In July 1982, the Chinese women's tennis team, led by team leader Jin Shu, went to the United States for the first time to participate in the 20th Tennis Federation Cup as China's legal seat in the International Olympic Committee.
For the team, this competition means a lot and everyone takes it very seriously. The 19-year-old talented girl in the team, Hu Na, has won many matches in China before, and as a rookie representing the country for the first time, her performance has attracted much attention.
However, on the eve of the crucial match of the national team against Germany, Hu Na suddenly defected after winning the first game and sought refuge in the United States**. This sudden move directly led to the national team's crushing defeat in the game.
Hu Na, a bright star in the Chinese tennis world, and her sudden defection to the United States became a hot topic in the sports world at the time. This not only led to speculation about the motives behind Hu Na's actions, but also had a profound impact on Sino-US relations at the time.
So, why did Hu Na choose to defect? What kind of impact has her behavior had on Sino-US relations? What is Hu Na's ultimate fate?
The growth of this genius girl is full of twists and turns and unknowns. Let's explore Hu Na's story, learn the truth behind her defection, and how she found herself in the turmoil and realized her tennis dream.
Hu Na, a woman born in 1963 into a tennis family in Sichuan, grew up in the atmosphere of tennis since she was a child. Her maternal grandfather, Wen Ling, was one of the first people in China to take up the sport of tennis, and he also founded what would become the Sichuan women's tennis team.
In 1926, Wen Ling not only won the men's doubles championship of the tennis championship, but also defeated the Japanese champion sent by the Beiyang warlord, becoming a national hero in the tennis world at that time.
Under the influence of her maternal grandfather, Hu Na's uncle and aunt also joined the tennis team to receive professional training. At the age of 6, Hu Na showed unparalleled talent.
By chance, she picked up a racket and hit the wall more than 100 times in a row, this scene was seen by her grandfather Wen Ling, and he decided to focus on cultivating Hu Na.
After professional guidance, Hu Na's skills improved by leaps and bounds, and she joined the junior team at the age of 12. At the age of 15, with her extraordinary talent and long-term training, she was directly sent to a sports school to study, and won the championship in the national junior tennis competition that year.
With this honor, Hu Na was exceptionally promoted to the national tennis team. In just over a year, Hu Na won consecutive championships in the domestic mixed doubles, doubles and women's singles tennis competitions, and was selected into the main team of the national team, becoming one of the youngest athletes in the team.
In 1979, with the expansion of China's diplomatic activities, China obtained a legal seat in the International Olympic Committee, which means that China can participate in more and more international sports events.
Two years later, the 19th Confederations Cup was held in Japan, and my country's national tennis team made its debut. In this competition, Hu Na successfully passed the selection with her outstanding performance.
In the first match against the Thai team, she won 2-0 cleanly, which attracted wide attention abroad. However, due to the late start of tennis in China, there is still a certain gap between domestic training and technology and the international top level.
In the next match, Hu Na unfortunately lost due to lack of experience. Undeterred, she realised the gap with the top teams and returned to her home country to train day in and day out.
She firmly believes that with hard work, she will be able to achieve the desired results.
A year later, the United States celebrated its 20th Confederations Cup, which was held in the small town of Santa Clara, 70 miles from San Francisco. With her unremitting efforts, Hu Na once again won the ticket to the national team and prepared for the competition.
In order to get more information about her opponents, she began to learn about the strength of other competitors through newspapers and related reports, and she was full of confidence to face the competition. At the beginning of July 1982, the national team was ready to go, including veterans Yu Liqiao and Wang Ping and newcomers Hu Na and Li Xinyi.
It is worth mentioning that unlike the previous session, the leader of the national team this time was replaced by Jin Shu, director of the European and American Division of China's International Division. Some people may wonder why *** should be the leader of a tennis team instead of choosing an expert who is more familiar with the game of tennis.
Although China and the United States established diplomatic relations as early as 1979, as exchanges between the two countries continue to deepen, some differences are inevitable. Especially after the 80s of the last century, the United States gradually gained the upper hand in the Cold War and no longer regarded the relaxation of Sino-US relations as the main means.
In fact, before this competition, the National Sports Commission had considered not sending my country's tennis team to the United States to compete, but after a comprehensive analysis, the Sports Commission decided to participate because it would contribute to the rapid development of China's tennis.
In order to ensure the safety of all team members, the leaders of the sports committee made careful arrangements, and after consultation with ***, it was decided that Jin Shu, who is engaged in foreign affairs in the United States, would be the team leader, so as to deal with emergencies.
