Cultivating strength in good times and cultivating the mind in adversity, Zhang Ning's badminton career can be described as: after ups and downs, he is a late bloomer.
The scenery in front of people, the vicissitudes of life after people, Zhang Ning's life outside of his career is full of ups and downs, divorce and remarriage, separation in a foreign country, and giving birth to a daughter at an advanced age... It's not easy.
01 Started playing at the age of 9
In 1984, 9-year-old Zhang Ning was discovered by Coach Du Zhixin of Jinzhou Sports School in Liaoning Province because of his excellent physical fitness, and since then he has started his badminton career.
Zhang Ning's parents were very supportive of her playing badminton, but at that time, Zhang Ning's father was still in the army, her mother suffered from severe back pain, and her younger brother Zhang Kai was only two years old, so they couldn't give Zhang Ning the "green light" on the road to badminton, and many of the family's burdens were on the 9-year-old Zhang Ning.
At that time, Zhang Ning's daily life was three o'clock and one line, getting up at half past five in the morning, making breakfast by himself, going to the gymnasium to train at six o'clock, and after the training was completed, he had to go home to take a bath first, and then send his younger brother to the nursery, and then go to school to attend classes, and after school, he had to go to the gymnasium to train, practice until more than 9 o'clock in the evening every day, and then walk home by himself, and her parents never picked her up.
Seeing their daughter working so hard, her parents couldn't bear to let her practice again, but Zhang Ning always smiled and said to her father: Dad, I can do it, I'm not tired!
The children of the poor are in charge of the family early, and Zhang Ning has experienced the hardships of life since she was a child, which has also created Zhang Ning's forbearance and perseverance, which is also one of the reasons why she can still swim against the current after experiencing ups and downs in the future.
Zhang Ning's resolute character comes from the family, her enlightenment coach Du Zhixin plays an equally important role, when the sports facilities are not developed, coach Du Zhixin took the children everywhere to fight guerrillas, and even ran to the abandoned factory to train, from the moment Zhang Ning joined the team, he told Zhang Ning: There is no word "give up" in the dictionary of athletes.
In 1987, 12-year-old Zhang Ning participated in the Liaoning Youth Badminton Championships and won the fourth place in the confrontation with a group of "big kids" several years older than him.
In the first winter of Shenyang, Zhang Ning's mother wanted to take advantage of the weekend to wash the sheets and covers for the child, but Zhang Ning learned that his mother was coming, so he did all the work in advance, and when his mother came, he looked at the sheets and covers hanging outside, and unconsciously shed tears.
In the 1989 National Junior Championships, Zhang Ning entered the vision of the national junior team with his outstanding performance, and was recognized by the national team coach Chen Yuniang after a year of training, and officially entered the national team in 1991!
With outstanding physical conditions and strong attack, Zhang Ning received a ticket to the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia to participate in the Open Tournament after 9 months of entering the national team.
02 Ten years of hard work, it's not that enemies don't get together
In 1994, at the age of 19, Zhang Ning had already taken her place among many good players, and she participated in the 1994 Uber Cup in Jakarta with great pride, because it was her first international competition.
At that time, only Indonesia could compete with the Chinese team, and the two teams met in the Uber Cup final, and Indonesia, which has Wang Xianglian and other famous players, played with the Chinese team in the first four games, and the battle was tied 2:2.
In the fifth game of the tiebreaker, the Chinese team entrusted Zhang Ning with a heavy responsibility, sending Zhang Ning, who had just become a rising star, and her opponent was the 15-year-old and little-known teenager Zhang Haili.
It was the first time the two had met in a world series, and Zhang Ning had to win the win from both a personal and national team perspective, but unexpectedly, Zhang Ning eventually lost 1-2 to Zhang Haili, causing China to lose the 10-year-old You Cup title.
Zhang Haili became famous and became a hero in Indonesia, but Zhang Ning became a "sinner", and this ball completely destroyed her self-confidence, like a nightmare, haunting her, causing her form to decline all the time.
Two years later, Zhang Haili defeated the Chinese team again in the Uber Cup to win the championship, and by that time, Zhang Ning had long disappeared from the main lineup, and two young people, one became the new Indonesian badminton diva, and the other became a marginal figure that no one cared about.
After Zhang Ning's parents learned of their daughter's defeat, they immediately came to Beijing to wait for their daughter's return, and they comforted her: there are only two outcomes of competitive sports, you must learn to accept the cruel reality of losing or winning.
Although the sensible Zhang Ning said: "Mom and Dad, please rest assured, I can hold on." Since I have chosen this path, I will definitely stick to it. But at that moment, her heart was like a knife.
