 50m freestyle final.
In the 100m swimming freestyle competition of the National Games in the same year, he broke the Asian record and won the gold medal, and then set a new Asian record in the 50m freestyle heats.
In 2014, Ning Zetao won the gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle at the International Military Sports Championships, and then won the gold medal again in the 100-meter freestyle final, breaking the international military sports record.
At the Incheon Asian Games, Ning Zetao broke the Asian Games record again in the 50-meter freestyle heats with a time of 21.95 seconds, and finally won the championship in the final.
Until 2015, Ning's popularity was limited to Asia, and after 2015, he shined in international competitions.
In August 2015, at the final of the World Aquatics Championships in Russia, a native Asian athlete appeared.
This is the first Asian athlete to reach the 100m freestyle final since the championship was held, and he is Ning Zetao.
In the final, Ning Zetao won the championship in 47.84 seconds, winning the first world championship gold medal of his career and the only world championship gold medal in his career.
In 2016, in the Rio Olympic trials, in the 100m freestyle final, he once again finished first in 47.96 seconds and successfully reached the final.
It's just that at the Rio Olympics, Ning Zetao had problems with his personal condition, and in the semifinals, he went out early and finally missed the final. In the subsequent Olympic 50m freestyle competition, he did not even reach the semifinals due to his personal condition.
Although Ning Zetao's performance in this Olympic Games was not particularly good, his competitive level has been recognized, but on February 22, 2017, a news pushed Ning Zetao to the cusp.
"The person in charge of the national team's swimming team confirmed: Ning Zetao was adjusted to the original unit due to violations of rules and disciplines."
As for its violations, the Aquatics Center claimed:
- 1. Endorsement of advertisements without approval;
- 2. Unwilling to obey the national team's competition arrangement;
- 3. Refusal to participate in the relay event qualification competition;
Therefore, it was finally adjusted back to the original unit, and when this incident appeared, the contradiction between Ning Zetao and the national team officially appeared in front of the public.
In fact, the contradiction between the two did not arise at this point in time, but before the Rio Olympics.
As the reasons given by the Swimming Center:
The contradiction between Ning Zetao and the national team is mainly reflected in two aspects: one is interests, that is, commercial endorsement; The other is in athletics.
In October 2015, Mengniu finally became a sponsor of the national swimming team, and Mengniu also included Ning Zetao's endorsement in the contract.
Originally, there was no problem, but when the swimming team signed the contract with Mengniu, they did not inform Ning Zetao, and their endorsement was also among them.
Later, when Ning Zetao asked to see the terms of the contract, the swimming center chose to refuse,
Wang Lusheng, director of the swimming center, even told Ning Zetao that he only needed to fulfill relevant obligations.
If Ning Zetao was still an unknown young general, it would be nothing.
However, at that time, Ning Zetao had already gained many fans in China, especially his handsome face, which made him favored by advertisers.
Therefore, Ning Zetao later signed another contract with Yili.
In the end, the swimming center violated the contract with Mengniu, which also embarrassed the leaders of the swimming center at that time.
If it is just this contradiction, it will not make the national team have the idea of expelling Ning Zetao.
In the end, what made the national team decide to fire Ning Zetao came from Ning Zetao's refusal to obey the arrangement.
At that time, in the swimming team, because of Sun Yang's injury, the 4*200 relay lacked a big beam.
At that time, the leader of the swimming team wanted Ning Zetao to abandon the original 100-meter event and instead attack the 4×200-meter relay to help the Chinese team qualify for the Olympic Games.
It's just that the idea of a swimming center is good, but for athletes, it's a different matter, and the training methods of 100 meters and 200 meters are diametrically opposite.
Although Ning Zetao qualified for the 100-meter free race at the World Championships in Kazan, Ning Zetao chose to refuse in the face of the arrangement of the swimming center.
As a result, the national swimming team lost Olympic qualification in the 4×200m relay.
The bronze medal won at the London Olympics was won by Japan at the Rio Olympics.
After that, the contradictions between the two sides became more and more acute, and the national swimming team gave Ning Zetao fewer and fewer opportunities to compete.
