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Independent living
54-year-old Li Xin was sitting alone in front of the window in a daze. The bustling city scene outside the window has nothing to do with her, but her heart is full of loneliness and emptiness. Looking back on her past life experience, she was once the top star of the Chinese women's basketball team, repeatedly achieved great results in the Olympics and the World Cup, and after retiring, she became a pioneer in the basketball industry and became the first female head coach in the history of the CBA.
But now, those halos have faded, replaced by an inner emptiness that is difficult to fill.
In 2010, 34-year-old Li Xin married an intellectual. Her husband is erudite and talented, and she is deeply appreciated by Li Xin. The two thought they would be able to grow old together, but the good times did not last long, and they chose to part ways only a few years later.
Li Xin still can't fully understand what happened back then, which led to the breakdown of this marriage. Losing this relationship, Li Xin seems to have lost everything, and has lived alone since then.
The feeling of emptiness in his heart tormented Li Xin from time to time. She often recalls the days when she fell in love with Gong Xiaobin, and the sweetness and happiness at that time seemed to be just yesterday. But fate made people, and they eventually had to part ways because of various pressures.
Watching his former lover happily marry someone else, Li Xin's heart was full of remorse and loss.
Today's Li Xin is still alone, whether it is work or life, it seems a little boring. She often fantasizes that she can have a happy family, but the reality does not allow her to do so.
The heavy responsibilities and social status at work make it impossible for her to calm down and fall in love, and the growth of age also makes her full of worries about her future married life.
Seeing that his friends around him have entered a happy marriage, Li Xin couldn't help but sigh at his misfortune. She used to have so much, but now she has nothing. Li Xin sighed deeply and silently wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.
She knew she had to pick herself up and move on to find a new meaning in life for herself.
Once in love
Recalling the days when he fell in love with Gong Xiaobin, Li Xin's mind involuntarily reminded him of the bits and pieces of the year. At that time, they were still young, in their prime, full of beautiful hopes for the future.
In 1990, during the training camp of the Chinese women's basketball team and the national men's basketball team, Li Xin, as the main guard of the national women's basketball team, would take time to come to the men's basketball training ground every day to watch Gong Xiaobin's training.
This tall boy with outstanding temperament quickly captured Li Xin's heart.
At first, the shy Gong Xiaobin didn't dare to take the initiative to show favor to Li Xin, for fear of startling the snake. It wasn't until one time that Li Xin deliberately revealed to Gong Xiaobin the news that he was "pursued" that Gong Xiaobin mustered up the courage and confessed his deep affection to Li Xin without hesitation.
Since then, the love story of the two has officially begun.
However, the pressure from the outside world still made this relationship difficult to maintain after all. As athletes of the national team, they are explicitly forbidden to fall in love before the age of 20. Moreover, the love between the two has also attracted a lot of media attention, which has put them under pressure from public opinion.
Finally, in 1999, 29-year-old Li Xin and Gong Xiaobin had to part ways. At that time, Gong Xiaobin chose to marry a beautiful flight attendant, while Li Xin silently suffered the pain of falling out of love alone.
Now she is 54 years old, but she still can't let go of her heart. Gone are the good things that once were, replaced by an infillable emptiness and loneliness.
Li Xin sighed deeply, couldn't help but feel the impermanence of fate, and was glad that he had at least such an unforgettable love back then.
Career paths
Even though he has made great achievements at work, Li Xin still can't get rid of the emptiness in his heart. She thinks back to her career path after retiring from the army, and she can't help but feel a lot of emotion.
In 1997, 28-year-old Li Xin took over as the head coach of the Beijing Aoshen men's basketball team, becoming the first female head coach in the history of the CBA league. At the time, she had a lot of responsibility to unite the big men's basketball team and become an invincible team.
With his excellent leadership and excellent basketball knowledge, Li Xin quickly earned the respect of his players. Under her leadership, the Beijing Aoshen men's basketball team achieved a remarkable record of winning all in the 1997-1998 season and successfully advanced to the CBA League.
This achievement not only made Li Xin the youngest head coach in the history of Chinese basketball, but also won her widespread praise. At the same time, the movie "Handsome Female Soldier" starring her won a number of awards, which further improved Li Xin's popularity in society.
However, the good times did not last long, and in the 1998-1999 season, the Beijing Aoshen team led by Li Xin suffered a series of setbacks. First of all, he lost in the game with the Shandong Baoyuan team where Gong Xiaobin played, and then lost by one point in the game with the Bayi team.
These successive defeats, coupled with too much attention from the outside world about her relationship with Gong Xiaobin, finally made Li Xin seriously questioned by the club. Eventually, in 1999 she was ruthlessly fired.
This encounter undoubtedly brought a heavy blow to Li Xin's career. She used to be beautiful, but in the blink of an eye, she fell to the bottom. But Li Xin did not give up, she chose to start again and continue to pursue her basketball dream.
In 2004, Li Xin was appointed as the assistant coach of the national women's basketball team by the Chinese Basketball Association. In this new role, she has brought her professional expertise to the fore and made a significant contribution to the training and competition of the national team.
