1. The "Great Wall of China" at the top of glory - Zheng Haixia
Surrounded by glory and halo, Zheng Haixia has attracted global attention for her outstanding achievements! When her name has been included in the commendation list of the International Basketball Association and the China Basketball Hall of Fame, this is undoubtedly the most colorful affirmation and praise for her efforts and contributions in the basketball career over the years!
As the first outstanding representative in the history of the Chinese women's basketball team to step into the WNBA arena, Zheng Haixia has successfully engraved her name in the hall of honor in the history of world basketball with her outstanding talent and perseverance.
Looking back on the past, Zheng Haixia's glorious years shine brightly! She has galloped on the Olympic stage four times, won the gold medal in the Asian Games, and reached the finals of the World Championships and Asian Championships several times, creating one remarkable sports miracle after another for the Chinese women's basketball team.
It is especially worth mentioning that in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Zheng Haixia, who was only 17 years old, helped the Chinese women's basketball team win the Olympic bronze medal for the first time with her amazing dunk strength and ultra-high shooting rate of more than 59%.
Such an outstanding performance has made many foreign media praise her as the irreplaceable "Great Wall of China", demonstrating her unparalleled dominance on the court.
Two years later, at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the Chinese women's basketball team led by Zheng Haixia once again advanced to the finals and finally won the runner-up. Her 2.08-meter tall stature, coupled with accurate and stable free throw shooting skills, even attracted the attention of NBA superstars Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal who were in full swing at the time.
Such a great feat, undoubtedly makes every athlete proud.
In 1997, Zheng Haixia became the first Chinese women's basketball player to compete in the WNBA, with an annual salary of up to $40,000, winning the warm pursuit of countless overseas fans.
After returning to China, she served as the head coach of the Bayi women's basketball team for a long time, and successfully brought the team back to its peak state, winning the championship for four consecutive seasons, and she was also awarded the colonel-level treatment.
Today, Zheng Haixia has become a legend of Chinese basketball, and her arduous journey along the way will undoubtedly inspire more latecomers to forge ahead. At the same time, she will also undertake the important mission of cultivating a new generation of outstanding basketball talents, and is committed to passing on the glorious tradition of Chinese women's basketball from generation to generation.
Second, the pastoral teenager embarked on the road of basketball
Zheng Haixia was born from a simple and ordinary peasant family in the countryside of Henan. Despite her humble background, her family never foresaw that she would be able to achieve such extraordinary results in the future! She was the youngest child of her parents, but her siblings, who were ten to twenty years older, probably knew better how to pamper her younger sister.
When she was young, Haixia, who had not yet recognized the suffering of the world, showed the spirit of dedication, diligence and studiousness. When it comes to housework, she is always the first to do it, actively competing for menial household chores.
Seeing that she was so sensible and obedient, the family felt sorry for her to take on the burden of life too early, but they couldn't refuse her request, so they had to arrange some relatively easy work for her.
Under the care and care of her loved ones, Haixia is like a blooming flower, growing happily and healthily. However, who would have thought that this ordinary peasant girl would have an amazing talent for height, although her parents are above average, her father is 1.82 meters tall and her mother is 1.65 meters, but they do not have a significant height advantage compared to the rest of the family.
However, when Haixia graduated from primary school, her family was surprised to find that her height had soared to 1.72 meters, far exceeding the average for her peers. In the face of this sudden "gift", they were puzzled for a while, but they were worried about whether such a height would waste their daughter's talent in vain.
After careful consideration, the family decided to send Haixia to a sports school for professional training, hoping that she would be able to show her strengths there. However, the days of entering the sports school were not all smooth sailing.
Due to her family's poverty, Haixia couldn't even buy a pair of professional sneakers, so she could only wear clogs to sweat on the court.
Due to her overly prominent height, Haixia gradually formed serious X-shaped legs during walking, which undoubtedly caused great trouble to the sports school coach. In order to correct this problem, the coach spent a whole year and a lot of individual training on Haixia, and finally succeeded in helping her return to her normal leg shape.
Despite the twists and turns of the road, Zheng Haixia has never complained about the basketball career in the slightest. At the age of 16, she ushered in an important turning point in her life - she was selected by the first team of the national women's basketball team to play the role of the main center.
Since then, her career has lasted for nearly 20 years, leaving a brilliant chapter on the green field.
Originally selected for the national team, Zheng Haixia, who was fashionable and young at the time, adhered to the charm of her frank and straightforward personality, and had a fierce argument with another center forward Chen Yuefang in the team.
When she was emotional, she actually shot hard and gave her opponent a heavy slap in the face, however, coach Yang Boyong did not reprimand as severely as she expected, but expressed appreciation and encouragement for her indomitable fighting spirit.
Soon after, Zheng Haixia quickly rose through the ranks with her excellent size and powerful attacking ability, becoming the undisputed core player. In 1982, she was successfully selected for the Bayi women's basketball team, and in the same year, she was selected for the national youth team, leading the team to the finals of the Asian Youth Championship, and finally won the championship.