At the same time, various resources began to move away from Ningzetao, especially during the preparations for the Rio Olympics.
Although Ning Zetao followed the national team and went to Australia to participate in training, the treatment was diametrically opposite.
The first is to demagnetize Ning Zetao's meal card, and also let Ning Zetao leave the Australian training team within a deadline.
Although in the end, Ning Zetao still appeared on the field of the Rio Olympics.
However, due to various encounters during the training process, his condition seriously declined, and he finally failed to enter the final of the Olympic Games.
Then Ning Zetao was hidden by the snow, and his weight lost 40 pounds.
Whether it is the competitive state or the psychological quality, it has been diametrically opposed to the previous spirit.
Although later, because of the personnel change of the national swimming team, Ning Zetao was able to return to the national team.
At the same time, in August of that year, he broke the Asian record at the Queensland Short Pool Swimming Championships with a time of 46.14 seconds.
Only since 2018, Ning Zetao's state has declined rapidly, whether it is results or competitive status, it can no longer be compared with his peak state.
Finally, on March 6, 2019, he chose to announce his retirement on his birthday, when he was only 26 years old.
After retiring, Ning Zetao received an invitation from the Singapore swimming team, and in the face of olive branches from other countries, even in the face of sky-high remuneration, Ning Zetao still chose to refuse.
To become an athlete of another country, it is inevitable to change his nationality, but Ning Zetao attaches great importance to his nationality.
Therefore, he did not choose to play for other countries, nor did he enter the entertainment industry like Tian Liang.
Instead, he appeared on the golf course and even became a commercial spokesperson for the game.
Whether Ning Zetao can achieve achievements in golf in the future is currently unknown.
However, for those who once liked him, his retirement is undoubtedly a regret and a loss.
Time can make a person, but it can also destroy a person.
Ning Zetao only took 4 years from fame to retirement, and he had high hopes.
In the short board event of the Chinese swimming team - short distance swimming, the appearance of Ning Zetao has undoubtedly regained the confidence of the people.
However, a series of changes eventually made him disappear like a shooting star.
There has always been a contradiction between the national team and the athletes.
But like Ning Zetao, there are very few contradictions on the surface, not only Ning Zetao, his predecessor Tian Liang was also expelled from the national team because of the problem of endorsement.
However, unlike Ning Zetao, Tian Liang actively turned into the entertainment industry after retiring, and successfully broke out of another world with the aura of his world champion.
Not only Tian Liang, Guo Jingjing, Sun Yang and other star athletes, have had conflicts with the swimming center, but the contradictions between the two sides did not break out in the end, and more of them chose to tolerate.
At that time, Guo Jingjing was at the peak of his career, and there was no more suitable replacement in the swimming team at that time.
Therefore, the national team chose to back down, but Ning Zetao obviously will not be so lucky.
At some point, this pattern of getting along between the national team and the athletes can really help the national team.
It is easier to win gold medals in world competitions and can also improve national self-confidence.
The development of the times, whether it is citizens or athletes, has undergone earth-shaking changes.
How to resolve the conflict between the national team and the athletes is something that the national team needs to consider.
It is just a simple contradiction between the interests and the economy, and it is hard to make a talented athlete disappear, not only the loss of the national team, but also the loss of the athlete.
Athletes and the national team complement each other, with the resources of the national team, athletes can shine on the world stage and gain more honors.
National teams also need more elite athletes to win championships in world competitions to gain more influence.
I hope that there will be no more incidents like Ning Zetao in the future, and I hope that more and more athletes can get along better with the national team, so that the national team can receive more applause while the athletes achieve excellent results.
Resources:
- "Ning Zetao Transferred to Return to Henan Team to Compete in the Preliminary Round of the National Games from a Famous Coach" -- Henan Daily
- "From Private Advertising to Doping, Is Ning Zetao Too Much or Too Little" - Legal Evening News
- ""Flying Fish" Ning Zetao: New Hope for Short Distance Swimming" - People's Daily
- "Ning Zetao returns to participate in the golf tournament and is temporarily ranked 38th at 14 above par" - NetEase Sports
- "National Swimming Team: Confirmation of Ning Zetao's Expulsion" - Phoenix.com