The other one who was tortured was Yu Yang, the two met in Liaoning Sports School since 1987, and then entered the national junior team, when the national junior team trained together, the two became close friends who talked about everything, after learning that Zhang Ning was in trouble, Yu Yang has been caring for and encouraging Zhang Ning, and his heart aches for Zhang Ning's heartache, in this process, the two have determined their relationship.
In 1996, Zhang Ning had already begun to recover, winning several national championships in a row, but on the way home to visit relatives shortly before the 1996 Olympic Games, Zhang Ning met several friends from the provincial team, and everyone went out for a meal together, and finally returned ten minutes later than the team time.
Zhang Ning suffered extremely severe punishment as a result, she was banned for three games, and was stripped of her qualification for the Grand Prix, the Grand Final, and the Atlanta Olympics, and just like that, she fell into a new round of silence.
The fate of Zhang Ning and Zhang Haili seems to have some kind of close connection, when Zhang Ning gradually lost power, Zhang Haili's voice in the Indonesian badminton world is getting louder, and her troubles are also increasing day by day, one day, she fell in love with a Dutch guy in an Indonesian church, in order to date her boyfriend, Zhang Haili constantly violated the team rules, and was finally expelled from the Indonesian Badminton Association after the 1998 Uber Cup, the 19-year-old in the prime of his sports career has since disappeared from the international badminton world.
Since 1998, Zhang Ning has gradually come out of the slump, and won the women's singles championship of the International Badminton Federation Grand Prix Finals in early 1999, which is the first world-class championship she has won in her career, and the ranking has also risen to No. 1.
After struggling in the trough for five years, and finally getting out of the trough, Zhang Ning was supposed to bloom herself at the Sydney Olympics, but soon after Zhang Ning was banned by the Liaoning team for half a year because of a late time, and missed the Olympics again, which means that she has missed the golden period of her theoretical career, after all, by 2004, she was 29 years old.
But even so, Zhang Ning still did not give up and continued to fight on the field, in the process, her teammates also changed from peers to Zhou Mi, Gong Ruina, Xie Xingfang and others who were 5-6 years younger than herself.
In 2001, Zhang Ning, who had just won the badminton women's singles championship at the Asian Championships, began to have the idea of retiring.
At that time, Yu Yang had already ended his career as a table tennis player and began to transform into a coach, and after marriage, he wanted to hold a child, so he discussed this matter with Zhang Ning many times, and once said that Zhang Ning was moved.
In 2002, 27-year-old Zhang Ning found coach Li Yongbo and said: Coach, I can't hold on, I want to retire!
This is the first time that Zhang Ning, who has always been stoic, said discouraged words, Li Yongbo heard this, his heart was mixed, as a coach, of course he knew how difficult Zhang Ning had been over the years, but he couldn't bear to watch this strong "veteran" regret for life because of reasons outside the arena, he said to Zhang Ning in an affirmative tone:
"If you believe me, practice with me for another two years. As long as you work hard, I promise to take you to the Olympics, and let's work together to win an Olympic championship! Just retire like this, I'm not worth it for you, we can't just give up! ”
Li Yongbo's words completely woke up Zhang Ning, she gave up the idea of retiring, she found Yu Yang as soon as possible, and said to her: I'm unwilling, I can't retire and have children yet!
Yu Yang had long expected this, he chose to support Zhang Ning, he said in an interview: "I am also an athlete, so I will be more able to understand her thoughts, if she retires like this, she will regret it one day." Therefore, as long as she is willing, as long as her physical condition allows, I will always support her to fight. ”
Since then, Zhang Ning has won the 2002 Korea Open Badminton Championships, which is her first five-star event championship organized by the International Badminton Federation, and throughout the 2002 season, Zhang Ning has become one of the four major Chinese women's badminton players.
At the same time, Zhang Ning's "old enemy" Zhang Haili also made a comeback in the Dutch badminton arena, gradually regaining her form, and gradually rising to second in the world rankings, becoming the main opponent of the Chinese women's badminton team.
In the 2003 World Championships, Zhang Ning and Zhang Haili had a narrow road in the semifinals, this time, Zhang Ning had revenge and revenge on the court, and won by an overwhelming margin.
03 The Athens Olympics was a blockbuster, and the Beijing Olympics defended the title three times
In 2004, at the age of 29, Zhang Ning finally appeared on the Olympic stage, and her peak was just beginning when her contemporaries left the stadium.
As Zhang Haili defeated Gong Ruina in the semifinals to advance to the finals, Zhang Ning once again ushered in a showdown with the "old enemy", Zhang Ning's parents helped Zhang Ning say an inspiring sentence: It is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge!
The two veterans who have experienced ups and downs in the world badminton arena will usher in the final showdown on the world's biggest stage, no matter who wins or loses, this decade-long feud will come to an end, and this time the winner is destined to be Zhang Ning instead of Zhang Haili.
