It was a sunny day in 1969, and in a small county town in Fan County, Henan Province, a 6-year-old girl was standing on the playground, staring intently at the table tennis ball bouncing in the air.
Her name is Liu Wei, and by chance, the sport of table tennis attracted her like a magical force. As if summoned by some kind, she couldn't help but pick up the racket next to her and gently hit the small white ball.
This scene was deeply imprinted in Liu Wei's mind and became an unforgettable beginning of her life. Liu Wei's father, Liu Canying, a staff member of the local sports committee, saw his daughter's innocent love for the sport, so he transformed the family's dining table into a table tennis table and took on the role of enlightenment coach.
Under the strict and scientific guidance of his father, Liu Wei showed extraordinary talent in half a year. Seeing her daughter's outstanding performance, Liu Canying was very happy, so she was sent to the county's juvenile amateur sports school for further study.
In order to strengthen her daughter's arm strength, Liu Canying specially customized an iron medal weighing 3 kilograms, forcing Liu Wei to swing hundreds of times a day. Although his arm was so sore that he couldn't even hold the chopsticks, Liu Wei gritted his teeth and never bowed his head to the difficulties.
In 1979, 10-year-old Liu Wei won the championship title in the junior competition of nine counties in four provinces. Seeing her daughter's blooming edge, Liu Canying burst into tears and realized that she should leave her hometown and enter the professional team to receive more professional and systematic training.
In this way, Liu Wei started a new journey in life with his love for table tennis. Although the road ahead is full of unknowns and hardships, she has already prepared enough courage and determination in her heart.
The arduous journey of the national player
Leaving the warm home, Liu Wei began the arduous journey to his dream. In 1980, with the full support of her father Liu Canying, she went to the Henan Provincial Team and the Bayi Team for trial training, hoping to be recognized by the professional team.
However, reality hit the father and daughter hard. The coaches of the Henan provincial team turned a blind eye to Liu Wei's skills and directly rejected her; Although the coach of the Bayi team saw her potential, he ultimately rejected her joining because she was too short.
For a 14-year-old girl, this rejection is undoubtedly a huge blow. But Liu Wei was not discouraged, but ignited a more ardent fighting spirit, determined to prove himself with his practical actions.
Finally, in a youth tournament in 1980, Liu Wei won the championship with an outstanding performance. Her petite figure contains a tenacious and unyielding will, all of which is seen by Sun Dingshun, the young and promising coach of the Shandong provincial team.
Sun Dingshun was a far-sighted man, and he happily incorporated this piece of jade into his command.
After entering the Shandong provincial team, Liu Wei's ranking was originally at the bottom. But she wasn't discouraged and trained as hard as ever. After a lot of hard work, she finally turned the tide and became the number one player in the women's singles team.
In order to improve his skills, Liu Wei took the initiative to ask Ying, hoping to compete with the main players of the men's team. During the hard training process, she always reciprocated her teammates with thoughtful gestures.
In the 1982 National Outstanding Athlete Competition, Liu Wei won the fifth place with his outstanding performance and broke the record of the youngest athlete. This impressive result attracted the attention of Zhang Xielin, the head coach of the national women's team.
In 1983, at the age of 14, Liu Wei was honorably selected for the national team, becoming the youngest national player since the founding of New China, opening a new chapter in his table tennis career.
The brilliant peak shows strength
Time flies, time flies. In 1991, after years of hard training, Liu Wei finally stood on the world-class arena for the first time - the famous Chiba World Table Tennis Championships.
It was the stage of her first World Series.
In this much-anticipated competition, Liu Weishi showed his indomitable will and outstanding psychological quality. Even in the face of strong opponents, she has never relented.
With his outstanding performance, Liu Wei finally won the gold medal in the mixed doubles and announced his strong strength to the world.
Two years later, in 1993, at the World Table Tennis Championships in Gothenburg, Liu Wei and teammate Qiao Yunping formed a golden partner to face the combination of teammate Deng Yaping/Qiao Hong in the women's doubles final.
After a peak duel like a dragon and a tiger, the battle between the two sides was white-hot, and the scene was extremely fierce.
Two years later, the 45th World Table Tennis Championships kicked off in 1995. At this event, Liu Wei's strength has been fully exploded.
First of all, she helped the national table tennis women's team defend the women's team championship as the main player. Then, she teamed up with Wang Tao to win the mixed doubles championship, and teamed up with her former partner Qiao Yunping to win the silver medal in women's doubles.
What's even more unbelievable is that the partnership of Liu Wei and Wang Tao has created the immortal honor of winning the mixed doubles championship three times in a row at the World Table Tennis Championships! Their invincible heroic image became the brightest stars in the hearts of table tennis fans around the world at that time.
The 1996 Atlanta Olympics was the most dazzling stage in Liu Wei's life. In the final of the women's doubles event, she and her teammate Qiao Yunping went all the way to the finals, and finally defeated teammates Deng Yaping/Qiao Hong to advance to the final.