Just two years later, she led the team to defend her title again, winning two consecutive Asian Youth Championships.
In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Zheng Haixia, who was only 17 years old, made her debut as the main center of the Chinese women's basketball team. On the court, her sharp dunk skills and powerful jumping movements left a deep and unforgettable impression on the audience.
In the whole game, her shooting rate was as high as an astonishing 59%, ranking first in the team, helping the Chinese women's basketball team to create an important milestone in Olympic history - winning the bronze medal in the Olympic women's basketball competition for the first time, Zheng Haixia won the reputation of "the Great Wall of China".
In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Zheng Haixia once again showed her might and led the Chinese women's basketball team to the finals, and finally achieved an eye-catching runner-up result. Her 2.08-meter-tall figure and superb touch at the free-throw line have attracted the attention of many NBA stars, with superstars such as Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal coming to the scene to ask the uncrowned king about related skills.
In addition to the Olympic Games, Zheng Haixia has also reached the World Championships four times and the finals of the Asian Championships eight times, making many miraculous achievements for the national team. In 1997, she became the first Chinese women's basketball player to compete in the WNBA, playing for the Los Angeles Sparks with an annual salary of $40,000.
With her outstanding performance, she not only won the enthusiastic attention of fans in the United States, but also won the WNBA Best Sportsmanship Award of the year.
After returning to China, Zheng Haixia's career did not stagnate, on the contrary, she took over as the head coach of the Bayi women's basketball team, and she worked for 10 years. In the past 10 years, she brought the Bayi team, which had fallen into a trough, back to the stage of the First Division, and won the championship honor for 4 seasons.
In terms of personal career, Zheng Haixia has received extremely outstanding contributions and has been promoted to the rank of colonel, enjoying extremely high courtesy. However, behind every peak of life, there must be an abyssal trough.
But it is precisely with that never-say-die and strong fighting spirit that Zheng Haixia was able to make great progress all the way and write a period of passionate basketball historical legends.
Fourth, the warm overture of red dust love
As the invincible "Great Wall of China" on the field, in fact, Zheng Haixia's heart hides the delicate feelings of an ordinary girl - that is the desire for sincere love and the yearning for warm care.
Looking back on her love path, she has experienced an unforgettable first love, but also tasted the pain of being betrayed, however, fortunately, in the end, she met and fell in love with her current husband Xu Qinghua and found a spiritual home.
In 1990, just as Zheng Haixia devoted herself to the intense training of the national team, fate arranged for her to meet the first important person in her life. At that time, the opponent was the main center of the basketball team from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, with a height of an astonishing 2.1 meters, and enjoyed the reputation of "king" among his teammates.
Two young people who love basketball sparked a hot spark in the fierce collisions on the court, and quickly fell into a sweet love whirlpool.
The young and ignorant Zheng Haixia has simple and pure expectations for the criteria for choosing a mate, and the only requirement is that the other party's height must exceed herself. The king is handsome and chic, excellent in academics, and has a figure that is just right above her, which is simply the perfect embodiment of her ideal boyfriend.
In the eyes of everyone, this "made in heaven" couple is a perfect match.
However, the world is unpredictable, and with Zheng Haixia's fame in the national team, the king in his heart gradually breeds indescribable jealousy and depression. As a man, he can't stand his girlfriend being more dazzling and high-profile than himself.
After much struggle, he finally chose to leave sometime in 1990, although for Zheng Haixia, this decision was undoubtedly a heavy blow.
In the long years that followed, Zheng Haixia never fully let go of that deep first love. It wasn't until many years later that a man named Xu Qinghua slowly dissolved the ice in her heart with affectionate love letters.
Although Xu Qinghua is only 1.9 meters tall, far from meeting the lover standard set by Zheng Haixia, his deep-rooted basketball enthusiasm and meticulous caring personality have deeply touched Zheng Haixia's heart like the warm winter sun.
The two gradually developed from the initial love affair to a three-year secret romance, and the relationship became deeper and stronger.
Time flies, and in 2010, Zheng Haixia, who turned 43 years old, decided to tie the knot with Xu Qinghua and enter the sacred hall of marriage hand in hand. Xu Qinghua previously served as a basketball coach and has a deep understanding and selfless support for Zheng Haixia's career.
Although there is a clear difference in height between the two, they always respect and cherish each other's choices, go through the ups and downs of life together, support each other, and spend the rest of their lives together.
Someone once said that love is a solemn promise to hold hands and spend the rest of your life together. For Zheng Haixia and Xu Qinghua, they perfectly interpreted this commitment with practical actions.
From the first acquaintance to the final hand in hand into the palace of marriage, they have gone through countless twists and turns, but in the end they have found each other's deep soul belonging Perhaps in that era, Zheng Haixia never expected that her other half would be a man only 1.9 meters tall, however, the power of love was as fierce as a storm, and finally broke through all the obstacles and brought them together.