"I feel very honored to be able to help Japan win this championship, and to be honest, this victory has brought me more joy than ever. "At the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games, Japanese female table tennis player Tomori Koyama expressed such feelings in an interview with Japan.
Tomori Koyama: Why did a former Chinese athlete cause an uproar in China? Just because after she won the championship in Japan, she was accused of being a "traitor", "traitor", and "forgetting righteousness".
At about 8 o'clock in the evening on October 13, 1994, the women's singles final of the 12th Asian Games table tennis held in Hiroshima, Japan was in full swing. As a representative player in China, Deng Yaping is known as the "first generation of the Great Demon King", which makes the audience full of confidence in her.
However, once the race started, it was discovered that the race was not as smooth as expected. Although Deng Yaping gave Japanese athlete Tomori Koyama a headache with her ferocious momentum and vigorous smash, and successfully won the first game, in the second game, Koyama quickly found her rhythm, defused Deng Yaping's smash, and used her unique serve and arc to create constant trouble for Deng Yaping.
did not get rid of the opponent in the score, his physical strength gradually declined, and Deng Yaping's offensive weakened. Koyama Zhili seized the opportunity, turned defense into offense, and shouted "Yo Xi" every time she scored a point, which caught Deng Yaping off guard, lost three goals in a row, and pulled the score to 1:1.
Deng Yaping didn't expect to lose, and the opponent was unexpectedly difficult, and his momentum declined. In the end, Deng Yaping lost two games in a row and lost the final.
The moment Xiaoshan Zhili defeated Deng Yaping, tears couldn't help but burst out of her eyes. In the interview, she expressed the whole process in Japanese, and she said excitedly: "This is the happiest victory I have won in many years, and I am even happier than winning the championship as a Chinese athlete." ”
Her remarks sparked widespread discussion. As a former Chinese athlete, why did she choose to represent Japan, and why did she use Japanese to communicate during competitions and interviews, and what really happened?
Xiaoshan Zhili, formerly known as He Zhili, was born in 1964 in a family of ordinary workers in Shanghai. At the age of 7, he was discovered by the coach, entered the school and the Shanghai team for training, and often represented Shanghai in the national table tennis competition for primary and secondary school students.
In 1981, He Zhili, who was only 17 years old, entered the national team and became a "national brand" player to fight abroad. After a year of systematic training, He Zhili won the women's singles championship in the China National Adjustment Championship and became a new star in the table tennis world.
*From the Internet, He Zhili followed the national team to win the Asian championship and the women's team championship of the 38th World Table Tennis Championships, and she is only one step away from realizing her dream of becoming a world singles champion.
However, the 39th World Table Tennis Championships in New Delhi, India, is a rare opportunity for Ho Chi Li. To that end, she stepped up her training two months in advance, strictly controlled her diet, and hoped to be in the best shape to compete and eventually win the World Title.
He Zhili was invincible in the competition, passed all the way, and successfully reached the semi-finals. Her teammate Guan Jianhua also made it to the semi-finals.
Facing the upcoming match, He Zhili was both excited and excited. However, the superior leaders were stuck in thought at this time. Although Ho Zhili performed well in the competition, she was not ranked as good as Guan Jianhua.
Whether it is his usual training performance or his performance in international competitions, Guan Jianhua is slightly better. In addition, Guan Jianhua's steady style of play is also in stark contrast to He Zhili's straightforward style.
He Zhili represented China, and on the whole, if Guan Jianhua can enter the final, the chances of the Chinese team winning will increase. So, the leader found He Zhili to discuss, hoping that she would "concede" in the semifinals, so that Guan Jianhua could enter the finals smoothly.
Xiao He, I know that you have grievances in your heart, but I still ask you to put the interests of the country first and put your personal honor aside for the time being. In the face of the leader's advice, although He Zhili was dissatisfied, she still agreed.
After receiving He Zhili's assurance, the leader thought that the arrangement could go smoothly, so he began to study the opponents that Guan Jianhua might meet in the finals, and analyzed the tactics of the battle.
