Face to Face with Champions

I’m not a sports fan, actually. I was the stereotypical I hate running girl in school and college, so I am anything but a sports fan. But who can resist the Asian Games when it's finally around the corner? I am excited and anticipate it, just like everyone else in Hangzhou. So, when the Department of Public Physical Art Education hosted the Face to Face with Champions campaign on campus, I felt a strange pull to go and check out the life that I've been missing out on. Among all the sportswomen and sportsmen who were invited, I was most impressed by three of them: Rower ZHANG Yangyang, football player ZHAO Lina, and Go world champion MA Xiaochun. All of them have strong characters and colorful experiences, which continue to inspire me along my own life path.

ZHANG Yangyang

ZHANG Yangyang is an Olympic rowing champion. Rowing itself was not as well-known as basketball or football. In fact, ZHANG Yangyang was initially trained as a professional basketball player. She recalls that she spent about 3 years training with the provincial basketball team; however, it's a pity that she found out basketball was not for her. She changed her path quite decisively into rowing, which is also the very thing that makes me admire her. It's not easy to determine what suits you best and what doesn't. And even if some people figure it out, it takes great courage to actually make up one's mind and make concrete decisions.

ZHAO Lina

ZHAO Lina is a football player, perhaps one of the most famous female spokespersons for football over the years. She was quite popular on social media, not only for her professional skills during the Asia Cup but also for her charming performance in the hit reality show 'Sisters Who Make Waves.' So when we had the opportunity to meet her in person through the interview, it was quite surprising that she was such an easy-going person, considering her popularity on the Internet. She also delivered a great speech at the event, combining her personal experiences, her love for football, and her future plans. I was deeply moved by her persistence in trying her best to promote football wherever she went. It seems that it’s not just a career but a life pursuit.

MA Xiaochun

Mr. MA Xiaochun is the first-ever Chinese Go champion. It really meant a lot for China in the 90s when all the international Go contests were monopolized by Japan and Korea. He opened the sharing session with an interesting task by setting out four Go games for us to solve and shared his story with the chessboards. Mr. MA is also a great storyteller besides being a splendid Go player. He vividly described the match in which he was crowned. His Japanese rival, Kobaya Shikoichi, who had won the international champion prize eight times before, was a very self-assured and even vain competitor. However, MA was not defeated by the pressure and competitiveness. He took every step precociously and calmly. In the end, he received the prize he craved and deserved.