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In China's sports circle, in addition to drug abuse, the lives of retired athletes are often discussed.
Last week, a netizen exposed on microblog that
former gymnastics champion Zhang Shangwu was reduced to be a street performer.
The message spread like wildfire.
The sport system, which is inherited from the former Soviet Union
by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), once again draws criticism.
On July 14th, a netizen named "Wind wave" wrote on microblog,
"How many people saw this former 'gymnastics champion' at the Wangfujing subway?
Everyday, he is there before I arrive at office, and when I go home at 8 p.m., he is still there.
After his Achilles tendon was broken, the state has abandoned him."
A picture of Zhang being driven off by security guards is also posted online.
This microblog message was forwarded enthusiastically, for 35,709 times in one day, with 8,016 comments.
It caught the attention of the mass media and netizens.
Several days later, Zhang was interviewed by many Chinese media.
Zhang said that his grandfather was suffering from aggravating cerebral thrombosis.
He wanted to earn money to heal his grandfather, but he had no skills.
As a result, he had to perform on the street.
Zhang: I really want to show my filial piety, but I have no means.
I do not have much capability.
Now I can only rely on performing on the street to earn a little money to treat my grandfather"
Zhang started playing gymnastics when he was 5 and joined the national team at age 12.
He won a gold medal of hand ring at the age of 18.
Afterwards, he participated in the World Gymnastics Championships games in Ghent, elgium.
He retired from the provincial team when he was 22.
And he was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for theft when he was 25.
He was released from prison in April 2011, due to a shortened jail term.
The reason of Zhang's retirement was complicated.
Some media reported that it was related to theft, discipline violation, bodily harm, etc.
Others said it was about his personality and his broken family.
It was hard for him to find a job after retirement.
According to Zhang's aunt Ms. Rong, Zhang tried to become a security guard,
but his height of 1.51 meters made him unqualified for the job.
His family used to ask acquaintances to help him find a job,
but everyone scoffed, "a world champion needs to find a job?"
Besides Zhang, many retired champions live in dismal situations,
such as Zhou Chunlan, who was the national women's weightlifting champion in 1990.
Now she has to work in a bath house to swab down customers.
Zhang confessed that there was no childhood in a gymnastics team.
Zhang: We joined the national team at the age of 12. I did not have a childhood.
I got hurt when I was 20. Afterwards, I left the national team and went back to join the local team.
For me, all those cold instruments were the closest friends to me: parallel bars, horizontal bar and pummeled horse.
Gymnastics accompanied me for my entire childhood, until I was 20.
Many netizens discussed this online and felt unfair for him. Someone wrote:
"After this, how many parents would like to send their children to train as professional athletes?
And the only funny thing is that a champion of "university student" games confessed that he had never been educated.
How could he get the qualification to participate in the games?"
"That is the CPP government. When it needs you, it enslaves you.
But when you are useless, you are worse than a slave! What a tragedy!"
"I swear, when I watch Olympics or other competitions,
I won't feel anything special when China wins.
How many kids are ruined for this?
After using them to "gain face" for the CCP, they are treated like dirt."
A netizen who claimed to be an athlete in the CPP system said, "As an athlete,
I feel powerless when I saw this. Unknown athletes are really vulnerable groups".
He said that the public did not understand the situation after an athlete was injured.
Someone said "they can work in construction sites".
But he really hoped that the public could "understand" their situation on a deeper level.
NTD reporters Wu Wei and Wang Mingyu
《神韵》2011世界巡演新亮点
http://www.ShenYunPerformingArts.org/
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