Growing up and making your descent
In 1981, Zou Shiming was born in an ordinary family in Guizhou, and his parents were both skilled workers in a local aerospace equipment factory. Father Zou Jianguo is very busy with work, and when he comes home, his son Zou Shiming has fallen asleep, and it is difficult to communicate.
Mother Song Yonghui often accompanies her and has an inseparable relationship with her son. Xiao Zou Shiming has a docile and introverted personality, slightly feminine, and is often bullied by several female classmates, which makes his parents feel embarrassed.
When he was 14 years old, his parents decided to send Zou Shiming to a local martial arts school to learn Xi martial arts, hoping to improve his weak physique through fitness. During a promotion activity organized by the school, coach Liang Feng found that Zou Shiming's flexible footwork and superior martial arts foundation made him very talented in boxing, and offered him to switch to boxing.
At first, the parents thought that their son was thin and unsuitable for martial arts, and they firmly opposed it. Later, under the patient persuasion of the coach, he reluctantly agreed.
In 1997, 16-year-old Zou Shiming entered the Guizhou Provincial Boxing Team as he wished. With his extraordinary understanding and hard training, his skills have greatly increased. In the preliminaries of the 2000 National Championships, Zou Shiming rose as a dark horse and defeated the original seeded players.
For a time, the name of this young man began to be known in the boxing world.
The glory and regret of the national player period
After becoming famous in the 2000 national competition, Zou Shiming ushered in the highlight of his career. At the 2003 World Championships, he won the second place in the Chinese men's boxing event, achieving a historic breakthrough for the national team.
For a while, the voices of praise poured in. One year later, Zou Shiming represented China in the Athens Olympics, fought fiercely with many strong opponents, and finally won the bronze medal, which was the first medal of Chinese boxing in the Olympic Games.
Such a brilliant achievement made Zou Shiming a top boxer in China.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics was the pinnacle of Zou Shiming's athletic career. Fighting with boxing masters from all over the world at home, he finally defeated his opponent and won a gold medal for his country.
This is the first gold medal of Chinese boxing in the Olympic Games, and it also makes Zou Shiming a national hero. Just when he was immersed in the joy of victory, the national team leader asked him to fight for another four years and defend his title in the next Olympic Games.
At that time, the tennis player Li Na chose to "run away", and the gentle Zou Shiming could only endure it silently and agree to the leader's request even if he was dissatisfied in his heart.
At the 2012 London Olympics, Zou Shiming stood out and successfully defended his gold medal. After completing the mission, he could no longer hold back the impulse in his heart and immediately submitted his retirement report, ending his 15-year national team career.
During this period, glory and regret coexisted, bringing many reliefs.
The ups and downs of a career
In 2013, Zou Shiming officially retired and flew to the United States alone to start his dream professional boxing career. After several years of exploration and training, the strength has become more and more sophisticated.
In 2014, he won the WBO flyweight international belt with a victory against Colombia in Macau. Two years later, he successfully defended the belt, becoming the second Chinese boxing champion to win an international professional championship after Xiong Chaozhong.
In 2015, Zou Shiming was invited to participate in the recording of the English variety show "Where Are You Going, Dad" with his dazzling national player and career, and became famous and popular on the Internet for a while.
However, the good times were short-lived, and before the 2017 World Championships in Shanghai, Zou Shiming gave interviews to a number of media outlets, hyping that he wanted to defeat his Japanese opponent and regain the belt.
Unexpectedly, after the fierce competition, he lost unexpectedly and was abused by a large number of netizens. This "traffic turmoil" discredited Zou Shiming, and he has since faded out of professional boxing.
A happy family in the course of twists and turns
In 2011, with the "approval" of the leadership, Zou Shiming married his girlfriend Ran Yingying, who had been in love for many years. On the day of the wedding, he could not hide the joy on his face, holding the hand of his newlywed wife, and frequently showed a sweet smile.
Just as the two are immersed in happiness, Zou Shiming must leave his new wife and start training for the next Olympic Games. In the days of separation, Ran Yingying often missed her husband, but she never complained, because she knew that it was not easy for her husband to win glory for the country.
4 months after marriage, Ran Yingying gave birth to her eldest son Zou Mingxuan. Later, two sons and a daughter were born one after another, and the laughter and laughter in the family were endless. In the process of parenting, Ran Yingying supported herself, and her husband devoted himself to boxing and could not help.
However, she always felt the affection of her husband and never alienated her family even when she couldn't be with her. It is precisely with the solid backing of his wife and children that Zou Shiming can run around for the country without worries and achieve glory.
The helplessness and compromise of giving up a career to give back to the country
After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Zou Shiming originally wanted to retire and develop his dream career in professional boxing. However, the leader of the national team expressed his stance at the celebration banquet, hoping that he would fight for the last Olympic Games in four years and defend his title.
At that time, the female tennis player Li Na chose to "leave" the national team, hiring her own coach and arranging training freely, which was unprecedented in the sports system. And the gentle and obedient Zou Shiming, even if he was extremely reluctant in his heart, could only accept the requirements of the leader and had no choice but to compromise.
After winning gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he left the national team like Li Na and joined the professional league to start a different world. At the age of 27, he was in the prime of boxing and had a bright future.
However, the country's years of cultivation made Zou Shiming unbearable to give up halfway, and his sense of responsibility for the motherland drove him to agree to the leader's request. After the 2012 London Olympics, although he retired as he wished, his career was no longer at his peak, and his name was gradually replaced by newcomers.
This compromise is really a helpless move.
After 10 years of training, he finally reached the top and is still the No. 1 boxing champion in China
Zou Shiming was born in an ordinary family, and his parents were factory workers. When he was a child, he was thin and introverted, and his female classmates often bullied him, which made him feel inferior. When he was 14 years old, his parents sent him to a martial arts school to learn Xi martial arts, hoping to improve his physical fitness through exercise.
By chance, the coach discovered his talent for martial arts and suggested that he switch to boxing. As a result, Zou Shiming embarked on the path of martial arts and gradually turned to boxing.
In 1997, 16-year-old Zou Shiming entered the provincial boxing team and officially became an athlete. At first he was just a sparring partner, obeying stronger teammates. However, with his excellent understanding and hard training, he became famous in the national competition three years later, defeating the seeded players.
In the following 10 years, Zou Shiming represented the national team in 2 Olympic Games and many World Championships, and gradually grew into a top boxing champion in China. In 2004, he won the Olympic bronze medal, and in 2008, he won the first gold medal in the history of Chinese boxing.
In 2012, he successfully defended his title and established his status as the "boss" in the domestic boxing world.
The ups and downs of his career also deduce the difficulties of life. After going to the United States in 2013, he won the international championship belt twice; participated in variety shows and became popular on the Internet for a while.
But after losing the 2017 World Championships, he also tasted the pain of "traffic backlash", and his reputation was discredited and he was not favored. However, Zou Shiming, who has experienced upheaval and displacement, still adheres to his original intention of winning glory for the country.
His tenacious and hard-working spirit is worth learning Xi from every latecomer.