Dialogue with Zhang Yi Zhong on “Life as a Multiple Choice Question”
PEOPLE
2019.07.05
Of course, I always want to go back to the past, because now I have experienced the results of every answer. If I have the opportunity, I would also like to know how if I did another decision, what will be the result. This is not to be dissatisfied with everything now, but I want to do better and become better.
– Zhang Yi Zhong
Reporter | Liu Wei Yu
Original Author | Zhou Yi Kang
Photo by | Zhang Yi Zhong
WeChat Article Layout | Zhou Yi Kang
Was originally published in The Voice of Beijing, Issue 1, 2019
This web article is the English translation of the original article.
Click here to read the original WeChat article.
Web Article Layout | Wong Xiangyu
01
Racket across the air, along with badminton sweat sprinkling wherever he goes the opposite, voices everywhere, another game was over, but he didn’t seem to be happy on the court, or more accurately it could be the muscle cramps that prevented him from being happy. From the hands to the feet, from the parts to the whole body, the muscles are like tight strings that are provoked by spasms, and the unspeakable pain can only be expressed on the immature face that has just graduated from elementary school. He seems to have realized the loneliness that this athlete should have: some people will feel distressed for your pain, but no one can bear this pain for you.
What’s more, this pain will increase with the increase in training severity, and choosing to stop training at this moment seems to be the best way to stop all pain. Of course, five years of training before this will also be burned, parents, coaches, and even their own expectations will also be exhausted. And what I love will eventually become a leisure activity after school.
Giving up seems to be more painful than feeling after intense exercise.
02
When the racket once again swept through the air, ten years have passed since Zhang Yi Zhong first touched the racket, and convulsions had long become a routine he is accustomed to. The pain I have experienced in the past seems to be beginning to give back to the 17-year-old athlete. Instead of embarrassing him with multiple choice questions, he threw an open-ended essay question: “The admission of the Malaysian national team.”
However, this essay question does not seem to be easy. For a player who has just joined the state team, the national team has naturally increased the intensity of training. Seven days a week, six hours a day of physical training and technical training replaced the extra-curricular training, and the spasms that were used to become “unfamiliar”-with unprecedented intensity, every string on the body was stirred again.
Eventually, the string broke.
03
When the racket struck the air again, no ball fell on the court again, only the shadow of Zhang Yi Zhong waving at will under the lamp. Pain once again asked the 19-year-old athlete a multiple-choice question, but this time the answer seemed obvious. There was no need for the respondent to think more, just write down the answer that should have been-leaving the national team because of an injury.
The answer is of course, no one even saw the struggle of this athlete at the time. After all, even after an injured athlete recovers from the injury, it will affect the future training intensity, planning, etc. because of the old problems. People are sure of the injured athlete. Only leave this option. But for the 19-year-old Zhang Yi Zhong, leaving the national team means giving up all the questions he has done in the past.
So, 20-year-old Zhang Yi Zhong tried to draw up another paper for himself-to study in Beijing. Because for this athlete, badminton is a thing he loves and can do well all his life, even if he can no longer do intense sports, as long as he can get a deeper understanding of what he loves theoretically, it is enough.
04
At the age of 27, Zhang Yi Zhong is quite satisfied when looking back at this paper again.
That was a regretful injury in the eyes of others, and it became an opportunity for Zhang Yi Zhong. Because of this opportunity, I walked out of the country, walked out of the frame that restricts myself, and came into contact with other cultures and other people and things outside the frame. Because the things and things I have seen and experienced have increased over the years, I have begun to know how to reflect on my past self, and try to help other school siblings and guide them to answer a paper that satisfies them:
“In the past when you were a contestant, you always rushed forward, thinking only about who you will lose, but never thought that in this kind of thoughtless game you have already lost yourself, and many people do. After I gained more experience, my mindset changed, and I started to try to instruct the children in the correct way of playing. And I also really enjoy the satisfaction of teaching people, watching my students get better and better on the court. The feeling of watching them win is the same, but not quite the same as the satisfaction of winning a game myself.”
“Of course, I always want to go back to the past, because now I have experienced the result of every answer. If I have the opportunity, I also want to know what the result would be if I made another decision at that time. . This is not to be dissatisfied with everything now. It’s just that I want to do better and become better.”
05
This is not only for him but also not only for athletes. In fact, everyone’s life. At each stage, you will be faced with a variety of different question types. Sometimes it is difficult to choose multiple-choice questions, and the answers are full of risks of unknowns and wrong choices; sometimes they are open essay questions, and the answers are free. As long as the logic is correct, the best Correct answer. But in any case, as long as you don’t hand in an empty paper, even if it is a wrong answer, after many years, looking back on this paper again, it will surely be a young man with tears in his eyes.
Editorial Board of The Voice of Beijing, 1st Issue, 2019
Edited and published by | AMSIB
Coordinator | Li Wei Ai, Vivian, Huang Xiao Qing
Producer | Li Jun Jin
Secretary | Wen Shi Yun, Wang Xuan Ming
Leader of the Interview Team | Cao Yi Wen, Yvonne
Reporter | Feng Qi Yang, Dong Jia Ren, Huang Jing Yi, He Jing Ling, Zhong Yi Wen, Liu Wei Yu, Huang Shi Xuan
Editor | Luo You Rong
Writer | Zhong Yi Wen, Chen Qian Jing, Zhou Yi Kang, Huang Jin Tai, Huang Mei Qi, Nur Aiin Binti Muhammad Azhar
Art Director | Yang Wen Fei
Art Editor| Chen Pei Xin, Xu Yi Ting, Yang Qian Hui, Zhou Yi Kang, Huang Mei Xuan, Huang Jin Tai
