Olympics

How the Olympic spirit made China a better place

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-06-01 08:30

EXPERT'S TAKE | DENG YAPING

China won a record 51 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, pushing long-time leader the United States into second place for the first time.

But, I think, the Beijing Olympics' biggest legacy was the positive impact it had on my fellow countrymen and women.

Over the past three years, I have seen Chinese people become more relaxed in the way they treat athletes. They still hold high expectations, but at the same time are showing better understanding toward the athletes and coaches.

Sports fans have always demanded winning performances and the athletes endured endless training to achieve victory. But athletes also need the public to be more tolerant during times of hardship.

After the Beijing Olympics, it seemed the Chinese people did not care as much about the results as they did before.

They began to look at other aspects of sporting competition, such as the stamina, virtues and sportsmanship required by athletes and this exposes a more advanced Chinese society.

For me, the Olympics was not just about winning but developing an all-conquering spirit of persistence.

This spirit teaches us to learn in a smarter way, face the challenges and conquer them.

The Olympic spirit not only made me a better athlete but also a better person.

This was the biggest reward I received from engaging in sports, instead of so-called fame.

People can get physically and mentally stronger by doing sports. Athletes get up early when others may stay in bed, train hard while others may play video games, and suffer the bitterness of failure while others are enjoying their own happiness.

But I do not think experiencing hardships, as we do in sports, is a bad thing if you are willing to stand up to those hardships with a brave heart.

Conquering hardship is just a phase of your life and can provide valuable life experiences.

Although I am no longer an athlete, nor working in the field of sports any more, I will continue to promote the Olympic movement.

The Olympic movement is an excellent gathering of international people who communicate and learn from each other.

For someone like me, who grew up with sports, my affection for the Olympics is strong and I will keep my eyes on China's sports development.

I really hope China can have a good performance at the London Olympic Games next year, but it will be hard to do better than it did in Beijing.

Deng Yaping is a four-time Olympic table tennis champion who won back-to-back singles and doubles championships at the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She won 18 world titles and ranked world No 1 for eight years. Now she is the president of Goso.cn, a news search engine launched by People's Daily.

(China Daily 06/01/2011 page61)