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The 2016 Olympic table tennis event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is showing a fierce competitive situation, although he is behind bars and cannot be on the field in person, Zhou Xiaobing's surging passion is still irrepressible.
Whenever he witnessed the heroic swing of the Chinese athletes in the arena, his eyes flashed, as if he had traveled back to time and space to the Hungarian arena 17 years ago, and felt the joy and glory of winning the championship firsthand.
Indeed, Zhou Xiaobing was only seventeen years old that year, and it was a good time full of youth. With his outstanding talent and perseverance, he achieved remarkable results in both doubles and mixed doubles events at the World Junior Table Tennis Championships, and won two precious gold medals for his country! At that time, he had a bright future and carried countless expectations, and was regarded as the leader of Chinese table tennis in the future.
However, the twist of fate came so suddenly, and his dream was shattered. The rest of life's journey was full of twists and turns. Recalling those glorious years, Zhou Xiaobing felt a lot of emotion in his heart, and tears couldn't help but slide down his cheeks.
He regretted the wrong choice he had made, and he was saddened that he had been deceived by money and power, otherwise he should have stood on the field and showed his style instead of being trapped in this dark and damp prison.
All this is because he is to blame, the opportunity of the year has been missed, but the road to regain strength is still long. Zhou Xiaobing wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his rough hands, and silently made a vow in his heart: once he regains his freedom, he will go all out to start a new life and make up for his past regrets.
He told himself that life is not a desperate situation, and even if you are in prison and have been crazy, you need to get back together and move forward. As long as you put in the hard work, you will one day be able to regain your freedom and have the opportunity to stand on a new stage and show yourself to the world.
In 1986, at the age of 17, Zhou Xiaobing won the title of seeded player of the national youth table tennis team with his extraordinary skills and extraordinary talent, and represented China in the international arena.
This is undoubtedly a brilliant chapter in the life of this seventeen-year-old boy. The eyes of the world have turned to this slightly shy but extraordinarily powerful Chinese youngster.
People are full of praise for his talent and firmly believe that he will become a new generation of Chinese table tennis standard-bearers.
It is true that Zhou Xiaobing at that time was like a rising star, whether it was in the serve, receiving or cutting the ball, his every movement was extremely accurate, the hitting power was strong and powerful, and the angle was flexible, making the opponent seem to fall into an endless fog.
What's even more amazing is that his concentration and on-the-spot adaptability are beyond imagination, and he never makes any mistakes or panics at critical moments.
After winning the game, Zhou Xiaobing, although his heart was full of ecstasy, his face rarely showed joy. He always maintained a calm and sophisticated attitude, and even when he won the honor, he did not have the usual exaggerated celebrations, just nodded slightly, and then silently took the trophy and left.
This calm and rigorous demeanor makes everyone full of infinite longing and expectation for his future.
This move undoubtedly made countless people jaw-dropping, because not long ago, Zhou Xiaobing was the leader of the national team and the star of tomorrow eagerly awaited by all coaches and teammates.
His talent, composure and adaptability on the field convinced everyone that if he continued to work hard, he could one day achieve even greater success.
However, this sudden decision, like a thunderbolt in the clear sky, hit the hearts of all those who expected him to have a bright future. The coaches at that time begged Zhou Xiaobing to consider it carefully, but in the face of everyone's persuasion, he turned a deaf ear and still walked unswervingly.
The real reason for the retirement was not revealed until a long time later. It turned out that on the eve of retirement, Zhou Xiaobing accidentally met a veteran engaged in tomb robbery criminal activities.
This person told Zhou Xiaobing about the great wealth that he might get after robbing the tomb, which completely aroused the greedy desire in the latter's heart.
As a result, this once high-profile son of heaven failed to resist the temptation of money and power, completely lost his mind, and took the most ridiculous step in his life - quitting the national team, joining this tomb robbery criminal gang, and starting his career as a "tomb robber".
With Zhou Xiaobing's outstanding leadership skills and unique insights, he quickly stood out from the gang, rose to prominence in just a few years, and finally even became the top leader of the entire tomb robbery group.
With Zhou Xiaobing boasting a handful crime income, his life has undoubtedly fallen into a frenzy of spending money. With arrogance and conceit, he frequently shopped and displayed his wealth all over the country, and he appeared extremely flamboyant.
What is particularly remarkable is that when the World Table Tennis Championships were held on the mainland one year, he actually put on an invincible posture outside the arena, hired many thugs to surround him, came in luxury cars, and showed off his wealth in front of his former teammates without shame.
Seeing the once best students fall to such a state is heartbroken, but there is nothing they can do about it. Zhou Xiaobing has completely indulged in the temptation of money, and his self-consciousness is extremely inflated, becoming a typical representative of arrogance and lasciviousness.
