As night fell, the streets of Beijing were lit up, and Shi Zhihao was walking alone on his way home. His steps were heavy, and his graying hair swayed gently in the breeze.
Shi Zhihao's face is engraved with the traces of time, and every wrinkle seems to tell the story of the past. His eyes were deep, revealing an indescribable depth.
The national coach of the Chinese table tennis team, who was once beautiful, has a different life now. Since marrying his young disciple Li Nan, the trajectory of his life seems to have embarked on a completely new path.
Their marriage is full of controversy and suspense in the eyes of the outside world, one is a senior coach of the national team, and the other is a young and promising table tennis star, their union is not only a romantic legend, but also an insoluble mystery in the eyes of the world.
Shi Zhihao's Beijing career was separated from the two places
Shi Zhihao moved to Beijing after being offered a position as coach of the Chinese national table tennis team.
His daily routine is filled with the development of training plans, the study of technical movements, and the individual coaching of athletes.
The pace of his life is closely linked to table tennis, and his daily schedule is well organized, spending time in the gymnasium from morning to night.
In Shanghai, Cao Yanhua is just as busy.
She teaches young students at the table tennis training center, using her experience and skills to bring out the best in them.
She often walks back and forth in the classroom, carefully observing the students' swinging posture and pace, stopping from time to time to give guidance and encouragement.
Shi Zhihao and Cao Yanhua's calls became less and less, and their lives seemed to run on different tracks. Occasional phone calls mostly revolve around my son's education and living arrangements. On the other end of the phone, Shi Zhihao often heard Cao Yanhua's busy voice and felt her dedication and busyness in her career.
Over time, the lives of the two went their separate ways completely.
Shi Zhihao coaches the athletes of the national team in the gymnasium in Beijing, while Cao Yanhua trains the next generation of young players in the table tennis classroom in Shanghai.
There are fewer and fewer topics in common between them, and the different rhythms of life make them have less and less in common.
In the end, the two decided to break up peacefully, ending their years-long marriage.
The son lives with Cao Yanhua, while Shi Zhihao continues his coaching career in Beijing. In their lives, career becomes dominant, while family relationships have to make concessions.
Shi Zhihao and Li Nan's emotional entanglement
Four years later, one spring, the relationship between Shi Zhihao and his student Li Nan began to be the focus of attention.
In the table tennis training hall, Shi Zhihao, as the coach of the national team, guides Li Nan and other athletes to train every day.
In the stadium, Shi Zhihao often stood on the sidelines, observing Li Nan's every move, from the posture of swinging the racket to the movement of his feet, he meticulously guided every detail.
After training, Shi Zhihao often spent extra time discussing technical issues with Li Nan.
Together, they analysed the footage of the game, and Shi Zhihao explained the technical points and tactical layout in detail.
In these exchanges, Li Nan gradually grew from an ordinary athlete to an important member of the national team.
In addition to technical guidance, Shi Zhihao also cares about Li Nan's living situation.
He learned that Li Nan had to face the pressure of his studies in addition to training, so he made adjustments to his training schedule to ensure that Li Nan could balance his studies and training.
During the training camp of the national team, Shi Zhihao also specially arranged additional recovery training for Li Nan to help her better cope with high-intensity training.
With the passage of time, Li Nan developed a deep affection for Shi Zhihao.
On the training ground, she can always feel Shi Zhihao's care and support. In the competition, whenever she achieves good results, Shi Zhihao is always the first to run up to celebrate her.
Li Nan began to reveal his views on the game to Shi Zhihao during training breaks, and even shared a lot with him in life.
In the end, the relationship between Li Nan and Shi Zhihao gradually developed into a romantic relationship.
They are also spending more and more time outside the arena. Sometimes, they go to restaurants to eat together, and sometimes they go for walks together and discuss topics other than table tennis. Their time together was full of ease and pleasure.
However, the romance had an impact on their careers. Li Nan realized that a relationship between an athlete and a coach could adversely affect Shi Zhihao's career.
After careful consideration, Li Nan decided to retire and ended his career as an athlete. She didn't want her private life to affect Shi Zhihao's coaching career.
Li Nan's retirement caused some shock in the team. Many players and coaches were surprised by her departure. But Li Nan was firm in her decision, and she wanted to make sacrifices for this relationship. When bidding farewell to his teammates and coaches, Li Nan received a lot of blessings and encouragement.
Simple weddings and new life
Shi Zhihao and Li Nan's wedding was held in a small and cozy hotel, near a beautiful park, in a quiet and elegant environment.
This small wedding scene is simply and warmly furnished, with white and pale green as the main colors, and bouquets and detailed decorations are dotted to create a fresh and natural atmosphere.
The guests arrived one after another, they were all relatives and friends of Shi Zhihao and Li Nan, and each of them had a deep personal relationship with them.
On this small but intimate occasion, people's smiles are particularly genuine. Six tables of guests sat around the wedding scene, and the sound of conversation and laughter filled the entire wedding scene, and everyone's face was filled with happiness and blessings.
When the wedding officially began, Shi Zhihao and Li Nan walked hand in hand to the center of the wedding.
Both of them were dressed in traditional wedding attire, Li Nan was wearing a simple and elegant white wedding dress, and Shi Zhihao was wearing a neat suit, their smiles warm and sincere. The wedding ceremony was simple and solemn, and the two exchanged rings and made a lifelong commitment to each other.
At the wedding banquet, the dishes were exquisite and delicious, carefully selected by the two of them, reflecting their taste and pursuit of life.