In the last ball of the final game, Zhang Ning flew across the mountains and seas like a swallow to the net, completing the most perfect block of her career, as the ball smashed heavily on Zhang Haili, Zhang Ning excitedly threw the racket into the air, and from that moment on, she had a new title "the oldest Olympic badminton women's singles champion".
After ten years of sharpening the sword, Zhang Ning has become a miracle in the world badminton and has won the praise of all fans.
After winning the Olympic championship, Zhang Ning immediately announced that he would hold a wedding on November 22, 2004, but due to the schedule and other reasons, Zhang Ning's mentor Li Yongbo personally finalized the wedding date on October 8, 2004, meaning "October 8, must be fading"
In October 2003, when Zhang Ning opened the dormitory door with the World Championships championship trophy in his hand, he saw the 9999 red roses that Yu Yang carefully placed, and this time he won the Olympic Games, Yu Yang once again reproduced this classic scene, and wished the two a long love with 9999 red roses.
On October 8, 2004, Zhang Ning and Yu Yang's wedding was held in Dalian, Liaoning Province, 699 pigeons were released into the blue sky at the same time, 999 balloons flew from the two of them, the scene was starry, coach Li Yongbo, Tang Xuehua and Gong Ruina, Zhou Mi, Zhang Jun, Chen Hong and many other Olympic champions and world champions were present to celebrate, not only the bride is an Olympic champion, even the bridesmaids and groomsmen are also Olympic champions.
After watching Yu Yang's proposal to Zhang Ning, Zhang Ning shed tears of emotion, the two exchanged rings, Zhang Ning cried again, crying sweetly and happily, she said excitedly:
"I didn't like him at first, although Yu Yang's personality was a bit introverted, but he was more naughty when he was young, to be honest, I can feel that he has always been very good to me, until 1992, the two of us initially had a little relationship! Now I know Yang very well, he is a very careful person who knows how to care about others, I feel very happy to marry him! ”
Yu Yang is a very considerate man, who has been silently supporting Zhang Ning behind his back, and is also very filial and respectful to Zhang Ning's parents.
After the wedding, the two have been very affectionate, but they have not had children, every time they see other people's children, the two of them sigh: "It's good to have a child", but between having a child or participating in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Zhang Ning chose the latter, although family and friends have been urging. But Zhang Ning could only say: "Let's talk about it when I can't fight." ”
Yu Yang actually wanted to have a child for a long time, but he understood Zhang Ning's character, so he chose to understand, delayed the birth of a child again, and has been silently supporting Zhang Ning's career and smoothing out the "troubles" at home for her.
Athletes are most likely to be injured in the knee, and Zhang Ning is no exception, after the age of 30, her knee developed severe edema, swollen as thick as the thigh, and can only be wrapped tightly with a strap to barely compete. And every time I finished the game, I was like I was about to fall, and I faltered.
Under the influence of injuries, Zhang Ning's state gradually declined, in 2005 and 2006 in the badminton World Championships for two consecutive years lost to Xie Xingfang and was the runner-up, in the 2005 World Cup also lost again, the so-called "Fangning hegemony", seems to have become Xie Xingfang's one-man show.
After the 2006 Asian Games, Zhang Ning's form declined again, suffering serious injuries and even missing the 2008 Uber Cup, missing out on becoming a member of the six-game winning streak, and her world ranking also slipped all the way to seventh in the world, no longer favored by the outside world.
But before the opening of the Beijing Olympics, Zhang Ning suddenly regained his form and made a strong comeback, squeezing out Zhu Lin, who had just won the World Championships, and qualified for the Olympic Games.
In the women's singles competition of the Olympic Games, Zhang Ninglian Ke Posana, Quan Zaijuan, Pi Hongyan, and Julianti advanced to the final with difficulty, which was a result that exceeded everyone's expectations.
In the finals, Zhang Ning played against Xie Xingfang, who has been the bitter master in recent years - ranked No. 1 in the world, although the number of people who supported her because of Xie Xingfang's arrogant personality was not as good as Zhang Ning, but everyone knew in their hearts that Zhang Ning's chances of winning were not great.
But most of the truth is in the hands of a few people after that, and Zhang Ning is the wave of those few people, Zhang Ning's advantage lies in abundant physical fitness, she said more than once before the game: "My current physical condition is very good, if anyone plays the third game with me, I will win!" ”
Although Xie Xingfang's strength is strong, it is easy to be soft at critical moments, so what Zhang Ning has to do is to drag the game into the third game at all costs, in the game, Zhang Ning has four times because the bandage on his knee fell off because the game was too intense, and he had to stop to tie the bandage, but even so, Xie Xingfang could not end the game in the first two games.