A few years later, in 2012, she was appointed head coach of the U19 women's basketball team, leading the team to outstanding results in the Asian Youth Championship and World Youth Championship.
Until 2022, the 54-year-old Li Xin was entrusted with the important task again and became the head coach of the U18 national women's basketball team. Although the years have left marks on her face, the spirit of tenacity and perseverance remains the same.
Under the leadership of Li Xin, this young national team is moving towards a higher goal.
Even though he has repeatedly achieved good results in his work, the emptiness in Li Xin's heart has never been completely filled. She knew that the glory she once had was gone, replaced by more helplessness and loneliness.
But she persevered because the job had become the whole meaning of her life.
Family background
Li Xin's family background undoubtedly paved the way for her basketball career. As a child of a basketball family, she received rigorous basketball training from an early age and continued to improve under the careful cultivation of her parents.
Li Xin's father, Li Zhenjiu, was once an outstanding member of the Liaoning men's basketball team, and after retiring, he served as a basketball coach at Benxi Sports School. Her mother, Pang Yan, was the main guard of the Liaoning women's basketball team, and was assigned to work in the local sports committee after retiring.
These two parents from a basketball family naturally cherish the sport of basketball.
When he was a child, Li Xin showed an athletic talent that surpassed his peers. She was able to climb trees, walls, and even gate frames with ease.
In order to cultivate this little genius, his parents decided to send Li Xin and his younger brother Li Mingwei to a basketball training class for systematic training.
Under the careful cultivation of his parents, Li Xin soon made great progress in various basketball skills. To ensure their children's nutritional intake, parents often squeeze money out of their meagre income to buy high-quality food.
Despite the hardships of life, parents never gave up on their children's expectations.
In a national youth basketball selection, although Li Xin was not selected for the national youth team as she wished, she did not give up. With her tenacity, she quickly improved her strength in the following year, and finally made it to the national youth team.
Since then, Li Xin's basketball road has been smooth, and he has made great contributions to the national team in the Olympic Games and the World Cup.
The support of his parents undoubtedly provided a solid backing for Li Xin's growth. In the face of difficult training and heavy pressure, she always gained strength and courage from her parents.
It is with such a warm family that Li Xin has been able to develop the basketball career to today's height.
But now, the family that once supported Li Xin to move forward no longer exists. Her parents have passed away, and her younger brother Li Mingwei has also left the country. The once warm big family has now collapsed, leaving Li Xin to live alone.
Recalling the painstaking management of his parents back then, Li Xin couldn't help but feel emotional. It is their selfless dedication that has made them where they are today. But now, she lives alone and can no longer feel the warmth of her family.
This pain of losing a loved one undoubtedly exacerbated the loneliness in her heart.
Basketball career
For Li Xin, basketball is undoubtedly the most important part of her life. Basketball has been with her life since she was a child, from being strictly nurtured by her parents, to shining in the national team, and then to becoming a coach after retiring.
With her outstanding athletic talent and tenacious fighting spirit, Li Xin made a name for herself in the national team, winning silver medals for the Chinese women's basketball team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the 1994 Women's World Basketball Championships.
Especially in the 1994 World Championships, Li Xin played a key role in the semifinals, helping the Chinese women's basketball team defeat the powerful host Australian team and enter the final.
In this final, the Chinese women's basketball team played against the strong Brazilian team. Although he won the championship with a score of 87-96 in the end, Li Xin still played well and became one of the heroes of this battle.
Even at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where her physical condition deteriorated, Li Xin still won the ninth place for the Chinese women's basketball team. This never-say-die spirit has undoubtedly made her an idol in the hearts of the majority of basketball fans.
After retiring, Li Xin chose to devote himself to the coaching career. She first became the head coach of the Beijing Aoshen men's basketball team in 1997, becoming the first female coach in CBA history.
Under her leadership, the Beijing Aoshen team achieved a one-season winning record and successfully advanced to the CBA league. This achievement has won Li Xin wide attention and praise, and there is even a film and television work "Handsome Female Soldier" adapted from her experience.
Although he later suffered some setbacks on the road to coaching the Beijing Olympic team, Li Xin did not give up.
In 2004, she was appointed as an assistant coach of the national women's basketball team by the Chinese Basketball Association. In this new position, Li Xin has given full play to his professional expertise and made significant contributions to the training and competition of the national team.
A few years later, in 2012, she was appointed head coach of the U19 women's basketball team, leading the team to outstanding results in the Asian Youth Championship and World Youth Championship.
Until 2022, the 54-year-old Li Xin was entrusted with the important task again and became the head coach of the U18 national women's basketball team. Although the years have left marks on her face, the spirit of tenacity and perseverance remains the same.
Under the leadership of Li Xin, this young national team is moving towards a higher goal.
Basketball has always been the most important part of Li Xin's life, and it is also a platform for her to place her dreams. Even though she has achieved great results at work, the emptiness in her heart has never been fully filled.
Li Xin knows that the glory he once had is gone, replaced by more helplessness and loneliness. But she persevered because the job had become the whole meaning of her life.