As the saying goes, "Don't let you have eyebrows." ”
This sentence is perfectly reflected in the Chinese women's basketball team.
If you want to talk about this year's sports news, it must be that the Chinese women's basketball team once again cut the Asian Cup championship after 12 years.
The 28-year-old veteran Li Meng withstood great pressure, turned against the wind, and led the team to defeat the Japanese women's basketball team, which has won five consecutive championships, and became a well-deserved hero of the women's basketball team.
However, the controversy over Li Meng's private life has not stopped.
The reason for the beginning of the farce is that Li Meng's husband Zhang Long's ex-wife posted on the Internet accusing Zhang Long of cheating on the national team member Li Meng in marriage!
Li Meng, who was immersed in game training, finally responded to the matter for the first time after the Asian Cup.
The evaluation of netizens is also divergent and polarized, what is going on?
First, know three when three? Keep your mouth shut
As the absolute main force of the women's basketball team, Li Meng's ability is still needless to say.
But this player with excellent ability almost ruined his bright future because of the "know three when three" thing.
It happened in March 2023, Zhao Lei, the ex-wife of Zhang Long, the former leader of the women's basketball team, posted on the Internet, accusing her ex-husband and team member Li Meng of maintaining an ulterior relationship without divorce in fierce language.
The article has mentioned more than once that the woman "knows three when three" destroys the family, and the man cheats in marriage and abandons his wife and son.
And Zhao Lei also sent many sexy photos of Li Meng, claiming that this was sent by Li Meng to her husband.
It was also noted that during training and matches, the two of them often "worked on tactics" in the room.
But as early as August 2022, Zhao Lei had already divorced Zhang Long, why is she mentioning the past online now?
Zhao Lei explained in the article that Zhang Long did not pay the child support promised at the time of divorce, and did not even plan to pay the maintenance fee.
Zhao Lei was angry, at that time, the divorce was a dumb loss, and now this dog man does not even plan to give alimony.
So he exposed Zhang Long and Li Meng's affairs on the Internet, wanting to use the pressure of public opinion to force Zhang Long to pay alimony.
There are pictures and evidence, and this article has aroused heated discussions among netizens as soon as it was published.
Li Meng was thus involved in the whirlpool of public opinion, and his good reputation was ruined, and many fans and friends were worried that this matter would affect Li Meng's career.
In the face of this ugly incident, keeping silent seems to be the best choice, and the party Li Meng did not respond to this matter.
However, the other party in the matter, Zhang Long, was expelled from the national team, which is undoubtedly the best response to this incident.
Coupled with Li Meng's attitude of calming things, the comments of netizens all turned to Zhao Lei, and Li Meng's "knowing three when three" was basically finalized.
Although there are many people who sing about Li Meng's career, some insiders pointed out:
"For Li Meng's fans, more attention is still focused on her performance on the field, and professional athletes ultimately rely on strength to speak."
Now Li Meng is controversial, but do you know the hardships behind her?
Perhaps everyone will change her after understanding the story behind Li Meng's choice of basketball and climbing to the top step by step.
Second, use a scooter to pull my mother to treat cancer, and I still don't give up my basketball dream after several injuries
In 1995, Li Meng was born in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, his parents were ordinary working class, and the family lived an ordinary but happy life.
Influenced by her parents, Li Meng has liked sports since she was a child.
Although her family is ordinary, Li Meng's parents still want to spare no effort to cultivate their daughter's hobbies.
At first, his parents sent Xiao Li Meng to learn to swim, but after learning for a period of time, due to long-term immersion in water, Li Meng suffered from otitis media and had a gradually serious trend, and had to give up swimming.
Due to the fact that both parents are relatively tall, excellent genes are vividly reflected in Li Meng's body.
So after listening to the advice of others, his parents sent Li Meng to the local basketball school for training, which officially opened Li Meng's basketball life.
Diligent and talented, Li Meng quickly dribbled the ball skillfully and truly fell in love with the sport of basketball.
Until 2003, when Li Meng was 8 years old, her mother Fang Ping was found to have advanced cancer, and she did chemotherapy without Li Meng, losing only 80 pounds, and she couldn't hide it before telling her daughter.
The expensive chemotherapy cost left the already wealthy family in debt, and the father had to fight hard to earn money to support the family.
So the little Li Meng began to practice while taking care of his mother's life, and for a while the home was shrouded in a heavy haze.
At that time, on the streets of Shenyang, Li Meng could often be seen pulling a scooter to take his mother to the hospital for chemotherapy.
However, Li Meng's study and basketball training did not fall behind, and her mother often accompanied her to train and compete when her condition improved, cheering for her daughter.
In order to be worthy of his parents' efforts, Li Meng trains hard every day, not late or early.
A few years later, my father was diagnosed with uremia, and my father began a decade-long dialysis chemotherapy.
Fortunately, at this time, Li Meng was already famous, 14-year-old Li Meng averaged 19.3 points per game, was crowned the scoring champion of the Asian Youth Championship, and led the Chinese women's basketball team to the top.
At the age of 15, he was elected MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the World Youth Championship, helping the women's basketball team to win the third place in the World Series, and the basketball road was bright.
Just as Li Meng's life began to shine a little light, God played a huge joke with Li Meng.
At the age of 16, Li Meng first ruptured the cruciate ligament in her right knee in the competition, and then less than half a year, in order to participate in the National Games, Li Meng forcibly returned to compete, this time her left knee cruciate ligament ruptured.
This kind of "leg breaking" degree of injury is enough to ruin a player's career, and Li Meng, who can't withstand such a big blow twice, once had the idea of retiring, because she knew that her family's financial conditions could not support her high surgical costs.
In order to get the best treatment for their daughter, the parents did not hesitate to sell the house they had lived in for decades to pay for the surgery.
