Zhao Jianhua, born in 1965, is 1.83 meters tall and holds the racket with his left hand. Born in Nantong, Jiangsu Province.

He entered an amateur sports school at the age of 12, specializing in badminton. He entered the Jiangsu Provincial Badminton Team in 1978 and won the men's singles championship in the Jiangsu City Badminton Competition at the age of 16. Joined the Chinese badminton team in 1983.

He is an offensive player with technical characteristics such as high strength, good physical fitness, fast speed, responsiveness, powerful smashes from the backcourt, fierceness at the net, and accurate placement. In the Scottish Open he participated in at the end of 1984, he became a blockbuster and defeated world famous players such as Frost and Nierhoff to win the men's singles championship. Two months later, at the Japan Open in January 1985, he defeated Frost and Han Jian and won the men's singles championship again. In March of the same year, in the semi-finals of the All England Championships, he eliminated the Indonesian star Lin Shuijing 2:0. When he competed with Ferost for the gold medal in the final, he won again 2-1. Zhao Jianhua shocked the international badminton world by defeating four of the world's top badminton players in less than three months, and was known as the "Four Heavenly Kings" of the world badminton world. However, just as he continued to climb to the top of the world's badminton world, he suffered an acute pneumonia attack, which delayed him for a full year. After he returned from illness in 1986, his physical strength declined, but his skills remained unchanged. He successively won the Malaysia Open, the 10th Asian Games, the China and Thailand Open, the 1987 World Cup men's singles championship, and the men's singles championship in 1988 and 1990. Thomas Cup team champion, 1990 All England Championship champion, 1991 World Championship singles champion and 1991 World Badminton Finals singles champion.

Entered the Singapore Management Institute in January 1994, and served as a badminton coach in a middle school and a consultant to the Singapore national team. He graduated from the Singapore Institute of Management in May 1997. In the same year, he paired with Zhang Jun in the men's doubles to represent the Jiangsu team in the Eighth National Games of China and won the men's team championship.

Among the Four Heavenly Kings, Zhao Jianhua was the last to retire and was called the Last Heavenly King. He was also the person who best represented the technical level of badminton at that time.

A career full of regrets

In the Sudirman Cup in May 2005, at the invitation of CCTV, Zhao Jianhua came from Nanning to Beijing to serve as a guest commentator. Most of the fans had not seen him for a long time. feeling. Things in the world are such a coincidence. This Sudirman Cup is played in the Capital Stadium, and the World Championships 18 years ago was also held in this stadium. The match between Zhao Jianhua and Frost in the semi-finals of that year is still vivid in my mind. Now that the two appear in the commentary box of CCTV and ESPN at the same time, people can't help but think of that golden era.

Frost once praised his opponent and said, "Zhao is the person who can best demonstrate the true nature of badminton." However, in Zhao Jianhua's career, he only won the world championship once. This may be a lifelong dream for others, but for Zhao Jianhua, it is far from matching his level.

Zhao Jianhua became famous when he won the All England Championship in 1985, but two serious illnesses delayed his time to win the World Championship for six years. In the 1990 Asian Games, he defeated Yang Yang to win the championship. He finally became the undisputed number one in the badminton world. However, he was already 25 years old and began to decline from his peak. Everyone wants him to continue his glory for a little longer, but facing the increasingly mature young generation of Indonesia, he is already unable to do what he wants: in the 1990 All England finals, Wei Renfang was beaten by Zhao Jianhua and couldn't find the ball; in the 1991 World Championship finals, the two had already It can be fought; by the 1992 Olympics, Zhao Jianhua could only watch Wei Renfang make history.

In some aspects, Zhao Jianhua is not as lucky as Yang Yang. Yang Yang seems to exist for glory, and he seems not to have a day of pain, while Zhao Jianhua's career has always been accompanied by hardships and suffering, and his happiness is always short-lived.

Learning management in the Lion City

After the Seventh National Games in 1993, Zhao Jianhua hung up his auction business. Among the three paths of becoming a coach, going overseas, or going to school, he chose to study at the Singapore Institute of Management. With his personality, of course he wanted to test his abilities in different fields. He himself said that a person should try more new things and not stay tied to one place. Life is so colorful, why not experience it more.

