Once a table tennis Olympic champion, now at the age of 44, he has gained weight and has become the vice dean of a university!

China’s sports projects are constantly developing, and table tennis is the pride of our country’s sports projects. Almost as long as there is a table tennis competition involving a Chinese team, the first place will definitely be won by a Chinese player. Chinese table tennis has such a status in the world, which has a lot to do with the efforts of many seniors. Today we would like to introduce to you a senior Chinese table tennis player - Li Ju.

Li Ju’s career

Born in 1976, she has been exposed to table tennis since she was a child and began systematic training at the age of 7. During training, the coach discovered that he was very talented, so it only took 7 years for Li Ju to enter the provincial team. After two years in the provincial team, Li Ju entered the national team.

Improved very quickly in the national team and was able to compete in international competitions in a short period of time. In 2000, the doubles partner of Li Ju and Wang Nan won the Olympic doubles championship. After winning the championship, Li Ju chose to retire. But after just two years of retirement, she chose to come back again. However, Li Ju, who had not trained for two years, could no longer keep up with her skills. After winning several championships, she still had no choice but to retire.

Successful career

After retiring, Li Ju disappeared for a long time. When she reappeared in front of people, she was already 44 years old. After retiring, her life has obviously improved a lot. Her whole body has gained weight, and it is completely impossible to tell that she was once an athlete. But this is also a normal phenomenon, after all, there is no training volume as before. Li Ju found her partner soon after she retired, and now she lives a very happy life.

Although Li Ju had no choice but to retire at the end of his career, in order to continue to serve the national sports industry, Li Ju chose to become a coach. In 2016, Li Ju also received an invitation from Nantong University to serve as the deputy dean of the university, and continued to contribute to the country's education in another capacity.