On April 14, 2016, at the Rio Olympics table tennis Asian qualifiers held in Hong Kong, China, a familiar figure appeared - former national player Li Ping.
However, this day he was a little different from the past, he was not standing next to his former teammates who had played side by side, and he was not wearing a team uniform with "CHINA" printed on it.
This time, he represented Qatar in the Rio Olympics for a ticket to the men's table tennis singles.
For a person who has won a world championship, it is not difficult to get an entry ticket, and after a few matches, Li Ping did not encounter any big challenges.
However, qualifying for the Olympics is only the beginning.
To win the championship, Li Ping still has a long way to go, not only to compete with strong opponents around the world, but also to meet China's former teammates.
1. World champion, but sparring for 7 years
There are many masters in the Olympic Games, and if you want to achieve results, you have to put in more effort and effort.
After so many years of playing in the Chinese team, Li Ping's level is beyond doubt.
According to the schedule, the men's singles table tennis competition will be played from August 6 to 11, a total of five days.
The first day of men's singles qualifying, counted as the first round; The second day of men's singles, the second and third rounds; The third and fourth rounds will be played on the third day;
On the 9th, the men's singles quarterfinals will be held, the men's singles semifinals will be held on the 11th, and the men's singles bronze medal match and final will be held on the 12th.
There were eight matches to be played in the first round, and in the second round of the men's singles, Li Ping met Hungarian table tennis player Adam Pantaius.
Pantaiyus was born in 1978, a full eight years older than Li Ping.
Although Li Ping has the advantage in age, this game is not a sure win for him.
As a country second only to China in the world's table tennis strength, Hungary's table tennis level cannot be underestimated, and Pantaius is one of the leaders, winning domestic and world championships for many times.
Originally a fierce rival, coupled with Li Ping's seldom participation in international competitions during his time with the Chinese team, he did not fight Pantaiyus a few times, and he was not familiar with his style and habits, so he was under a lot of pressure.
The match was held at the Rio Convention Center, and Li Ping waited on the pitch early accompanied by the coach and entourage.
Through the video on the scene, it is not difficult to find that until he came on the field, Li Ping had been doing psychological construction with a serious expression.
Fortunately, after the start of the game, Pantaiyus was much easier to handle than Li Ping imagined, and the two went back and forth on the court, and gradually, Li Ping mastered Pantaiyus's style and rhythm and gained the upper hand.
There were few twists and turns and challenges in the process, and Li Ping won the match smoothly 4-0.
After the end, coaches and fans gathered around to celebrate Li Ping's victory.
People's faces were filled with happy smiles, and only Li Ping had a solemn expression.
His teammates came to care about Li Ping and asked him if something had happened, and Li Ping explained that it was okay, just worried about the next game.
Everyone quickly comforted Li Ping not to worry too much, calmed down his mind and played well, Li Ping had to smile and say no more.
After two fights, Li Ping entered the third round, where he met archrival Dimitry Ochalov.
When it comes to Ochalov, I believe that anyone who pays more attention to table tennis events will have heard of it.
He is a German table tennis player, born in 1988, two years younger than Li Ping.
Unlike Pantaiyus, Ochalov is more talented and experienced, and in his first Olympic Games in 2008, he defeated South Korea's Yoo Seung-min and Wu Sang-yun to win the silver medal; In the 2012 London Olympics, Chinese table tennis players Zhang Jike and Wang Hao won the third place.
In the men's singles competition of the 38th Table Tennis World Cup, held a year after the Rio Olympics, Ochalov won the championship in one fell swoop, defeating a number of Chinese players.
In this game, Li Ping obviously struggled a lot.
As a German star, Ochalov has a strong backhand, and his signature skill is the "submarine" serve, that is, the front and backhand squat to make the ball go at high speed and not easily be detected by the opponent in the direction and strength of the serve.
During the match, Ochalov was able to serve flexibly with his forehand and backhand, set control, attack and defend, leaving his opponent tired.
The technical characteristics of Li Ping are to use the advantages of height and strength, right-handed horizontal shooting, arc circle type play, and play a "arc circle ball" with strong impact.
The two seem to have some innate interplay and skills, so this game is also exciting and enjoyable.
The two will test each other and attack each other for a serve, and they will also defend and do their best to tie the one-point difference, and fight until the last quarter, and the difference between the two will not fluctuate by one point.
The last ball was sent by Li Ping, at this time the two had been competing for the match point for a long time, and they were in a state of relative fatigue physically and mentally, especially for a player like Li Ping who relied on physical strength to win the advantage.
In the last ball, the two played several back and forth, and Li Ping lost the game due to lack of physical strength, causing the ball to hit the net.
