1. Magnificent stage: the legend of immortality, Zhan Shuping is still shining
Let's take the time back to that energetic summer of 2024 - when Zhan Shuping was close to her sixtieth birthday, however, this great woman who once served as the captain of the mainland women's basketball team is still active at the forefront of basketball.
As a well-known women's basketball coach in China, Zhan Shuping often shuttles between various cities, carefully guiding batches of young people who have just stepped into the basketball field, and continuously injecting new vitality into the mainland basketball industry.
Although the years have left a deep mark on her face, Zhan Shuping's gaze is still as firm as ever, flashing with endless enthusiasm and dedication to basketball. Every time she stood on the training court and taught the young players a variety of exquisite basketball skills and strategies, it was as if she had instantly traveled back to that glorious era that belonged to her.
With her rigorous attitude and gracious teaching methods, she has won the admiration and love of her students. Outside the arena, Zhan Shuping also lives a colorful and happy life.
As an idol in the hearts of many veteran fans, she is often warmly sought after, however, Zhan Shuping has always maintained a low-key and humble attitude to life, preferring to wear unpretentious black clothes, dressed simple and elegant, and her most enjoyable moment is to walk the streets with her husband Jiang Tongbiao, shopping for goods, or doing housework at home.
Whenever she has free time, Zhan Shuping always accompanies her husband without hesitation. Seeing Jiang Tongbiao busy taking care of housework, she would always take the initiative to lend a hand, and the two snuggled up to each other and loved each other.
Sometimes, Zhan Shuping will cook food herself, although her cooking skills are not outstanding, but her husband tastes her craftsmanship without complaint, and the light taste is full of happiness and warmth.
Zhan Shuping knows that the happy life she enjoys is not easy. She has experienced the ups and downs of her career and life, and has also suffered the merciless tricks of fate. However, she never gave in, and with her perseverance and obsession with basketball, she finally got out of the predicament and ushered in a new chapter in her life.
Today, she has successfully achieved the perfect integration of professional and personal life, and has achieved unprecedented physical and mental relaxation.
2. The long river of memories: Originating from basketball, the original intention does not change
When it comes to Zhan Shuping's crucial first step into basketball, we have to go back to the special historical background of her four years of age, during the 10-year "Cultural Revolution", Zhan Shuping's mother was sent by the state to work in the countryside to work in the countryside, and in order to take care of her young daughter, she decided to take her with her.
In that remote mountain village, Zhan Shuping has experienced the hardships and difficulties of rural life since she was a child. Whenever my mother was busy with farm work such as planting rice and hoeing weeds, she would always follow her silently, and despite her young age, she always helped in her best of her ability.
The mother's life in the countryside is deeply imprinted in Zhan Shuping's heart.
In such a difficult and difficult environment, Zhan Shuping gradually tempered a strong physique. She is far taller than her peers, and at the same time has cultivated the excellent quality of being diligent and studious.
Perhaps it was this simple rural time that sowed fertile seeds for her to shine on the basketball court in the future.
After the end of the 10-year Cultural Revolution, Zhan Shuping's family was finally able to return to the city. At this time, she has grown into a 12-year-old girl, tall and straight, with a tough and unyielding physique.
It is this innate physical advantage that has won her the attention of the Shenyang Army's physical engineering team.
After strict selection, Zhan Shuping was successfully selected for the sports team and began to receive systematic basketball training. In the sports team, she met Jiang Tianbao, a basketball coach who is known for his strictness.
Coach Jiang is extremely demanding on his students, often spurring them with stormy reprimands, however, Zhan Shuping has never been dissatisfied with this, but has always listened to Coach Jiang's teachings with a serious attitude and kept them in mind.
With the perseverance tempered by rural life and Jiang Tianbao's strict training guidance, Zhan Shuping quickly stood out and became the most eye-catching focus of the whole team. In addition to doing her best in daily training, she will also use her spare time to redouble her efforts to continuously improve her mastery of basic basketball skills, skills and tactics.
In this way, she laid a solid foundation for reaching a higher competitive stage in the future.
In the summer of 1988, after countless days and nights of hard work, the young Zhan Shuping finally won the favor of the National Women's Basketball Team with her outstanding skills and successfully entered the ranks of the national team. Although at the Seoul Olympics that year, she only followed the team as a sparring partner and could not show her full style, Zhan Shuping was not discouraged.
She deeply understands that this is just a new starting point for a higher stage.
Zhan Shuping gave the most powerful response with practical actions. Over the next four years, she trained harder and excelled in all competitions. Finally, at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Zhan Shuping stood at the center of the stage as she wished, and served as the core and captain of the national team.
At that Olympic Games, the Chinese women's basketball team was full of heroes. Fighting side by side with Zhan Shuping, there were also other famous women's basketball players in China at that time, such as Wang Fang, Zheng Haixia and other players known as the "golden generation".
They had a tacit understanding on the field, swept thousands of troops, defeated one strong opponent after another, and advanced all the way to the finals.
Although they lost to their opponents in the final and only won the silver medal, this is already the best record of the Chinese women's basketball team in the Olympic arena. Zhan Shuping's personal performance in the finals was also remarkable, contributing 10 points and 2 rebounds in the whole game, fully demonstrating her leadership style.
After this battle, Zhan Shuping became the most well-known women's basketball player in China at that time, and was honored as a new generation of women's basketball leaders in the hearts of the people.
