Copywriting/Editor: Burst C
People only remember the champion, and no one cares who is second.
But in the badminton world, there is a second child who is deeply engraved in the hearts of every badminton lover.
He alone carried the hopes of the entire national badminton community, and he went through more than 800 tournaments in his career, but finally failed to win the championship.
Just as he wanted to pack up his equipment and go into battle again, bad luck struck.
At only 36 years old, Lee Chong Wei was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer, and for a while, the world of the prince of badminton fell into darkness
How should he choose between his unfinished business and his life? Has Lee Chong Wei overcome the disease now?
One: "Poor boys" also have big dreams
Li Zongwei's background is not superior, and he is even a little embarrassed.
Although he is Malaysian, Lee Chong Wei's roots are in China.
Lee Chong Wei's parents fled Fujian to Malaysia, where they chose to settle down.
At that time, Lee Chong Wei's parents already had three children, and his birth was not actually in the family's plan.
When a family comes to a foreign country, life is not easy.
The sudden birth of a son undoubtedly increased the pressure on the life of the whole family, but the child had arrived, and the husband and wife couldn't bear it, so they could only give birth to Li Zongwei under pressure.
Because of his poor background, Lee Chong Wei did not have any toys or fun activities in his childhood.
At a young age, he not only had to take on household chores, but also learned to be a sensible child.
Li Zongwei knew in his heart that his family was not good, so he never asked for anything since he was a child.
Only once when Li Zongwei went out with his father, he passed by a badminton hall, and through the glass outside, Li Zongwei saw that the big brothers were holding rackets in their hands, swaying their blood on the court, and Li Zongwei was enthusiastic for a while.
He begged his father to let him in to play for a while, and looking at his son's eager eyes, Li Zongwei's father agreed.
After a brief touch, Lee Chong Wei fell in love with the sport, and his enthusiastic appearance on the field moved the coaches on the side, and at the same time, Lee Chong Wei's talent in the sport was slowly revealed.
The coach immediately decided to let Li Zongwei come to play for free when he was free, which is undoubtedly great news for Li Zongwei, who is from a poor family.
After that, Li Zongwei helped at home during the day, and hurried to the badminton hall at night, just to be able to touch the ball for a while.
Coach Cheng Bing-fat found it hard to believe that the boy in front of him had only been exposed to badminton for a short week, and Cheng Bing-fat could see Lee Chong Wei's absolute talent in badminton.
As long as he wants, Cheng Bingfa is confident that he can develop a badminton talent.
Li Zongwei was naturally very willing to invite the coach, but his poor family made Li Zongwei very inferior, and he knew that his parents would not agree to his "wasting time" to train every day.
Seeing that the child also has a great love for badminton, Zheng Bingfa decided to give it a go, so he asked Li Zongwei to take the initiative to find the door.
Sure enough, Zheng Bingfa had just spoken, and Li Zongwei's father refused him without thinking about it.
Zheng Bingfa wanted to fight again, but Li Zongwei's father said that he had no money. Zheng Bingfa immediately said that he would not accept money, and as long as he was willing, he could cultivate Li Zongwei unconditionally.
"You don't want your son to be unsuccessful for the rest of his life, do you?"
Zheng Bingfa's words touched Li Zongwei's father, and the persistence of the two finally got a good result.
Since then, Lee Chong Wei has officially become associated with badminton, and on the first day of training, he secretly vowed in his heart that he must become the world's No. 1 badminton player!
The ideal is plump, but the reality is skinny. The young and vigorous Lee Chong Wei thought that as long as he was willing to work hard, anything was possible.
But the reality is often the opposite of the ideal.
Two: The loser can also be king
After Cheng Bingfa's professional training, Lee Chong Wei's badminton skills have been improving day by day.
Almost as long as he has time, Li Zongwei will plunge into the badminton hall, his facial features are hot or cold, and he has never stopped his training.
Ten times or even a hundred times the effort soon made Lee Chong Wei the strongest player in the stadium, and at that moment Zheng Bingfa knew that this child was destined not to belong here, and he had a broader way to go.
In order to pave the way for Lee Chong Wei's future, Zheng Bingfa began to take him to play one game after another, from the city, to the province, and then to the national competition.
At first, Li Zongwei was still very nervous when he first participated in these large-scale events, and this and the big scene was undoubtedly an existence that Li Zongwei, who was born in a small place, could not dream of.
At that moment, he had low self-esteem, because the only thing he had ever touched was the small arena that he worked hard every day.
But fortunately, Li Zongwei's excellent skills quickly won him confidence.
In a short period of time, Lee Chong Wei went from being an unknown gym trainer to a rising badminton star who beat Malaysia's No. 1 singles player Kedah.