It is indeed a pity to lose 3-4, but for Li Ping, it is already a very rare breakthrough, and leading Qatar to this point is a particularly important attempt.
Second, go overseas to play ball, "wolf breeding plan"
Although they failed to make the ranking, the Qatari people were still happy, and some fans rushed to the airport to greet Li Ping.
The Chinese fans who watched Li Ping's game were also happy for Li Ping, comforting and encouraging Li Ping to continue his efforts and strive to achieve a good result next time.
Seeing this, many people will be curious.
In the past, when it comes to China's outstanding personnel going abroad, people's first reaction is always the loss of talent, why is it that only the outflow of outstanding table tennis players, people's first reaction is positive and positive?
The reason is none other than the "wolf breeding plan" implemented by China.
In order to achieve the sustainable development of table tennis, the Chinese Table Tennis Association has adopted the method of "going out and inviting in" to help foreign table tennis players improve their technology and achieve the purpose of common progress, prosperity and common development in the world.
The proposal of the "Wolf Raising Plan" of the Chinese Table Tennis Association has undergone a series of reform processes and is a huge project adopted after careful consideration.
Since the birth of the sport of table tennis, to the appearance we see today, there has been a long and tortuous reform in between.
Whether it is the format, the rules or the equipment, it is very different from the beginning.
The several reforms of table tennis are almost all aimed at the Chinese team, hoping to improve the technology and ornamentation through reform, and also hope to suppress the development of the Chinese team through reform and break the scene of China's dominance.
However, reform needs to be verified by facts, and blind reform will not only fail to achieve the original goal, but may also lead to the opposite end of junior high school.
Under several reforms, the Chinese team was able to adapt immediately and quickly each time.
Although many famous players chose to retire despite their annoyance, in essence, they did not cause irreparable losses to the Chinese side, nor could they shake the status of the Chinese team as a lonely loser.
On the contrary, the opponents of the Chinese team have become more and more confused under repeated reforms.
France and Belgium have fallen one after another, leaving only Germany with the strength to play against the Asian team.
Similarly, in the successive reforms, many strong teams in Asia have gradually fallen into a disadvantageous position, with fewer and fewer capable people and weaker strength, resulting in a long time, most of the trophies in international competitions are Chinese bagged.
Many people began to question the fairness and necessity of reform, and many countries gave up the development of table tennis.
The reform has not achieved the desired effect, do you want to watch the sport of table tennis fall into loneliness?
Soon, the world table tennis world set its sights on China, hoping that China could assume the responsibility of table tennis dissemination and development, and let table tennis return to glory.
As a big country in table tennis, China bears unshirkable responsibility for this.
Therefore, in March 2009, Cai Zhenhua, chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, proposed that the Chinese Table Tennis Association should strengthen cooperation with the ITTF and share the valuable experience of Chinese table tennis with the world.
The specific method is to send more Chinese coaches and players abroad, exchange with foreign players, and help foreign players improve their capabilities;
Introduce foreign players into China, train and learn together with Chinese team members, and narrow the gap with the Chinese team.
Since the "wolf breeding plan" was proposed, the Chinese Table Tennis Association has taken the initiative to send people to Germany, Belarus and other countries for Boll, Samsonov and other countries to serve as sparring partners, give up the honor competition of big bags, and pay more attention to the great project of activating the vitality of table tennis.
However, cultivating "wolves" is not to turn enemies into wolves, to turn themselves into little sheep to be slaughtered, not to actively reduce their strength, but to take the initiative to give up the ranking, use new personnel and partners, and try more.
Correspondingly, a group of outstanding players have also traveled to various parts of the world to join the teams of other countries and complete the implementation of the "Wolf Raising Plan".
Today, many table tennis players such as Zhang Benzhihe, Pi Hongyan, and Wang Yuegu have joined the service of other nationalities, including Li Ping.
3. Both children and daughters
Li Ping's ability to go to Qatar to develop is also the result of mistakes.
Li Ping was born in Tianjin, his father loved table tennis, so he has always paid great attention to Li Ping's talent in table tennis.
Li Ping himself does not have a high degree of love for table tennis, but just obeys his parents' instructions to complete the things at hand.
When he was in elementary school, his father sent him to Hebei District Amateur Sports School to practice table tennis, which was regarded as officially opening his road to table tennis.
Li Ping developed very early, occupying the advantages of height and physical strength, and was selected for the Tianjin team, the national youth team and the national team.
As he grew older and deepened his training, Li Ping's shortcomings gradually appeared, his talent in table tennis is really not high, and his training is not the most diligent one, so he has not achieved any outstanding results.
The best time was at the 2002 National Championships, where he finished fifth.
Needless to say, the situation of China's table tennis industry must be known to everyone, there are geniuses, cow people, and diligent representatives who have to train without eating.