Zhan Shuping's brilliant achievements are far more than that. During her time in the national team, she also led the Shen women's basketball team many times and achieved remarkable results. In 1999 and 2000, she led the team to win the championship of the National Women's Basketball League for two consecutive years; When the WCBA league was established in 2002, the Shen women's basketball team was even more sensational and won the runner-up.
At that time, Zhan Shuping seemed to be invincible, and her career climbed to the peak.
Fourth, life setbacks: the merciless tricks of fate
Fate is always so unpredictable. Just as Zhan Shuping's career was thriving and her life was going smoothly, the shadow of misfortune quietly descended and shrouded her life.
The accidental injury in 1993 unfortunately opened the prelude to the ups and downs in Zhan Shuping's career. During a training session, her knee was severely damaged, and the severe pain of a torn ligament made it difficult for her teammates to carry her to the hospital for treatment.
The development of the disease brought endless worries, and even though she saved her hard-working career, Zhan Shuping has since developed unbearable sequelae of strenuous exercise.
In this way, in 1994, Zhan Shuping, who had not yet entered the age of establishment, had to choose to retire in desperation and bid farewell to her beloved career as an athlete. For this warrior who has always been active on the court, this is undoubtedly a heavy blow and a deep regret.
However, fate doesn't seem to stop testing her because of this. In the same year not long after retiring, her closest husband Fu Wei died suddenly due to illness, and his life at the age of 26 came to an end.
For a while, while losing her career, her beloved husband also left her, and Zhan Shuping's heart was full of pain and helplessness! Not only did she watch her former glory fade away, but she also had to take on the responsibility of raising her 6-year-old son Fu Hao alone.
The trick of fate is so cruel and heartbreaking.
Faced with such a heavy blow, Zhan Shuping once wanted to succumb to the arrangement of fate. However, as a resilient woman, she eventually survived this difficult time. After a painful struggle, she rekindled her hope and fighting spirit for life, and decided that she must not give up easily, and must continue to fight for her son and her former basketball dream.
Fifth, a new journey to become a coaching expert
In 1994, Zhan Shuping, who had just retired, devoted herself to the Shenbu Youth Women's Basketball Team as an assistant coach. Although she has moved away from the athlete stage, her passion and dedication to basketball have never stopped.
In order to continue to move forward on the road of coaching, Zhan Shuping is busy with work, while still studying basketball professional knowledge at Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, accumulating a more solid theoretical foundation for herself.
Time flies, and it is 1997 in a blink of an eye. After three years of hard work and careful preparation, Zhan Shuping was promoted from assistant coach to head coach of women's basketball in Shenbu. Since then, she has welcomed and started a new chapter in her coaching career!
A sense of mission and responsibility from the depths of her heart has fully awakened, which has made her shine in her new position, and she has once again found a new direction in life and the value of struggle.
As expected, Zhan Shuping quickly rose to prominence on the road to coaching, and achieved a series of remarkable achievements. In 1998, she led the Shen women's basketball team to win the runner-up in the National Women's Basketball League; In 1999 and 2000, he led the team to win the championship for two consecutive years! Until the official establishment of the WCBA league in 2002, the Shen women's basketball team still performed well under her strategy, beating the group and winning the runner-up award.
Throughout her professional journey, no matter what life difficulties she faces, Zhan Shuping has never been defeated. With her unwavering perseverance and tenacious willpower, she not only managed to get rid of the shadow of the past trough, but also opened up a unique new path in the new field of coaching with extraordinary courage and intelligence.
It is precisely because of Zhan Shuping's outstanding performance in the field of coaching that she was able to be reborn from the ashes and quickly stand out on this new stage. Just as her career was reaching new heights, fate once again opened the door to happiness for her - she met her current husband Jiang Tongbiao, and the two finally formed a happy family after a period of heart-to-heart efforts.
Sixth, the end of the current situation: the son inherits the father's business, the happy life of the mother and the son
Zhan Shuping's life has gone through ups and downs, but in the end, with her firm perseverance and enthusiasm for basketball, she walked out of the trough and ushered in a glorious moment in her career and life again.
Today, she has become a well-known women's basketball coach in China. She has not only led the Xinjiang women's basketball team and Bayi women's basketball team to achieve great results, but also has been selected into the five-member coach talent pool of the national team and is highly respected.
On the road of coaching career, Zhan Shuping has always adhered to her original love for basketball, and has devoted herself to imparting her experience and knowledge to the new generation of young athletes.
Whether it is family life or career, Zhan Shuping has lived an outstanding life! Her husband Jiang Tongbiao cared for her very much, and even gave him endless care for her and her ex-husband's son Fu Hao, a stepfather who gave him endless care and showed warmth like his own father.
Under the careful cultivation and care of his parents, Fu Hao grew up healthy and strong, and in the years to come, he unswervingly followed his mother's love of basketball - and finally succeeded in becoming a leader in the new generation of men's basketball players.
Whenever she watched her son's heroic and unstoppable demeanor on the fierce competition field, Zhan Shuping always felt a deep sense of pride in her heart. This glory of being a mother is indescribable in any words.
She was ecstatic about her son's achievement, but she also felt no regrets about her perseverance.
Looking back on the past, Zhan Shuping wrote a brilliant chapter of life with her perseverance and courage. Today, she has become an effective women's basketball coach in her career, and in life, she has also enjoyed the happiness of her children and grandchildren around her knees and the harmony of husband and wife.
Although she is still contributing to the cause of Chinese basketball, what is different from the past is that she is no longer a lonely warrior, with the company of her lover and the comfort of her son, the focus of her life has been perfectly balanced, and she has truly realized the harmony between career and life.