After arriving at the local hotel, Jin Shu immediately organized a gathering of all members and solemnly announced the instructions of his superiors: "For everyone's safety, everyone needs to take precautions, all actions must be collectivized, and you can't go out alone." ”
However, in the first few days, something unexpected happened, and team member Hu Na disappeared. Despite this, everyone in the national team still strictly followed the requirements, they participated in training with coach Shen Jianqiu, dined together, played together, and in addition to collective action, everyone also stayed in the hotel to rest and did not go out without permission.
On July 19, the national team played its first match against a strong Japanese team that has won multiple Asian tennis tournaments in the past.
The match is a best-of-five format, with at least one of the games being doubles. In major international competitions, a win in the first game can have a significant impact on the morale and trend of the game, so the selection of the lineup for the first game is crucial.
The day before the game, coach Shen Jianqiu brought the four players together, and after in-depth discussions, they unanimously decided that Hu Na would be the starter. Hu Na's strength and self-confidence won the recognition of her teammates, and she smiled in agreement.
Hu Na walked onto the field with a determined look in her eyes, with only one goal in mind: to defeat her opponent. Her self-confidence is not groundless, but comes from great strength and ample preparation.
She delved into each Japanese player since the squad was announced, and Kumiko Okamoto, who was the first to take the court, was a stranger to her, as the two teams had never officially played each other before.
At the beginning of the match, Hu Na attacked fiercely and served cleanly, leaving Kumiko Okamoto unprepared. After a few rounds of tugging, Hu Na keenly caught the gaps in the opponent's defense and immediately launched an attack in that direction to score a successful score.
Hu Na was like a rainbow, easily won the first game 6-1, and successfully won the second game with an overwhelming advantage of 6-2, helping my national team win the first big game. Li Xinyi, who came on the court next, played steadily, and after three rounds of fierce confrontation, he finally won 2-1.
In the doubles match, Hu Na and Li Xinyi cooperated tacitly and ended the game smoothly. The Chinese team won the warm applause of the audience with a record of 3-0, and the outside world generally ** The Chinese team may create the best result in history in this competition.
Shortly after the tournament, the draw ceremony was held, and the Chinese team drew the seeded German team. The German team is strong, and the strength on paper is significantly higher than that of the Chinese team. However, after a big win over Japan, the Chinese players and ** agreed that they are fully capable of competing with the German team.
On the morning of July 21, when she was about to play with the German team, Hu Na, the absolute core of the Chinese women's volleyball team, suddenly disappeared! At that time, the players and the coach gathered together for breakfast in the hotel as usual, but when they were eating, Shen Jianqiu found that Hu Na did not come, and he hurriedly asked Li Xinyi, who lived with Hu Na: "Hu Na has gone?" ”
Li Xinyi said truthfully: "I didn't see her when I got up in the morning, maybe I took a walk in the park outside the hotel!" However, everyone waited for more than ten minutes, and still did not see Hu Na's shadow, and seeing that it was about to be time to go to the arena, everyone looked for Hu Na everywhere, but still did not find her, Hu Na was missing!
Hu Na's departure shocked the audience, she disappeared last night According to Li Xinyi, when she returned to her hotel room, she found that no one had touched the bedding on Hu Na's bed, which means that she had probably been away all night.
This made the members of the team very nervous, because without Hu Na, the core main player, everyone did not have the confidence to win the game. The game is about to start with less than an hour left.
Team leader Kim Shu decided to take the players to the playing field first, and if Hu Na still does not show up, they will take a backup plan. Shen Jianqiu also agreed to this proposal, because they really had no other choice.
Just when everyone walked to the door of the hotel, a ** from the organizing committee of the competition conveyed the news to Jin Shu. He said: "Hu Na has called through her lawyer and said that she is safe outside, you don't need to look for it."
She has made a request for political asylum to the United States** and has informed you through the General Assembly that she wants you to keep it confidential. ”
Hu Na and Shen Jianqiu may have been confused by the news of **, but Jin Shu, as an experienced diplomat, immediately realized the seriousness of the matter. He calmly expressed his request to the event: "We want you to keep it a secret, but we need you to help us get Hu Na back and make sure that the people we stay here are safe." ”
Hearing Jin Shu's request, ** didn't answer, just turned around and left. Although Jin Shu and the others felt helpless after learning that Hu Na had defected to the United States, they had to continue playing, so he and Shen Jianqiu led the remaining players and substitutes to the competition venue.