Li Ping lives in such a group, and it is inevitable that he will not be noticed and not be noticed.
After three years in the national team, Li Ping was returned to the provincial team because he could not make progress.
This was a huge blow to Li Ping, and it also made his family feel like a man.
His father repeatedly confirmed with Li Ping whether he would continue to fight, and Li Ping's mother often persuaded Li Ping to give up properly.
After being an athlete for so many years, he quit at will without getting the results he wanted, and no one can be willing, and Li Ping is the same.
He didn't pay attention to people's real or false concerns, nor did he care about the strange eyes of others looking at him, so he dived into his heart and practiced his skills again.
In the national championship soon after, Li Ping won the third best result in the country and was selected back to the national team again.
The professionals of the national team saw the glowing point on Li Ping's body, so they assigned him to Wu Jingping, a gold medal coach.
It was only after Wu Jingping accepted his daily management that he was able to re-participate in systematic and professional training.
Although Li Ping is not highly talented, but calm and serious training, Wu Jingping fully observed Li Ping's training daily life and playing habits, formulated a series of training plans for Li Ping, and successfully helped Li Ping's ball skills to a higher level.
Li Ping's hand strength is large, and Wu Jingping gave full play to this advantage, making him a leader in the "two-sided arc ball" style of play and an excellent athlete who can compete in the Olympic Games.
Effort is always rewarded, and later Li Ping was reborn like nirvana, and won the mixed doubles world championship in the 2009 World Table Tennis Championships.
People's sudden attention made Li Ping very uncomfortable, in order to live up to people's trust and encouragement, Li Ping had to pay more hardships and efforts.
However, there are too many masters of the national team, even if Li Ping tries his best, it is difficult to get a place, even if he has won the mixed doubles championship, he is not eligible to represent the country in the Olympic Games.
In this way, Li Ping spent several years in the national team, and finally made up his mind to quit the national team together with Ma Lin, Zhang Chao and others.
It is not easy to make such a decision, and the path after quitting the national team is even more ambiguous, where should the future go? Li Ping is also less clear.
Just when he was confused about the way ahead, Qatar extended an olive branch to him and invited him to become a Qatari citizen and represent Qatar in the world.
Qatar's table tennis strength is average, fortunately, the country has money, is willing to train young students, and is willing to hire excellent players at a high price.
After receiving the invitation, Li Ping was very moved, and after discussing with his family, he decided to be invited to become a Qatari citizen and realize his Olympic dream in another country.
In 2014, Li Ping represented Qatar in the Asian Qualifiers, successfully won the men's singles ticket at the Rio Olympics, and completed two fierce ball matches in the Olympic Games.
Although he failed to win the trophy in the end, for Li Ping, this is an important breakthrough in life, bringing greater motivation and more possibilities to his subsequent life.
Today's Li Ping is a proper winner in life, with a beautiful and virtuous wife, both lively and cute children, and his second son was born in the same year that he participated in the Rio Olympics, which means more to him.
Li Ping's wife is an outsider who rarely appears on social media, and her appearance and experience have only been mentioned a few times on Li Ping's social media account and media interviews.
But even if there are only a few words, it is difficult to hide Li Ping's love.
He said that his wife is a "Sichuan girl", a little spicy, very good at hurting people, and can form a family with her to conceive children, very happy and satisfied.
Judging from the photo, Li Ping's wife is also outstanding, even if she wears the simplest and most ordinary clothes, she is full of youth and beauty.
The company and support of his family is Li Ping's greatest strength, when he went abroad to develop because of this, and now he returns to his motherland to join a sports training company.
Today, Li Ping is serving as the deputy general manager and academic director of Tianjin Zixuan Sports Group, and strives to cultivate a new generation of outstanding athletes who will win glory for the country.
Li Ping's ability and influence have also been widely recognized by the Chinese people, and on September 26, 2022, Li Ping was hired as a special teacher by Tianjin Agricultural College to contribute to the school's sports construction and strive to assist the school to complete a new transformation of physical education.
Li Ping attended the appointment ceremony and received a special appointment certificate issued by Zhang Min, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and vice president of the school.
For the support and affirmation of the school, Li Ping expressed his sincere gratitude and said that he would make full use of the educational platform provided by the school to contribute his own strength to help the school teach and educate people.
Like the difficult road of table tennis, Li Ping's company development is also somewhat unsatisfactory, especially in the context of the epidemic in previous years, many projects cannot be successfully landed.
But most of life is like this, you have to experience the inadequacy, experience the hardship, struggle through a period of road, in order to usher in the willow and see the rainbow after the rain.
Don't be afraid that life will not be satisfactory, because a life full of challenges is a complete life, and the process of breaking free from misfortune is the best journey in life.