On the morning of the 6th, Chinese table tennis player and Olympic champion Ding Ning announced his retirement on his personal social media platform.
She wrote in the article: "From today, my table tennis career will come to an end. In the future, I will work hard towards new dreams and challenge new possibilities."
In the women's singles final of the Rio Olympic Games, Ding Ning defeated Li Xiaoxia 4-3 to win the championship.
Photo by Du Yang, a reporter from Chinanews.com
In recent years, Ding Ning has gradually faded out of the table tennis game due to injuries and other reasons.
As the defending champion, she did not appear in the Tokyo Olympics.
Fans are actually mentally prepared for Ding Ning's retirement, but when this day comes, they are still reluctant to say goodbye to the "Ning team".
As Ding Ning wrote in the long farewell article: "Ping-pong taught me to'keep a brave heart forever' no matter in peak or valley, the road to pursuing dreams has never been'easy', and sportsmanship is far more than winning or losing. "
The Chinese table tennis team has never lacked champions, but there are sweat and tears behind every seemingly "natural" champion.
This is the case for Ding Ning. Under the reputation of the Grand Slam, her ping-pong road is not smooth.
frustration
Just like the beginning of the story of many talented players, Ding Ning showed great talent at a very young age and entered the Chinese table tennis team as a king.
But she was still young, but she did not expect that setbacks would come so soon.
In 2010, Ding Ning participated in the Moscow Team World Table Tennis Championships as a main player for the first time, as she said in an interview, ``The impression of that year should be gray.
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Ding Ning (left) and Liu Shiwen (right).
Image source: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
The Chinese team composed of Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen, and Guo Yan lost to Singapore in the final and lost their chance to win nine consecutive World Table Tennis Championships.
In the first game of the final, Ding Ning was reversed by Feng Tianwei 2:3, while Liu Shiwen lost two points.
Looking back, the impact of this game on Chinese women's table tennis is huge. Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen, who are still young players, have been under great pressure from public opinion.
Even after Liu Shiwen lost the mixed double gold medal in this year's Tokyo Olympics, many media revisited the past and analyzed the "butterfly effect" of the game 11 years ago.
After that, Ding Ning did not get a chance to play in the Asian Games team competitions and World Cup team competitions.
She was born in 1990 and was only in her early twenties. An ordinary person was still enjoying a comfortable time on campus, but Ding Ning came to the critical moment that determined her career path early.
It is difficult to know if she shed tears alone on a quiet night, but we can be sure that she must be sweating day after day in order to get out of the predicament.
In the fourth round of women's singles table tennis at the Rio Olympic Games, Chinese player Ding Ning defeated Hong Kong player Du Kaixian 4-0 to advance to the women's singles quarterfinals.
Photo by China News Network reporter Tomita
Relying on persistent efforts, Ding Ning regained his competitiveness and entered the singles list of the London Olympics.
In 2011, she has won the World Cup and World Championships, and the Grand Slam looks to be waiting for her in London, England.
Tears
In the women's singles final of the London Olympics, Ding Ning was punished by the referee and cried.
With the dream of a grand slam, Ding Ning passed all the way and entered the final of the London Olympics. The opponent in the final was teammate Li Xiaoxia.
This was supposed to be a contest of the highest level in women's table tennis, but the referee's penalty disrupted the rhythm.
Ding Ning, who had been penalized for serving consecutively, protested to the referee, but was warned by a red card instead.
That game with tears ended in Ding Ning's defeat.
In the women's singles final of the London Olympics table tennis, Chinese player Li Xiaoxia defeated teammate Ding Ning to win the gold medal.
The picture shows Ding Ning was in low spirits and wept after being convicted of a serving violation.
Photo by reporter Sheng Jiapeng
In fact, in the subsequent international competitions, almost harsh punishments have never been seen again, but it may be a joke of fate. This kind of thing happened in such an important game for Ding Ning.
For the young Ding Ning, there is still a chance to hit the Grand Slam.
But more terrifying than losing the championship is the psychological shadow that this game left on her.
After a while, Ding Ning fell into a trough.
Although setbacks once left Ding Ning confused for a while, because of "always keeping a brave heart", temporary difficulties still failed to stop her from moving forward.
Four years later, Ding Ning met Li Xiaoxia again in the Olympic finals. She fell behind for a while, but this time, Ding Ning finally stood on the highest podium in the Olympic singles in Rio.
After winning the last ball, Ding Ning burst into tears. She cried like a child on the court, and at the awards ceremony, she picked up the gold medal and smiled like a child.
She finally got the Grand Slam.
The women's singles final of the Rio Olympic Games table tennis was launched among Chinese athletes. After seven rounds of fierce competition, Ding Ning defeated Li Xiaoxia 4-3 to win the championship.
Xinnet reporter Du Yang
People like to put together the stories of London and Rio. They look more inspirational, but they often overlook the four-year long period during this period.
Preparing for the Rio Olympics, the coach Chen Bin wrote an eight-month training diary for Ding Ning, "It's no more than a hundred thousand words." He said.
The difficulties of these four years are evident.
Reshape
In 2017, Ding Ning became the captain of the women's team. Unlike the predecessors like Wang Nan and Zhang Yining, she did not choose to retreat after the Rio Olympics.
The young players of the women's team are still young. In Ding Ning's view, she still has a responsibility as a captain on her shoulders.
But no one expected that the rapids Ding Ning faced were so "magnanimous."
Since 2018, Ding Ning's state has fluctuated due to changes in the ball and injuries.
Public opinion can be tolerant to young teenagers, but it is difficult to tolerate famous players like her.
After seven rounds of fierce competition in the women's singles final of the Rio Olympic Games, Ding Ning defeated Li Xiaoxia 4-3 to win the championship.
"You are in such a position, you have to take on these things." Ding Ning once said in an interview.
She said: "My original things are things that make me reach the top, then I have to change these now, create a new me, or make a big adjustment."
From the results, Ding Ning never returned to his peak state.
No one can really resist time, Zhu Yan's resignation is helpless.
But Ding Ning's daring to step into this process of "reshaping" himself is very valuable in itself.
Looking back on her growth trajectory, she has long been accustomed to climbing up from the bottom of the game, and she is still willing to experience painful changes after waiting for her honor. This has surpassed the victory and defeat itself-this is a story of a person who never admits defeat.
In the women's singles 1/8 final of the Tianjin National Games table tennis match, Ding Ning of Beijing played against Wen Jia of Liaoning, and Ding Ning won 4 games in a row.
The picture shows Ding Ning in the game.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Qing
"In the past 10 years, I have experienced a lot of things, and from a very young teenager to now, I have fulfilled all my dreams." When Ding Ning was interviewed at the end of last year, he reviewed his career history in the first 10 years.
When experiencing setbacks, she also had doubts about herself, but she persisted because of her original intention of table tennis, "I don't want to lose this thing." Ding Ning said.
Now, Ding Ning wants to start a brand new life with such a spirit of not admitting defeat.
Goodbye, you who started learning to play at the age of 5 and ignorant;
Goodbye, you who came to Beijing to pursue your dreams at the age of 10;
Goodbye, you who won the championship at the Olympic Games and completed the "Grand Slam", and you who served as the flag-bearer of the Chinese delegation at the closing ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games...
Hello, the freshmen of Peking University "learn Ning".
May you get what you want during this journey and always smile.
(Author Wang Hao)