Amid the blessings of the guests, the two cut the wedding cake together, symbolizing the beginning of their shared sweet life.
Subsequently, several close friends and family members took the stage to speak, reminiscing about the past and looking forward to the future, every sentence full of affection and blessings.
After the wedding, Shi Zhihao and Li Nan soon welcomed their daughter Shi Zenan.
Shi Zhihao became a father in his 50s, and he cherished this belated family happiness.
Although he has left his job with the national team, he still maintains his love and devotion to table tennis.
Shi Zhihao and Li Nan raised Shi Zenan together, and although their lives were simple, they were full of happiness and warmth.
At home, Shi Zhihao often taught Shi Zenan to play table tennis hand-in-hand, not only teaching her skills, but also telling her the spirit and value behind sports.
Li Nan gives full care and support in family life, she carefully takes care of every detail of the family to ensure that everything is in order.
Although Shi Zhihao is no longer the coach of the national team, he still maintains an active figure in the field of table tennis. He often participates in table tennis-related activities and lectures to share his experience and insights.
The contribution of the international table tennis community
In 2018, Shi Zhihao, as a senior coach of Chinese table tennis, embarked on a journey to Papua New Guinea with Zhang Yining, a famous player in the international table tennis world.
This is an international cooperation project aimed at helping the local community develop the sport of table tennis. In PNG, Shi Zhihao and Zhang Yining were warmly welcomed. Their arrival has brought great encouragement to local table tennis enthusiasts and athletes.
During his time in PNG, Shi Zhihao was mainly responsible for training local coaches and athletes.
He patiently guided every detail on the training ground, from the basic grip to the complex tactical set-ups, infused with his years of expertise and experience.
Zhang Yining joined him to demonstrate high-level techniques and training methods, and the cooperation between the two has undoubtedly injected new vitality into the development of local table tennis.
In addition to the training course, Shi Zhihao also communicated with local table tennis organizations and shared his insights and suggestions on the development of table tennis.
He stressed the importance of basic training and encouraged local coaches and athletes to be persistent. During this visit, Shi Zhihao's expertise and enthusiasm deeply influenced the local table tennis enthusiasts.
In the 2020 Spring Festival Gala, Shi Zhihao appeared with his foreign student Jeffrey Roy.
Jeffrey is a talented young table tennis player from Europe who went to China to study because he admired Shi Zhihao's coaching style.
On the stage of the Spring Festival Gala, Shi Zhihao and Jeffrey showed a wonderful table tennis performance, showing the charm of table tennis and the results of international exchanges.
During the performance, Shi Zhihao and Jeffrey accurately cooperated with each other, demonstrated a number of difficult skills, and won bursts of applause from the audience.
Shi Zhihao's every move exudes professionalism and confidence, while Jeffrey shows his energy and potential as a young athlete.
This performance not only demonstrated Shi Zhihao's outstanding ability as a coach, but also reflected his contribution to the development of new international table tennis stars.
After the performance, Shi Zhihao and Jeffrey were interviewed.
In the interview, Shi Zhihao talked about his love for table tennis and his determination to pass on his experience and knowledge to young athletes around the world.
He mentioned that table tennis is a sport that can transcend cultures and borders, and he hopes that through his own efforts, more people can understand and love this sport.
The second half of Shi Zhihao's life
Shi Zhihao, 64, no longer frequently appears on the sidelines of table tennis matches or in media reports, but as the president of the China Table Tennis Academy, he still plays an important role in table tennis education and training.
At the Academy, Shi Zhihao is not only responsible for developing the syllabus and training plan, but also personally participating in the teaching and training process, growing together with the young coaches and athletes.
In the daily work of the college, Shi Zhihao is always rigorous and meticulous. He often makes his rounds around the training hall to observe the coaches' teaching methods and the students' training.
After watching the training, he often communicates with the coaches to share his insights and experiences to help them improve their teaching.
For the students, he always patiently guides and tirelessly corrects their movements to ensure that each student gets the most suitable training for them.
In the teaching activities of the college, Shi Zhihao not only imparts skills, but also pays more attention to cultivating students' character and spirit.
He often organizes lectures and symposia to share his game experience and table tennis philosophy. He encouraged the students to be resilient and to maintain their love and respect for the competition.
Shi Zhihao's calmness and elegance have become a role model for students to follow, and they have not only benefited from table tennis skills, but also inspired by their attitude and values towards life.
At the same time, his wife, Li Nan, is fully engaged in family life. Li Nan takes care of everything carefully at home, whether it is the daily affairs of the family, or the education and growth of the children, she handles it in an orderly manner.
She has created a warm and harmonious environment for the family, so that Shi Zhihao can enjoy the warmth and tranquility of the family in addition to his busy work.
Li Nan is not only the pillar of the family, but also Shi Zhihao's emotional support. She often accompanies Shi Zhihao to some college activities, or prepares small gatherings for his students and colleagues at home.
On these occasions, Li Nan always showed her affinity and wisdom, adding a lot of color to Shi Zhihao's social activities.
Shi Zhihao's life experience is undoubtedly the best interpretation of his persistence and love for career and family.
Throughout his career, he has shown boundless passion and professional dedication to table tennis, both as an athlete, as a coach, and as the president of the academy.
In family life, the harmonious atmosphere he and Li Nan created together showed their deep feelings and sense of responsibility for the family.
Resources:
1. "The History of Chinese Table Tennis"
2. Table Tennis Coach's Manual