Go all the way, love to fight to win.
With his perseverance and love for badminton, he has become a national hero in Malaysia.
Now, he is starting the second chapter of his life and devoting himself to the development of the next generation of athletes.
The sixth season of the interview program "Shede Wisdom People" jointly produced by Shede Liquor, Phoenix.com, and Dragon TV has a conversation with Malaysian badminton national player and Datuk Lee Chong Wei in this issue.
"Love to fight to win"
In 1982, Lee Chong Wei was born in Malaysia in an ordinary Chinese blue-collar family.
His father worked as a taxi driver and fish hauler, and his mother was a housewife. There are four brothers and sisters in the family, Li Zongwei is the youngest, and his brothers and sisters have been working since Li Zongwei was a child to subsidize the family.
At the age of 11, Lee Chong Wei was discovered by a local coach and began to officially contact badminton.
In 1999, 17-year-old Lee Chong Wei was discovered by the head coach of Malaysian badminton. In 2000, after a trial, Lee Chong Wei successfully entered the Malaysian badminton national team.
From a hairy boy from a low-level family to Malaysia's high-profile badminton national team, he has almost no way out.
Because of poor family conditions, Li Zongwei has wanted to get what he wants through hard work and hard work since he was a child.
When he was in the national team, Li Zongwei also called his family and cried, "Dad just tell me a word, if you want to come back, we are willing to take you back, but you have to know that not everyone has such an opportunity to go to the national team, you have to cherish this time." ”
After crying, Lee Chong Wei returned to the training ground to train hard.
Although he is talented, he still has problems such as being trained too late and lacking physical fitness, and he is not outstanding in the team. Lee Chong Wei must do more.
In the usual team confrontation match, Li Zongwei can play for 3 hours in a row. Everyone else was tired and lay down, but he was not happy, and still stood there waiting for others to come and fight him.
People who watched him practice on the spot sighed, "He's really good...... He practiced one-on-four. ”
Beat yourself, beat yourself, and go all the way.
Fortunately, God rewards hard work. Lee Chong Wei really became known to the public at the 2004 Malaysia Open. At the time, at the age of 22, he won his first Open Men's Singles title, which was also his first major title in the world.
After becoming famous, he continued to train hard. Monday to Saturday is the training time, and if you receive an advertisement, you must also arrange it on Sunday when you are off.
"Were you born to win a world title?—— impossible. ”
In this trade-off, he forwent his business interests in favor of dedicating more time to his training.
"Not willing to lose when you lose"
In 2004, Lee Chong Wei participated in the Olympic Games for the first time.
At that time, he was 22 years old, he had not participated in any major competitions, there was no pressure, and it was already a very happy thing for him to be able to go to the Olympics.
Until he reached the top 8, he was the only athlete left in the Malaysian team. The leader said to him: "Zong Wei, you have to come on, you are the only one left in Malaysia." ”
In 2006, Lee Chong Wei lost to Danish badminton player Gade in the semi-finals of the Thomas Cup. After returning to China, the Badminton Association held a symposium, and leaders from all walks of life came to discuss the gains and losses of Lee Chong Wei's game.
In 2008, Lee Chong Wei reached the final of the Olympic Games for the first time.
At that time, no matter whether you meet athletes, leaders, or coaches, they will say, "Zong Wei, I hope you can win the gold medal for the first place on behalf of Malaysia." ”
It seems that the honor and dignity of the entire Malaysian badminton and even the sports world are pinned on him to defend it alone.
Burdened with heavy pressure and mission, he did his best.
However, that year, Li Zongwei lost to Lin Dan 0:2.
There is no athlete who doesn't want to win, "If you don't want to lose, why would you lose." ”
In 2012, Lee Chong Wei was unfortunately injured at the Thomas Cup badminton tournament, which was only two months away from the London Olympics.
That year also became a very painful year in Li Zongwei's life.
"Athletes are afraid of getting hurt...... I won't participate in this Olympics, can I participate in four years, one more time is not two years, not a year, but four years, I dare not think about it. ”
Two months later, Lee Chong Wei took painkillers and wrapped his ligaments, stood on the Olympic stage, and advanced to the quarterfinals.
After reaching the quarterfinals, Li Zongwei once again felt the pressure from the outside world, "Everyone will say that Lin Li fights, and he has not won Lin Dan once in the game...... I can only say that you must face this pressure. ”
This time, although he lost to Lin Dan again, judging from his physical condition at the time, it was beyond his expectations to reach the final.
After experiencing countless contradictions and struggles in his heart, he chose to persevere again.
In 2016, at the Rio Olympics, Lin and Li met in the semifinals.
Years of competition with Lin Dan seem to have become an obsession in Li Zongwei's heart, "I am saying in my heart that if I lose to him again in this competition, this will be my fate." ”
This time, Li Zongwei defeated Lin Dan with a score of 22:20 in the last game.
But the match consumed too much energy, and he finally lost to another Chinese player, Chen Long, in the final, and won his third almost fateful silver medal.
"You are the best version of yourself"
After the competition, he decided to continue his preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
However, as fate would have it, in September 2018, Lee Chong Wei was diagnosed with early-stage nasopharyngeal cancer.
After 33 sessions of electrotherapy, Lee Chong Wei returned to training in his second week back in Malaysia.
"Malaysia hasn't won an Olympic gold medal yet, and that's what we Malaysian athletes want to do for the first time in history. ”
The doctor told Li Zongwei's mother and wife: "I hope Zongwei will not continue, he is too stressed, and this is all caused by stress."
On June 13, 2019, on the advice of doctors and his family, Lee Chong Wei announced his retirement.
At the press conference, at the moment when he said "retirement", he cried bitterly and bid farewell to his badminton career.
Today's Li Zongwei has opened the second chapter of his life.
After retiring from the sport, he embarked on his coaching career with a focus on nurturing the next generation of badminton talent. He coaches young players with his experience and wisdom, and conveys his love for badminton and coaching philosophy.
He also has more time to spend with his family and can devote himself to the development of the next generation of athletes. He is slowly adapting to this kind of life, and he is slowly letting go of the past.
It has been nearly 5 years since he retired, and the host asked, "Do you still have an obsession today?"
Li Zongwei suddenly brightened: "No." ”
In his autobiography "The Loser is King", Lee Chong Wei said: "Even if I fail, the traces it has carved in my life will be a mark of glory." No matter where I go in the future, I will continue to fight like a fighter full of fighting spirit. No matter what the situation is, you always know how to start over. ”
Generations of people have moved from their ancestral home to Malaysia, and they have worked hard from scratch with their unique cultural imprints, "Most of the Chinese have to rely on themselves. ”
Perhaps, this is the fighting spirit of the Chinese in Malaysia.
Over the hills, the loser is king.
The moment he walked out of the arena was the beginning of Lee Chong Wei's true life path.
Today, he still believes in the power of perseverance, telling young athletes, "If you don't stay the course, how do you know you're going to succeed one day...... I never thought that I would become Malaysia's No. 1 singles, but I also fell and got up step by step and persevered to get to where I am today. ”
Please pay attention to "Shede Wisdom People" jointly produced by Phoenix.com, Shede Liquor, and Dragon TV. Shede Liquor always chooses to use time to precipitate the quality of old wine, invites you to taste old wine together, learn wisdom, and take Shede as a ruler to solve for the times.