However, what they didn't expect was that things didn't go as expected. Although she verbally agreed to the leader's request, He Zhili's mood was always difficult to calm down.
When it was time for the game, she couldn't control herself, not only did she not release the slightest water, but attacked more violently, as if she wanted to vent her unwillingness and anger in this way.
He Zhili defeated Guan Jianhua with a score of 3:0 in the World Championships and advanced to the women's singles final. The result was a surprise to the leaders, who were outraged by Ho's decision to go against the team's tactics, and it was the first time in the history of the table tennis team that a similar incident had occurred.
However, the competition is imminent, and the leaders decided to focus on the competition and not mention the matter for the time being. Ho Ji-ri successfully defeated South Korea's Yang Young-ja in the final to win the title and fulfill her dream of becoming a world champion.
Standing on the podium, she was filled with excitement. She believes that leaders and coaches will definitely reconsider her place in the team after seeing her abilities.
Ho Chi-li's naïve thoughts put her in a difficult situation. In that era when the collective good was paramount, although she won the championship, her actions ruined the team's plans and increased the risk of the game.
Therefore, after returning home, the higher leadership immediately reacted to the matter. Although she was not punished substantially, she was disqualified from the following year's Seoul Olympics.
At the same time, her teammates began to isolate her. Even though she won the championship, she still had to endure such treatment, which made her feel both aggrieved and angry. In the end, she chose to retire directly and bid farewell to the Chinese table tennis world.
Ho Chi-ri suffered a low period after retiring, when she met Hideyuki Koyama, executive director of the Japan Table Tennis Association. The two hit it off at first sight, and their relationship gradually warmed up. When He Zhili needed someone to accompany her through the difficult time, they came together.
Surprisingly, He Zhili decided to change her nationality and marry Hideyuki Koyama.
The marriage between Ho Chi-ri and Hideyuki Koyama sparked controversy, and although the historical contradictions between China and Japan gradually eased, they were still in a sensitive period. Ho kept silent about it and faded out of public view.
Four years later, she made a comeback as a new member of the Japanese military scene and represented Japan. At this time, it was discovered that her name had been changed to "Tomouri Koyama" and was fully integrated into Japanese culture.
Tomo-Koyama experienced an emotional crisis and resolutely retired. Two years later, she returned to training, and at the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games, she changed her name to Tomori Koyama, and defeated Chen Jing, Qiao Hong, and Deng Yaping as opponents against Chinese athletes, and finally won the championship.
However, on the field, she was wearing a Japanese team uniform, and the audience had mixed feelings in their hearts, especially the shout of "Yo Xi" she made on the field, which was particularly harsh.
After being interviewed in Japanese throughout the whole process, the domestic ** exploded instantly, accusing her of "forgetting her ancestors", "forgetting her righteousness for profit", "betraying the motherland", and even directly accusing her of being a "traitor" and "traitor".
Ho Chi Li was calm and calm in the face of the best pressure, and continued to make a name for herself in international competitions, winning the women's singles title at the 1996 Asian Championships in Singapore, reaching the peak of her career.
However, despite the success of her career, her emotional life has undergone changes.
Koyama Zhili, formerly known as He Zhili, resolutely divorced her husband Hideyuki Koyama in 1997 because of her affair with a subordinate female athlete. After her husband left, He Zhili chose to retire again due to emotional problems, and completely bid farewell to her career as a table tennis player.
Later, he became a table tennis coach and worked at the Ikeda Bank Club in Osaka. In 2005, after ten years of retirement, He Zhili was invited by the National Sports Bureau to return to her homeland again.
Behind the glory, He Zhili also regretted her impulsive decision. "It would be nice if you weren't so radical when you were younger. During the 48th World Championships, when He Zhili talked with the leaders of the Sports Bureau in her studio in Shanghai, behind this seemingly joking sentence, there was deep regret and emotion.