However, who could have predicted that this former hero would be subjected to the harsh punishment of the law and pay a heavy price for his arrogant actions?
Back in the middle of the night in 2009, Zhou Xiaobing led his gang to carry out a plan to rob a tomb in a remote village in Anhui Province.
This time, they targeted a thousand-year-old tomb that the villagers had stumbled upon by accident.
The operation went fairly well, but during the excavation, a violent explosion was unexpectedly triggered! A loud noise immediately woke up the surrounding villagers, who rushed out of their homes with flashlights in hand to find out what was going on.
Some vigilant villagers noticed that seven or eight figures fled the scene in a panic after the explosion. The villagers immediately called the police, and the police from the local police station quickly arrived at the scene and immediately launched a manhunt.
With rich experience in handling cases, the police quickly intercepted the suspect vehicle at an intersection in the city. When they opened the suitcase for inspection, the police were shocked to find a large number of tools and equipment for tomb robbery! When interrogated by the police, the group did not try to cover up the facts, but frankly confessed to all the crimes.
It turned out that this tomb robbery was carefully planned by Zhou Xiaobing, and they were just a group of people hired to carry out the task. In order to clear their name, they have "turned back", accusing Zhou Xiaobing of being the real mastermind behind the scenes, and that he was the first person to escape after the explosion.
The police naturally attached great importance to this crucial clue, and immediately launched a comprehensive and in-depth investigation operation, trying to find out the whereabouts of the mysterious man Zhou Xiaobing.
However, to everyone's astonishment, this cunning suspect was able to cleverly hide his identity for three years, and it was not until 2012 that he was finally captured by the police.
In his residence, the police searched a large number of precious cultural relics and antiques, and these physical evidence undoubtedly strongly proved the fact that Zhou Xiaobing was suspected of participating in the crime of tomb robbery.
However, during the interrogation, Zhou Xiaobing behaved extremely toughly, not only firmly denying all the accusations, but even having an extremely arrogant attitude, which was unbelievable.
"I was a world champion, how could I do such a despicable thing?" he arrogantly shouted to the police. Faced with such a shameless attitude, the police had to present a large amount of conclusive evidence collected one by one, and at the same time make public the testimonies of their accomplices.
It is absolutely ridiculous! A former proud man of sports should harbor such a naïve and ignorant fantasy that his honor is enough to surpass the constraints of the law.
He repeatedly stressed that "I am a world champion", as if he had come to see himself as a true emperor, and under the pressure of the police, the former star finally revealed his dark and ugly true colors.
After a year of meticulous trial, the court finally handed down a severe sentence against Zhou Xiaobing: he was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison and fined 10,000 yuan.
When the final verdict was announced at the trial, Zhou Xiaobing, who had infinite beauty, seemed to be more than ten years old in an instant. His eyes widened in horror, his face was as pale as paper, and his lips trembled, obviously unable to withstand such a severe punishment.
The prison guards did not hesitate to step forward and handcuff him and shackle him, giving him no chance to resist. Zhou Xiaobing suddenly fell into despair and began to rant hysterically in the courtroom, trying to justify his crimes, but no one paid attention.
"I'm a hero in Chinese sports, how dare you treat me like this? I'm a world champion!" his roar echoed through the cramped courtroom like a wounded beast.
However, in the face of ruthless laws, all this is irreversible. Prison guards quickly escorted him out of the courthouse and into the prison cage.
Under that iron bar, Zhou Xiaobing never chose to silently bear the arrangement of fate. He smeared thousands of words of petitions day and night, repeatedly telling people about his years of honor, in the hope of winning leniency.
Yet, it is ridiculous that the glorious athlete of yesteryear still has the faint hope that he will be able to transcend the law with his sporting crowns.
However, reality ruthlessly shattered his illusions after all. During that long and lonely prison life, no one revered him as a hero and flattered him as he once did.
He could only watch his former teammates win glory for his country on the international stage through the cold screen, while he could only spend his time in a gloomy and damp cell.
However, thankfully, although he lost himself for a time, his life in prison made Zhou Xiaobing begin to deeply reflect on himself, and his heart rekindled the hope and courage of rebirth.
He began to devote himself to the study of the country's laws and strictly followed the rules of his prison. Eventually, he won high praise from the prison guards and was awarded the title of "Model Prisoner".
Zhou Xiaobing is convinced that as long as he has firm beliefs, he will be able to regain his freedom one day, and at that time, he will make up for his past regrets and vow to return to the arena of life again and strive for more glory for the motherland.
Indeed, life is not a no-brainer, as long as you persevere, you will always find a way out. Zhou Xiaobing secretly vowed that as long as the moment of freedom came, he would definitely seize this rare opportunity and cherish every new beginning in his life.