In the deciding game, the two sides were inseparable, but Zhang Ning accelerated the attack speed in the later stage, completely overwhelmed Xie Xingfang in momentum, forced Xie Xingfang to make a mistake at the last moment, and finally won 21-18, becoming the first defending badminton women's singles champion in the history of the Olympic Games, and at the same time refreshing the age of the oldest Olympic badminton women's singles champion to 33 years old.
In the whole process of the Olympic Games, Zhang Ning cried three times, the first time he cried was to narrowly defeat the "Overseas Army" Pi Hongyan to qualify, the second time he cried was to defeat Indonesian dark horse Yulianti in the semifinals, and the third time he cried to defeat Xie Xingfang to successfully defend his title.
Perhaps in the eyes of most people, crying is a kind of weakness, but Zhang Ning's three cries, let us see the tenacity and strength of the veteran who fought with injuries, from entering the national team in 1991 to successfully defending the title in 2008, Zhang Ning has risen and fallen several times, but in the end he went against the current and became a hero in Olympic history.
04 Divorce and remarriage will eventually come to fruition
On August 18, 2008, Zhang Ning officially announced his retirement and returned to family life with the halo of countless Olympic defending champions.
Compared with Zhang Ning's brilliance, although Yu Yang once won the second place in the East Asian Games team, and when he was a coach, he also led his team members to win many World Youth Championships, and his star was obviously much dimmer.
So in life, Yu Yang became Zhang Ning's foil, which made his self-esteem seriously frustrated, and the two have been getting together less and leaving more since they got married, and suddenly they couldn't adapt to getting along for a long time, and gradually gave birth to estrangement.
On November 23, 2008, Zhang Ning officially retired and entered the Chinese women's badminton team as a coach, and later began to be promoted to head coach, which made Yu Yang feel even inferior, and the estrangement between the two sides began to deepen, and finally quietly went through the divorce procedures in December 2008.
It is said that the divorce was proposed by Yu Yang, there are no children between the two, and there are no property disputes.
Zhang Ning still cherishes this relationship, and it was sad for a long time after the divorce, because both of them are on the badminton team and can often see each other, so Zhang Ning will always inadvertently recall the sweet moments of the past, and it took nearly two years to gradually become indifferent.
In 2010, Zhang Ning led the team to Germany to participate in the competition, and met Li Ang, who is known as the "director of the Chinese Badminton Association Office in Germany", who was a men's badminton national player at the same time as Li Yongbo, and later came to Germany to do business.
Li Yongbo, who had been married once, was living in Germany with his 18-year-old son at the time, and after he learned that Zhang Ning had divorced, he began to pursue her.
Slowly, Zhang Ning found that this man who was 11 years older than himself not only had a lot of common language with him, but also loved people, was mature and considerate, so he agreed to Li Ang's pursuit and started a foreign relationship.
Although they are separated by oceans, the two often fly to each other, and their relationship has increased rapidly, and they officially registered their marriage in March 2012, and a month after getting married, Zhang Ning found out that she was pregnant, and she was getting closer and closer to being a mother.
At that time, the Olympic Games were approaching, and everyone persuaded Zhang Ning to raise the baby with peace of mind, but Zhang Ning did not want to give up the opportunity to coach the Olympic Games, and after obtaining her husband's consent, she coached the London Olympics with a big belly, and under her guidance, Wang Yihan won the gold and silver medals in women's singles.
After the Olympics, Zhang Ning went to Germany to raise a baby, and gave birth to a daughter on November 22, 2012, realizing the desire to be a mother.
In 2018, Zhang Ning ended his national team coaching career and began to deepen the field of youth badminton promotion and training, and Li Ang also knew that it was not easy for Zhang Ning to live alone with his daughter, so he began to shift his career focus to China, returned to Beijing and got together with Zhang Ning, ending a 6-year separation in a foreign country.
After Li Ang returned to China, he vigorously supported Zhang Ning to develop his own career, assisted Zhang Ning to establish badminton training bases in Fujian, Beijing, Heilongjiang, Hainan and other places, and also took care of the important task of taking care of his daughter.
Li Ang knew how many grievances and responsibilities Zhang Ning had borne in the six years that he was not around, so he tried every means to make up for her, he said to Zhang Ning: You have paid so much for your daughter and this family before, I have always felt guilty, and now I just want to make up for it.
Zhang Ning's badminton career has been bumpy, but she has not changed her original intention after ups and downs, and climbed to the top with a tenacity; Zhang Ning's marriage had ups and downs, but after she divorced, she met her lover again, had a beautiful family, and became a happy mother!
Now Zhang Ning is 48 years old, and Li Ang is also 59 years old, I wish them happiness for the rest of their lives!
#看见人间百态#