This match completely changed Lee Chong Wei's otherwise ordinary life.
After this event, Li Zongwei successfully entered the national team, and under the leadership of the coach, Li Zongwei began to compete for outstanding players from all over the world.
With the blessing of love, talent and hard work, Lee Chong Wei has become a rising star in the international badminton scene, and before he met Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei thought he could become the world's No. 1.
Lee Chong Wei's goal has always been to compete for an Olympic title, but the presence of Lin Dan has shattered his plans.
Over the past eight years, Lee Chong Wei has won numerous medals at the Open Championships, making him Malaysia's most popular male athlete.
But in the Olympic Games, Lin Dan crushed Li Zongwei with absolute strength. Not only did he fail to win the Olympic title he coveted, but he even missed out on the Asian Games.
But Lee Chong Wei didn't believe he couldn't, he trained day after day, year after year, but he always finished second.
In 2016, Lee Chong Wei, who participated in the Olympic Games for the third time, finally defeated his old rival Lin Dan in this event.
He thought that he would finally be able to get rid of the title of the second oldest in 10,000 years, but in the next event, Li Zongwei lost to Chen Long from China again due to excessive physical exertion in the early stage.
As if it were a joke, fate allowed him to get the silver medal engraved in his life again.
After 12 years, Lee Chong Wei still failed to win the gold medal.
He thought that he could fight again, and he still had the strength to fight again, but after years of high-intensity training, Li Zongwei was suddenly diagnosed with esophageal cancer.
This is undoubtedly a fatal blow for an athlete.
Lee Chong Wei was forced to retire, and with regret for badminton and guilt for the country, he walked off the court.
At that time, Lee Chong Wei had been married for six years, and he couldn't imagine what would become of his family if he lost it.
Three: Spending tens of millions of dollars on treatment, my wife never abandoned
In 2011, Lee Chong Wei tied the knot with his girlfriend Huang Miaozhu, who is also an athlete.
Both are athletes, so they have a lot in common in life.
The love between the two has always attracted much attention, and on the wedding day, they received the blessings of the people of the whole country.
After marriage, Huang Miaozhu has always been proud of her husband, and Li Zongwei has always been a champion in her heart.
The two gave birth to a child a few years after they got married, and the child brought Huang Miaozhu has been immersed in the happiness of love, she never thought that one day, an illness broke this originally ordinary beauty.
Fortunately, Lee Chong Wei was still in the early stage when he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and as long as he is willing to actively treat, the possibility of recovery is very high, but the road will probably be very difficult.
Almost every time a patient with esophageal cancer eats is a torture for them, and Lee Chong Wei said that at that time, he was not interested in even the most delicious food in front of him.
Because as long as he swallowed his saliva gently, the nerves in his whole body seemed to be involved, and he couldn't help but feel pain.
Other than the first time, in order to be able to recover as soon as possible. Lee Chong Wei has undergone a full 33 electrotherapy sessions, and almost every time he feels like he can take half his life.
The hardships of this process are probably only known to Li Zongwei himself, who was once immersed in this pain, and even had the idea of leaving.
It was his wife Huang Miaozhu's companionship day and night that made Li Zongwei grit his teeth and persevere, and every time in the dead of night, his wife would always secretly wipe her tears outside the ward.
Lee Chong Wei's treatment is painful in his body, but Huang Miaozhu's heart is also closely implicated.
Almost every time Huang Miaozhu is treated, she is very frightened, for fear that her husband will have an accident.
In order to cure cancer as soon as possible, the husband and wife invested nearly 10 million yuan, and finally got a good result.
As his body gradually recovered, Li Zongwei could feel that his physical strength was much lower than before.
Because of the sequelae associated with the treatment, his body also suffered some damage.
Although his heart was on the battlefield, Li Zongwei was nearly forty years old at that time, and he had already passed the age of boiling blood at the beginning.
Although he fought for 12 years, he failed to win the gold medal in his heart.
But in the hearts of the Malaysian people, he is still glorious despite defeat!
In order to commemorate his sports career, Lee Chong Wei made his sports life into a movie "The Loser is King", which received a good response in Malaysia and China.
An illness made him see the meaning of life clearly, and he also cherished every moment of his wife and family by his side.
After retiring, Li Zongwei relied on the savings laid down by the competition to live a happy life with his family, maybe he had regrets on the field, but in life Li Zongwei must be a winner!
Lee Chong Wei's attitude towards life has always been positive and optimistic, which has not only made him a rising star in badminton, but also a good husband and father.
As long as you are positive and optimistic, and persist in doing one thing, you will definitely be able to usher in good results!
Resources:
Sohu: https://sports.sohu.com/a/776747686_121687421#google_vignette
https://sports.sohu.com/a/776259636_121687421
https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_23795287