There are many people in Singapore who like badminton, and of course they all know Zhao Jianhua’s name. There are benefits to being a celebrity. Zhao Jianhua feels that there are always people around him to protect him, and he really gets a lot of help from others. Take the construction company he worked for in Singapore as an example. He was asked to help by a friend who was the boss. Here, Zhao Jianhua has been involved in various management departments in the past few years. His master's degree in economics and management is not in vain, and it is also a professional counterpart.

Zhao Jianhua said that doing business is more difficult than playing ball. The rules and regulations are too complicated. After working for so many years, I have experienced the ups and downs even if my boss is protecting me. Especially after I invested in my own business, I felt even more deeply.

No longer killing balls but killing chickens

Zhao Jianhua also worked as a coach for the Singapore team for a period of time and made friends with local players. In 2002, he and a few friends made a decision that many people found funny, and they jointly opened a Hainanese chicken rice restaurant.

The full name of their restaurant is "Wei Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice Restaurant". The owner is also the former chairman of the Badminton Association and the leader of the badminton team in the 1993 SEA Games. The investment in the hotel comes from everyone's joint venture. After hearing the news about Zhao Jianhua opening a chicken restaurant, Singaporean media rushed to join in the fun. Zhao Jianhua also picked up a kitchen knife and struck a pose, creating a live advertisement for no money and huge profits. The advertising effect is good, but the way this 1.8 meter tall man holds a kitchen knife reminds me of Hou Baolin's cross talk "Changing Careers", which makes me laugh.

Athletes do a lot of business. There are also restaurants in Beijing owned by national athletes as famous as Zhao Jianhua. The business is very good, but it is not so loud that everyone knows about it. Only the fact that Zhao Jianhua sells chicken rice was stirred up by the Singapore media. Some people inevitably felt that this was too different from his status as a world champion.

Zhao Jianhua said, we are just making investments, and we hire chefs, so we don’t have to actually kill the chickens ourselves. Our chicken rice is very authentic. From one restaurant to two, from two to several, from several to now there is no more. It was all caused by SARS. SARS came just when our hotel was walking up the stairs. Once SARS broke out, everything would stop working. Who would come to eat out?

Commentary is deeply rooted in people's hearts

Speaking of which, working in a construction company is Zhao Jianhua's main job, investing in small restaurants is a side job, and being a guest commentator for the TV station is purely a way to make extra money. But the popularity of these three things is indeed reversed. The least people know that he works in a construction company, and his influence is still greater on television.

Zhao Jianhua and Xu Meiyan have been working together to broadcast badminton commentary for TV stations for several years, and their partnership is also deeply rooted in the hearts of fans. Zhao Jianhua said that they talked to me for a few games at the beginning, probably in 2000. Maybe they thought it was pretty good, so they signed a long-term contract with me and did some training. In fact, this contract is relatively loose. Every time there is a competition, it still depends on my time, because I also need to take leave at the company. But in general, everyone takes good care of me and tries to make their time as convenient as possible for me, especially my boss.

Reporters once heard that Zhao Jianhua’s salary for commentating on that TV station was very high. Legend has it that he was paid $1,000 to commentate on a game. So I asked him for confirmation. Zhao Jianhua said: "This is a business secret! But they treat me very well, including the remuneration."

The reporter asked Zhao Jianhua, do you work in the company, invest, and also commentate on the TV station? , how do you feel after doing so much work? He said, I do this because I want to know more about different lives. After being an athlete for so many years, I want to try everything when I retire. In fact, every job has its own characteristics. For example, when doing business, there are many rules in the industry. You can't learn it without doing it yourself.

Now I have picked up the racket again

Many athletes have directly become coaches after retiring, the most recent being Sun Jun and Ji Xinpeng. When Zhao Jianhua went to school in Singapore, it seemed like he wanted to find another way out. But after working hard in Singapore for 10 years, Zhao Jianhua returned to China last year and ran a badminton club named after them with Wu Wenkai in Nanning, and returned to badminton. Zhao Jianhua said that after experiencing so many things, he finally felt that badminton was more suitable for him.

At present, their badminton club has more than 200 students from small to large, and has opened a branch. However, it is not easy to get Zhao Jianhua's personal guidance now. He still focuses on management and does not go out to teach football in person.

Zhao Jianhua said: "I feel more comfortable when I return to China and can use my strengths. I just want to train a group of children and contribute to laying a good foundation for Chinese badminton." Returning to China, the old I also have many friends, so it is much more convenient to keep in touch with Yang Yang.

