Preface
Pi Hongyan, a former Chinese badminton player who "has no way to serve the country", won glory for the country, but was persuaded by the coach to retire and transferred back to the Sichuan team from the national team.
And the reason why he was transferred back to the provincial team is also jaw-dropping: he is too short. These bright 4 big characters seem to have become Pi Hongyan's nightmare in the next few years, and it also made her disheartened to join the French nationality and sweep Europe with her own unique badminton playing style!
What happened back then, so that Pi Hongyan was treated like this, and after seeing her achieve such proud results, how did the coach who dismissed her feel?
The source in this article comes from official media, but in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, please read sensibly, for reference only!
Emerging but adjusted out of the team
Pi Hongyan has loved badminton since she was a child, and began to practice badminton playing skills at the age of 8, and she is also extremely talented in badminton.
With extraordinary talent, she was selected into the Sichuan team within a few years to receive more professional training, and her skills have also improved by leaps and bounds, and she has frequently won awards in various competitions.
In 1997, Pi Hongyan, who had outstanding achievements, was recruited into the national team for training and was once selected for the national second team.
Some people may ask, what does it mean to be in the second national team, and what is the difference between being in the first national team?
The national first team is usually composed of the main players of the national team, mainly responsible for participating in international competitions, such as the athletes you often see in international competitions, Ma Long, Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong, they are all celebrities who represent the country in international competitions.
The national second team, second only to them, is mainly composed of young and still developing and improving stage of preparatory athletes.
Although their strength is slightly inferior to that of the national first team, they are also among the top athletes in the country and are responsible for sending talents to the national first team.
Every athlete has a dream goal, which is to represent their country and win the championship, and Pi Hongyan is no exception.
In the national team, Pi Hongyan trained hard, and her hard work quickly paid off. Pi Hongyan has won the championship in the open and team competitions many times, and has been given the opportunity to compete in the United States.
In 1999, at the age of 20, Pi Hongyan went to the United States to participate in the Open Championship and won the championship in one fell swoop. This is her first championship for China after entering the national team.
Unexpectedly, the title of World Champion did not bring her new opportunities, but instead pushed her life to another track.
When I came back from the United States, I thought that this world gold medal that I had exchanged for my sweat and hardship would change my fate forever.
But what no one expected was that the coach informed Pi Hongyan that she was expelled from the national team and returned to the Sichuan team.
The reason given by the coach is that Pi Hongyan's style of play has little future and is too low.
This bad news was like a basin of cold and biting seawater, splashing on Pi Hongyan's body, and she felt very depressed and depressed.
Back in the Sichuan team, Pi Hongyan was restricted to only play two games a year, and in the face of the dilemma of "no way to serve the country", she thought about retiring many times, but she was afraid that she would not find a job.
Although she had the idea of retiring, the perennial sportsmanship made Pi Hongyan unwilling, and when she was at a loss, a Danish badminton club found her.
Realize your sports dreams in foreign countries
The coach couldn't appreciate Pi Hongyan's talent, but a Danish badminton club extended an olive branch to her and invited Pi Hongyan to play in the club league in Denmark.
At the beginning, Pi Hongyan did not accept Denmark's invitation, but only wanted to represent China in the competition and strive for glory for her country, and refused the invitation of the Danish side.
Knowing that Pi Hongyan is a rare badminton talent, the Danish coach is determined to let Pi Hongyan join them.
The Danish side is also very sincere, contacting Pi Hongyan many times, and even promised to not only let Pi Hongyan play more than ten club games every year, but also guarantee that she will participate in five or six international competitions.
Looking back at her own experience, as well as the meager salary in her hand, Pi Hongyan was also a little shaken in her heart, maybe playing abroad was her best opportunity.
Her love of sports and talent in badminton made her destined to be mediocre, and she was very eager to appear on the international sports stage and compete in the Olympic Games.
The generous conditions given by Denmark and the support of her mother made her no longer hesitate, and finally decided to go to Denmark to play in the league.
In 2001, Pi Hongyan left China to play in Denmark, and in 2002, she represented Denmark at the German Open and won the women's singles championship.
In 2004, Pi Hongyan obtained a French passport, successfully became a French citizen, and represented France in the Olympic badminton competition.
Pi Hongyan won many championships in subsequent tournaments, won numerous gold medals for France, and reached second place in the world rankings at one point.
In fact, not only Pi Hongyan has had such an experience, but also Xu Huaiwen, who came out of the Sichuan team like her.
Like Pi Hongyan, Xu Huaiwen, as a former Chinese badminton player, missed the national team because of her height of 1.6 meters.
Even if Xu Huaiwen performed very well, she couldn't enter the national team because of her height, so she could only go to Germany to participate in the competition for her sports dream.
Even Pi Hongyan, who represented the German team and represented the French team, played against each other many times, and the two also fought back and forth.
Xu Huaiwen has won a total of 15 gold medals in her entire career, and the world ranking has surpassed Pi Hongyan to rank first in the world.
Married to her French boyfriend, she has a happy life
Recalling the scene of her first encounter with her husband, Pi Hongyan felt very happy. Her husband, a French windsurfer, met at an Olympic party.
In 2003, Nicola, a windsurfer, fell in love with Pi Hongyan at first sight, but he was not in a hurry to launch an offensive until the 2004 Olympic bid party.
The two officially dated in 2005 and entered the marriage hall in 2013, and Pi Hongyan's happy life also began after retiring.
At the 2012 London Olympics, Pi Hongyan lost to Hong Kong's Yip Pui Yan in the competition, and then announced her retirement.
With her husband working as a windsurfing coach in Marseille, they decided to settle in Marseille and welcomed their two lovely children.
Although Pi Hongyan chose to retire due to health reasons, she loves badminton and decided to become a badminton coach and continue to shine in sportsmanship.
Because the opponent was Chinese, he was questioned by the French media about match-fixing
If you want to say that Pi Hongyan's most famous competition on the field, it is the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
At the Beijing Olympics, Pi Hongyan faced Zhang Ning, who represented the Chinese team in the quarter-finals, and her sensitive identity made this match attract attention.
Despite this, Pi Hongyan still chose to bravely meet the battle of the century, and despite the stubborn attack, she still lost by a narrow margin and missed the semi-finals.
However, for this game, some French media questioned that Pi Hongyan may have released water because the opponent was Chinese, played match-fixing, and deliberately let Zhang Ning win.
Pi Hongyan said that her biggest dream is to participate in the Olympic Games, so she cherishes being able to participate in the Beijing Olympics.
Therefore, in every game on the field, no matter who the opponent is, Pi Hongyan does her best, and loses to Zhang Ning, not because of her softness, but because Zhang Ning plays exceptionally on the field.
Even though Pi Hongyan became a French citizen, she still did not forget that she was a Chinese, and her biggest regret was that she could not represent her motherland to win glory for the country.
epilogue
The rise and fall of sports is closely related to the strength of the country, and in the process of China's growth into a sports power, inheriting and promoting the Chinese sports spirit is an important goal for every Chinese son.
"If sports are strong, China will be strong, and if the country is prosperous, sports will be prosperous", the cause of national fitness is a sports work that the state attaches great importance to, and its importance is aimed at improving the physical fitness and health level of the whole people, and it is an important support for the realization of the healthy China strategy.
Winning glory for the country is the lifelong dream of every athlete, maybe they will be full of helplessness and ups and downs on the way forward, but the obsession in your heart will make you persever, work hard, to meet your own applause, the dream will finally come true one day!
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