Fortunately, the National Youth Team reached out at this time, funded the anterior cross reconstruction surgery for Li Meng, and asked the foreign physical therapists in the team to help Li Meng with rehabilitation.
She underwent ACL surgery to destroy Derek Ross twice in half a year, and with the support and enlightenment of her parents, Li Meng regained confidence and returned to the court with a strong will.
With dribble behind the back, the golden rooster is independent, and Li Meng returns to the public's field of vision with a stronger posture.
Because both parents retired early, the retirement salary of the two people added up to only 3,000 yuan, but the monthly treatment cost of the parents was as high as tens of thousands.
After being selected for the national team, Li Meng could receive a salary of 10,000 yuan a month, so Li Meng handed over his salary card to his mother.
While Li Meng bears the cost of 6,000 yuan of his father's dialysis, he also has to bear a mortgage of 3,000 yuan every month, which shows Li Meng's filial piety.
In 2016, Li Meng averaged 15.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game at the Rio Olympics, contributing outstanding results and winning glory for the country.
In 2017, Li Meng became the leading striker of the national team under the recommendation of national team coach Xu Limin, and Li Meng, who played in the domestic league, was invincible.
In 2019, Li Meng, who won the WCBA scoring champion and regular season MVP, received an official offer contract from the WCBA Bobcats, but in order to prepare for the Asian Cup and the World Military Games, Li Meng finally gave up the idea of playing in the United States.
She explained: "I still feel that the interests of the motherland are above all else, and it is the motherland that nurtured me. ”
In the summer of the same year, Li Meng suffered a serious injury from a torn meniscus, and underwent surgery the day after diagnosis.
Fate has been difficult several times, but did not stump the Chinese women's basketball team's "LeBron Dream," Li Meng, who had undergone surgery, stepped on the battlefield again after a hasty rest.
During the Tokyo Olympics, Li Meng's father was critically ill three times, and his mother did not tell Li Meng, who was training the national team, in order not to worry, and also told his family: "During the Olympic Games, no matter what happens, don't tell Li Meng." ”
"I usually don't tell her, but if I don't, I'm really afraid that she will regret not seeing her father for the last time."
After years of treatment, Li Meng's parents' condition has improved, and now sitting on the sofa watching their daughter's game has become the happiest time in the couple's ordinary life.
Li Meng's journey has been difficult and full of hardships, but she still leaves the best side to us.
You can say that Li Meng is controversial off the court, but it is undeniable that she is now the star of the Chinese women's basketball team.
She will give up the opportunity to establish herself in the WNBA for the national team, and will also step forward to correct mistakes when young players make mistakes.
In 2022, Li Meng will participate in the Australian Women's Basketball World Cup with the national team and encounter a quarter-of-life battle with the French women's basketball team.
With a high fever of 39.4 degrees, Li Meng personally scored a game-high score of 23 points and led the Chinese team to the semifinals.
Li Meng, who still struggled to the last ounce of strength despite a high fever, not only attracted a large number of fans, but also attracted the attention of the American professional league.
The WNBA noticed Li Meng's excellent performance in the World Cup and threw an olive branch to him again.
In addition to repaying the motherland, every basketball player's wish is probably to enter the world's top league and compete with masters from various countries.
Li Meng is no exception, so she joined the WNBA Washington Mystics in the spring of 2023 with full of expectations, becoming the fourth professional player to play in the WNBA.
Third, public opinion rose and responded for the first time
Just when Li Meng was preparing to go to the United States to play, her husband Zhang Long's ex-wife Zhao Lei suddenly posted a long article to break the news.
Zhao Lei claimed that Li Meng destroyed other people's families and "knew three to be three", and then uploaded large-scale photos of Li Meng.
This matter once became a hot topic in the cultural and sports circles, and Li Meng Zhang Long was also deeply trapped in the center of the topic and became the target of online violence.
At the height of the storm of public opinion, it was also the time when the Asian Cup was in full swing: Japan had won five consecutive championships.
At this critical moment, the Chinese women's basketball team recalled Li Meng, who was far away in the United States, to return to China to prepare for the Asian Cup.
Living up to expectations, Li Meng led the Chinese women's basketball team to break Japan's ambition to win six consecutive championships, defeated Japan and returned to the peak, and is now a well-deserved leader of the Chinese women's basketball team.
After winning the championship, Li Meng, who had a straight waist, posted a response to the "Little Three Incident" on social platforms for the first time:
"Zhang Long pays on time every month."
"I will redouble my efforts to live up to everyone's expectations, and one day the truth will come out."
"Girls are never defined, shackles are meant to be broken."
This paragraph is undoubtedly the best response to Li Meng's previous scandal, and the comments of netizens are also one-sided in favor of Li Meng, and the reputation is reversed.
To celebrate the victory, Li Meng posted photos of eating hot pot at home, and the table was full of tempting ingredients.
Although no one shows his face in the photo, two pairs of chopsticks and two bottles of drinks speak for themselves, and Li Meng and Zhang Long are very affectionate.
At present, it seems that Li Meng has used his own way to refute the rumors and gave a positive response to the masses and fans.
Now that this turmoil has passed, Li Meng should put aside the past, look forward to the future, prepare for the WNBA, and live well.
Romain Roland said: "There is only one true heroism in the world, and that is to recognize life and still love life." ”
Although Li Meng does not have a reinforced body, he has an iron will that surpasses ordinary people.
Fortunately, the hardships of life did not defeat this girl who loved to laugh, girls were never defined, and all efforts were worth it.
No matter how difficult it is, I hope she will firmly step through it and continue to move forward towards her dream.
Li Meng returned to the United States the day after winning the Asian Cup, and she set her sights on next year's Paris Olympics, wishing her good results!