Nowadays, there are many Chinese overseas corps in the badminton world, and there are also many who serve as coaches. However, even though Zhao Jianhua has been living in Singapore for so many years, he has not become a Singaporean citizen. Around 2000, the Singapore Badminton Association once strongly invited Zhao Jianhua to be the head coach of the Singapore Badminton Team, but no matter how hard it was, Zhao Jianhua was only willing to do "PART TIME" (part time). Although he only works part-time, because of his arrival, some players who had planned to give up badminton stayed. When his teammate Wei Kai told reporters about the "PART TIME" master, he always expressed admiration: "He is really an idol. He was quite strict when he led us, but everyone obeyed him, even though he was older. "My physical strength is not as good as before, but when I give demonstrations during training, I am still so chic and beautiful." However, Zhao Jianhua did not stay in the Singapore team for too long because he felt that there was no career for him there.

An enviable family

Zhao Jianhua’s wife Wu Wenjing is Wu Wenkai’s sister and a member of the national badminton team. When they were in the national team, Wu Wenkai and Zhao Jianhua had a close relationship, and Wu Wenjing and Zhao Jianhua had more contact opportunities. After Zhao Jianhua retired, he moved to Singapore with Wu Wenjing. In early 1999, the two ended their six-year love journey and finally came together. Now, the Wenkai Jianhua Club is booming, and it can be seen that the family is enjoying themselves.

Now, Zhao Jianhua and Wu Wenjing have a five-year-old son and a daughter less than one year old.

Back then, Zhao Jianhua changed the word "Jian" in his name to "Jian". Now Zhao Jianhua is still very concerned about the name. He has to pay attention to the sound and shape, and also depends on whether the five elements are in harmony. He spends a lot of time thinking about it. In the end, his son was named Junjie and his daughter was named Jingrong. They were both unconventional and he was satisfied with them. Whenever he mentions his wife and children, the "King of Heaven" is immersed in happiness.

Zhao Jianhua is still very busy when he returns to China. Whether in his hometown of Nantong or in Nanning, various social activities continue, and he is willing to do more things. Being a guest on CCTV this time has added a lot of color to the TV program, and we also hope it will be beneficial to his career in China.

Anecdotes·Playing with him will be distracting

In 1997, Zhao Jianhua, who had retired for many years, returned from Singapore. The 32-year-old Zhao Jianhua paired up with the 20-year-old Zhang Jun in men’s doubles, representing The Jiangsu team won the men's team championship in the Eighth National Games. Eight years later, Zhang Jun, who was already a two-time Olympic champion, was still unforgettable when he mentioned his cooperation with Zhao Tianwang. He said: "What impressed me most about Zhao Jianhua's playing was his graceful and beautiful movements. When I competed with him, Sometimes I can't help but watch his moves, but don't think I will be distracted. When we played in the men's doubles team with him, we all won." "At the Eighth National Games, even though he was already in his 30s, He was still a 'kid king' and played well with us young team members. Before the Eighth National Games, he took Sun Jun, Liu Yong and I to play military chess in the Four Kingdoms War. He later returned to Singapore and went there every year. He would treat us to dinner during games, and one time he even had a drinking contest with me. As a result, he drank too much, and when he was sending us back to the hotel, he drove the car onto the curb. ”

The 1980s. The good impression left by the emperor and superstar Lin Shuijing on the fans has not faded, and the "Four Kings" era has begun. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, wooden rackets were gradually replaced by aluminum alloy rackets; by the 1990s, carbon fiber rackets dominated the world again. The equipment is becoming more and more advanced, the speed of badminton is getting faster and faster, and the technical requirements are weakening. It has evolved from the pure technical stream of Tang Xianhu at that time to the power stream of Albi, Dong Jiong, Xia Xuanze and others. . The "Four Heavenly Kings" are a link between the past and the future. The speed factor and technical factors of badminton have just reached the most perfect combination, which naturally created an unprecedented era.

Nanjing native Yang Yang, from 1987 to 1989, won the men's singles championship in the World Badminton Championships, World Cup Badminton Championships, the 24th Olympic Games Badminton Showcase and the 15th Tom Cup team championship. As one of the "Four Great Kings" in the world of badminton at that time, the National Sports Commission twice awarded him the "Sports Medal of Honor" and was named one of the top ten athletes in the country;