In the world of table tennis, she is a legend that everyone knows and everyone knows. Deng Yaping, an invincible name on the table tennis table, a "big demon king of table tennis" who once terrified opponents.
However, after a brilliant sports career came to an end, the sports superstar did not choose to rest on his laurels and embarked on a new path – becoming a "Cambridge Female Doctor".
This leap is not only a transformation of the field, but also a huge change in the trajectory of life. From the sweat-soaked gymnasium to the scholarly academic hall, what has Deng Yaping experienced?
In 1989, the world table tennis stage ushered in a new star, 16-year-old Deng Yaping represented China in the World Table Tennis Championships for the first time, marking the beginning of her career.
That year, Deng Yaping's performance was impressive, and she stood out for her incredible speed and precision skills, showing her deep understanding and love for the sport with every serve and return.
In the following nine years, Deng Yaping became a perennial winner in international table tennis competitions. Every appearance she made in the competition seemed to herald the ownership of the gold medal.
Opponents always seem to be at a disadvantage when facing her, and Deng's technique, speed, strategy and mental quality constitute an overwhelming advantage.
On the field, she is active, and her quick pace and accurate judgment allow her to always stay ahead of the ever-changing battles.
Her technological innovation has also brought a new dimension to table tennis. Deng Yaping's superb ball handling skills, unique spin ball and versatile serve style all make it easy for her to find the flaws in her opponents in the match and control the pace of the match. Her style of play, which relied not only on strength and speed, but also on skill and intelligence, became a model for many young table tennis players to follow.
In the glory days of the national team, Deng Yaping wrote countless legends on the table tennis court with a body of only 1.55 meters tall.
With her technical and tactical prowess, she has risen to the top of the world time and time again, winning a total of 18 world titles and four Olympic gold medals, and holding the world number one position for eight consecutive years, an achievement that no one else can match.
Her game is full of skill and intelligence, and every shot seems so precise and decisive, as if every shot contains the code to victory.
Deng's success is no accident, and each of her victories is the result of countless training sessions. On the training ground, she is always the first to arrive and the last to leave.
She is extremely strict with herself, and no matter how brilliant she has achieved, she has always maintained her desire for victory and the pursuit of perfection.
In training, she constantly challenges herself and constantly refines her technique and tactics. Even against strong opponents, she always finds a way to overcome them.
Her game is full of perseverance. In the face of difficulties and challenges, Deng Yaping never gave up easily. Even when the match was in an unfavorable situation, she was able to stay calm and turn the situation around little by little through her own efforts.
It wasn't until he announced his retirement in 1998 that Deng Yaping's era came to an end. Her retirement is not only the end of an era, but also the legacy of a legend.
She used her strength and spirit to set a high standard for table tennis and pointed out the direction for future athletes. Her story is not only about victory and glory, but also about the love of the game, the desire to win, and the spirit of perseverance.
After retiring, Deng Yaping stood at another fork in the road in her life. For a former table tennis world champion, the traditional route is undoubtedly to stay in the world of sports, become a coach or a sports worker, and pass on his experience and wisdom to the next generation.
However, Deng Yaping's choice was different, and she decided to return to school to further her education, starting a new chapter in her academic career.
The turning point in that decision came at an Olympic committee meeting she attended. In that international environment, Deng Yaping deeply felt the power and importance of knowledge.
The in-depth discussions on sports, culture, education and other fields made her realize that sports achievements alone are not enough to make a voice on the international stage. She needs to be armed with more knowledge to be able to better express her views and participate in these discussions.
Deng Yaping's decision is not only for personal growth, but also to break the stereotype of athletes in society. Labels such as "well-limbed and simple-minded" have long been attached to athletes, and Deng hopes that through her actions, she will change this prejudice and show the possibility of athletes who can achieve something in other fields other than sports.
So, she embarked on a journey of learning and chose English as her major, a challenge that was not easy for athletes who had previously focused on physical training. For her, the starting point of language learning is almost from scratch, and even the basic 26 English letters need to be re-recognized and learned.
Faced with such a starting point, Deng Yaping did not choose to give up, but decided to use the perseverance and tenacity she had developed in the field of sports to face this new challenge.
Every morning at five o'clock, when most people are still asleep, Deng Yaping begins her English learning. Her daily routine has become reading, writing and memorizing, all of which are all-round challenges for English learning.
Learning English was not an easy task for Deng Yaping. During the initial learning process, she had to repeat the basic training of listening, speaking, reading, and writing over and over again.
Every pronunciation correction, every comprehension of an article, takes a lot of time and effort. But she has never slackened off, just like her persistence and persistence in table tennis training.
Her efforts were not in vain. Over time, her English has improved significantly. From not being able to write all the letters at first, to being able to read and understand English articles fluently, Deng Yaping's progress can be described as a leap forward.
She began to be able to communicate at a basic level in English, and gradually, she was even able to make more complex expressions and discussions in English.
The most challenging thing is that Deng Yaping needs to overcome not only the language barrier itself, but also the psychological pressure of standing in front of the crowd and giving public speeches in a non-native language.
At first, it took her up to a month to prepare for a five-minute speech in English, including writing a speech, practicing her pronunciation repeatedly, and even simulating a speech scenario for practical training.
However, with constant practice and practice, Deng Yaping gradually overcame these obstacles. Her English speech is becoming more fluent and more confident. From the initial nervousness and jerkiness, to the later calmness and ease, her changes are not only reflected in the improvement of her language level, but also in the enhancement of her personal ability and self-confidence.
Deng's educational journey began at Tsinghua University in China, crossed all the way to the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, and eventually reached the University of Cambridge, which she dreamed of.
Along the way, she not only learned about language and culture, but also explored the fields of sports science, management and international sports development.
In the process, Deng Yaping gradually transformed herself from a world-class table tennis player to a scholar and sports development advocate with a wealth of knowledge and an international perspective.
At Tsinghua University, she started her own English learning journey, which was her first step into the world. Tsinghua University, as one of the top universities in China, has provided her with a solid academic foundation.
Deng Yaping not only improved her language skills here, but also broadened her horizons and enhanced her expression skills and self-confidence in international exchanges by participating in various academic exchanges and activities.
Subsequently, at the University of Nottingham, Deng Yaping chose sports management as her research direction. This choice was clearly influenced by her personal career and interests.
At Nottingham, she not only delved into the theory of sports management, but also learned how to apply these theories to practical work, especially in the planning and execution of sports programmes.
This period of study has laid a solid foundation for her to play a more important role in the development of sports in the future.
Eventually, Deng Yaping entered the University of Cambridge, her dream school. Here, she not only continued to deepen her research in the field of sports management, but also joined the University of Cambridge's Sports Science Research Centre to discuss cutting-edge issues in sports science with the world's leading scholars.
During her studies and research at Cambridge, Deng Yaping combined her years of practical experience in sports with academic theories to conduct a series of studies on sports science, athlete health, physical education, etc., which not only contributed to the development of sports disciplines, but also provided important theoretical support for sports practice.
After graduation, Deng Yaping did not stay away from the field of sports, on the contrary, she used her knowledge and experience to actively participate in the development of sports in China and even the world.
She served as an ambassador for the Beijing Olympic Games, using her international influence and expertise to make important contributions to the successful bid for the Beijing Olympic Games.