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She has a sense of humor and let’s some fly after she victory even in a second language. Her husband gets the brunt of it all.
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She has a sense of humor and let’s some fly after she victory even in a second language. Her husband gets the brunt of it all.
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“We have seen for a long time that Li Na can suddenly collapse. Why is this? Because athletes like her have not received a good education,” says Director of China Tennis Association, Sun Jinfang. C’mon… college educated, joined tour at 17, won a French Open, ranked in the top 10. A hope for tennis playing Asian kids everywhere. The Asian face of women’s tennis. What else can you say about her? She lost in the third round at the US Open and is contentious with China tennis officials, so maybe that’s why the smack talk. (WSJ – Li Na)
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“The director of China’s tennis programme says more athletes should follow Li Na’s lead and break away from the country’s sports system.” Winning the French Open was a great victory for Li Na, who is the first Asian to ever win a tennis Grand Slam event. Yet how she was able to achieve this success is, in part, due to the fact that she chose to break away from China’s state athletic training system in 2008, a move that allowed her to choose her own coaches, training regimen and tennis matches. An additional perk for Ms. Li and three other tennis players who also abandoned the Chinese state system is that they get to keep a larger percentage of their professional winnings. This has prompted athletics professionals in China, including top tennis official Sun Jinfang, to question the state’s system and criticize it for its long history of rigidity and lack of emphasis on individualized training. There is no question that Chinese athletes are some of the world’s best, as the country’s performances in Olympic events often prove. But it would be nice to see more athletes like Li get a chance to flourish and achieve victory on their own terms and not just for the glory of Mother China. (BBC News Asia-Pacific – Li Na Bucks Chinese System)
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