Li Na: An Inspiration to All

By WANG HAI

ON January 25, Chinese tennis player Li Na polarized the world’s attention when she won the Australian Open, the second Grand Slam championship win of her sports career. Soon, the media was flooded with praise for her performance and the nation’s pride was palpable. “Li Na Fever” is set to last.

Li Na numbers among the most outstanding figures of China today and her character gives full expression to the hallmarks of the time we are living in. Moreover, her experiences offer answers to many people’s questions about the epoch she represents.

Born in 1982, Li Na shares the annoyances and bewilderment of the post-80s generation. Although they enjoy better material conditions than their predecessors, this generation shoulders the burden of more uncertainties and novelties in life. Having grown up entirely within China’s reformist era, they are somewhat pioneers. Their experiences are brand new, without any reference. So, paradoxically, their confusion about life comes from the gift of independent thinking, economic growth and social change, desirable attributes for a progressing nation.

Li Na was born into an ordinary family. Many post-80s struggle for years to achieve a better standard of living and often face slim chances for promotion at work. Whether in terms of individual wealth or social status, those from working families often find that the fruit of their labor is simply a drop in the ocean compared to the second-generation rich, their wealthier counterparts born with a silver spoon in their mouths. As a result of their despondency, many young people, after reaching a basic quality of life, have started to give up on their ideals, their determined spirit and their drive.

But Li Na has created a miracle. She has attained an admirable position that many ordinary folk deem unreachable. Moreover, her success has been achieved purely on her own merits, without the favor of her parents’ privileges or unwritten rules. As a representative of a seemingly disheartened generation, the more successful she becomes, the better she can bring about hope and self-confidence to young people.

The 32-year-old is not only a faddish sports star, but also a symbol of honest, hard work. As people’s admiration for her grows, so, too, should the lessons they learn from her. Of course, that does not mean learning how to play tennis from her – although, her historic victory as China’s first Grand Slam tennis champion in 2011 did unleash a craze in young people taking up the sport – but to learn her spirit of bearing hardships, never giving up and pressing forward with indomitable will. While some people are born with advantages of inherited wealth and resources from their seniors, no one should lose sight of the principle of “no pain, no gain.”

It is said that Li Na is an epitome of her age because her experiences embody the clash of multiple values in a progressive era. Described as a “rebel” in media both at home and abroad, she is nevertheless the people’s idol. While she has been the subject of some criticism, the “controversy” surrounding her comes from viewing her from old-fashioned perspectives. Fortunately, most people recognize that such distorted evaluations are inappropriate.   

Li Na is passionate on the court and unconstrained off it. As a public figure from the grassroots, she is a tough spirit who has managed to reach the summit of competitive world tennis without the patronage of the state-run sports system. So, in essence, her success is no miracle, but an outcome of persistent, gritty and solid efforts.  

To learn from Li Na, one should not only focus on her present glory, but on her past experiences. The 32-year-old is not young in the scope of her sports career; but for her post-80s generation cohort, in most professions, their time is just beginning. The message: Everyone stands a good chance of success.

Published on www.youth.cn on January 26, 2014