Although they were reversed by their opponents at a critical moment, Liu Wei/Qiao Yunping still won the runner-up in the end, just a thin line away from the gold medal.
In women's singles, Liu Wei also played well and made it all the way to the semifinals. Unfortunately, in the semifinals, she encountered the stubborn resistance of her teammate Deng Yaping, and then lost to Qiao Hong in the qualifying round, and finally finished fourth.
Although she missed the gold medal, Liu Wei's wonderful performance in the Olympic arena once again demonstrated her top strength.
Refuse to marry a rich man and stick to his heart
Liu Wei's table tennis career can be described as brilliant, but her life path has not been smooth. She has encountered many temptations and tests in several critical moments, but her perseverance has given a powerful response.
In 1983, Liu Wei, who was only 14 years old, went to Europe with the national team to participate in the competition. Who would have thought that this short journey would open another door in her life.
The leader of the South Korean delegation was keenly aware of this precious gem and generously extended a heartwarming invitation to Liu Wei to be his goddaughter, to move to South Korea on favorable terms, and to pledge her full support for her participation in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Faced with such tempting conditions, many people may already be tempted. However, for Liu Wei, who is only 14 years old, the responsibility and mission of the motherland and table tennis are far more important than those interests.
She rightfully rejected the invitation, and righteously defended the sincere patriotism in her heart.
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it is 1999. Liu Wei, who was in his prime, once again encountered the enthusiastic pursuit of a wealthy Japanese businessman with power and wealth. The wealthy businessman secretly promised Liu Weifang that as long as she was willing to marry her, she could obtain Japanese nationality and enjoy the luxurious life of a villa and a luxury car.
The abundance of material life is enough to make most people's hearts moved. However, for Liu Wei, these are all illusory things. She soberly rejected the other party and said justifiably: "I am Chinese, and I am proud of the motherland."
In the face of Liu Wei's resolute refusal, the rich businessman did not give up. When Liu Wei came to Beijing to participate in the event, he chased thousands of miles to the capital, bent on convincing Liu Wei and his family in person.
However, Liu Wei still refused him without looking back, and even categorically vetoed his small request of "even if there is only one percent chance". Seeing Liu Wei so determined, the wealthy businessman finally left as if he had resigned himself to his fate, with a full of frustration and shame.
Whether it was in the face of the temptation of the South Korean delegation or in rejecting the covetousness of wealthy Japanese businessmen, Liu Wei always maintained a noble ethics and a firm stand. This is clearly out of her love for the motherland and her persistent pursuit of her career.
With this unswerving determination, she can win one glory after another in the table tennis arena.
A new journey of studying at Peking University
The 1996 Atlanta Olympics were an important turning point in the life of the 27-year-old Liu Wei. She resolutely chose to retire and went to Sakura Bank Club in Japan to start a new phase of playing as a coach.
There, Liu Wei gained not only a vigorous career, but also a desire and pursuit of education.
In 1999, Liu Wei decisively returned to China and became an excellent coach of Shandong Sports Technology College.
And she has had a love for table tennis since she was a child, but she has always been troubled by the shortcomings of her cultural level.
In this way, on September 8, 1999, this outstanding table tennis player worked hard and was successfully admitted to the Law School of Peking University, opening a new chapter in his life.
It is worth mentioning that although Liu Wei never made any special requests, Peking University still attaches great importance to this sports talent and provides her with accommodation in an ordinary six-person dormitory, so that she can study and live on campus like ordinary students.
In the strong table tennis culture of Peking University, Liu Wei gradually discovered that his love for the sport was so pure and persistent. In October 2003, with the strong support of the school, she resolutely founded the Peking University Table Tennis Club.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics was an important milestone in Liu Wei's career. She went all out to help Hong Kong businessman Chiu Teck Puat build a new table tennis hall at Peking University, and was also honored to be invited to be a live commentator for CCTV's table tennis matches.
While struggling between study and work, Liu Wei also served as the general manager of the Peking University Founder Table Tennis Club, leading the team to compete in the National Table Tennis Super League.
It is worth mentioning that in the 2005 season, she spent a high transfer fee of 600,000 yuan to include international table tennis player Li Nan into the team.
However, even the champion who once dominated the game also encountered many difficulties when it came to the operation of the club. Especially when negotiating salary packages with players, Liu Wei felt the most headache.
She was reluctant to find that many athletes nowadays tend to focus only on their own salary package when signing a contract, and ignore what they can contribute to the club.
In the 16 years since he entered Peking University Law School in 1999, Liu Wei has gradually completed his LL.B., a postgraduate diploma from the School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences of Peking University, and a Ph.D. in management from the School of Education.
During this period, she has always been committed to exploring the talent training model of "combining sports and education", encouraging more outstanding sports students to study hard and participate in sports at the same time.
She has published important academic articles such as "Exploring the Road of Combining Sports and Education, Innovating the Development Model of Sports", which has been cited and affirmed many times. At one time, she was also warmly invited by the famous coach Mr. Liu Guoliang to serve as the coach of the national player Liu Shiwen.