Hu Na's departure made the players emotionally fluctuating, and the game lost 0-3, which made the scene and the audience feel sorry. As the leader of the team, Jin Shu was not idle, and he immediately contacted the first secretary of the Chinese Embassy in San Francisco to report Hu Na's defection.
The matter quickly reached *** and the country's leaders, and the relevant departments immediately sent a note to the United States**, asking them to return Hu Na to our country as soon as possible. However, the United States ** found this an opportunity to take advantage of, and finally on April 4, 1983, they formally rejected China's application and said that they would provide "political asylum" to Hu Na on the grounds that "the relevant parties forced Hu Na to join the Chinese Communist Party".
In the face of the unreasonable measures of the United States, our country immediately reacted and canceled all sports exchanges with the United States shortly after. This is the first time since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States that such a serious diplomatic crisis has occurred.
So, why did Hu Na, as a local Chinese tennis player, choose to defect to the United States in the competition? You must know that she had a large number of fans in China at that time.
As it turned out, it all stemmed from a dream in Hu Na's heart. As early as the age of 16, she ** the famous tennis player Navratinova at Wimbledon video, the green grass and many top tennis players deeply attracted the young Hu Na, she always dreamed of one day playing at Wimbledon.
Hu Na once dreamed of becoming a foreign star, but due to the influence of the international environment, Chinese players did not have the opportunity to participate in high-level qualifying tournaments, and could only play friendly matches with North Korea, Romania and other countries.
As she grew older, Hu Na became more determined about this dream, and even had the wrong idea of secretly going to the United States and using the asylum of the United States to qualify for the competition.
And this Confederations Cup has provided her with an opportunity. After seeing Hu Na's outstanding performance against the Japanese player, the American sports world decided to woo her, and privately promised that as long as she could leave the Chinese team, she would be given the opportunity to participate in qualifying and live in the United States permanently.
The young and fearless Hu Na thought that she had seized the opportunity to realize her dream, but she chose the latter between national honor and personal choice. Regardless of the consequences, she gladly accepted the offer of the United States**, leading to a dramatic scene of defection in the middle of the game.
That night, in order to escape from the hotel smoothly, Hu Na slept without even ** clothes, and even the toiletries remained the same. When she saw Li Xinyi asleep, she quietly left in the middle of the night.
As for the reason why Hu Na applied for "political asylum" from the United States**, it was only because of the Americans' request, and her statement was just wishful thinking. However, after defecting, Hu Na did not live the life she imagined as she wished.
Her behavior had a major impact on Sino-US relations at that time, and although the United States ** provided "political asylum", it refused her to participate in international competitions for various reasons.
As a result, Hu Na could only live alone in the United States for more than a year.
Hu Na: A former talented girl who had no choice but to retire due to injury Hu Na, a legend in the tennis world, did not get the opportunity to participate in international professional competitions until 1985.
However, due to a long-term lack of effective training, her tennis prowess has plummeted. In the six years she has been fighting, she has only managed to finish in the top 50 of the world player rankings.
In 1991, Hu Na was forced to retire from the court at the age of 28 due to injuries accumulated over the years. When she retired, she smiled in front of the camera: "My goal is to be in the top 20 in the world, although I didn't reach it, but there is nothing to regret." ”
This shows her resilience and optimism. After retiring, Hu Na still has an obsession with tennis. She used her years of playing games and receiving advertising income to choose a tennis club in Taipei to participate in the operation and personally served as the chairman.
Since then, her life has been back and forth between Taipei and the United States, continuing her love and dedication to tennis. Hu Na's story tells us that no matter when and where, as long as you have a dream, don't give up, because there is always a turn in life.
Even in the most difficult times, maintain an optimistic and positive attitude and believe in your abilities in order to achieve your goals.
Why didn't Hu Na return to Sichuan? The defection of the year made fans heartbroken, and they hated her selfish behavior. Whenever they heard that she was back in the mainland to participate in an event, fans would shout angrily: "Get out of China!" ”
Although time passed, people's mentality gradually became more tolerant, and in 2004, Hu Na finally returned to the mainland for the first time after many years of absence. In an interview, she deeply regretted: "I was young, innocent and immature. ”
However, there are still many people who cannot forgive her actions. Pressure has left Hu Na with little chance of returning to the mainland, and her former friends and teammates have become estranged.
Half a year after Hu Na defected to the motherland, China's Sports Commission began to send outstanding tennis players abroad for training according to the plan, and allowed athletes who met the conditions to participate independently. After the mechanism is perfected, there are tennis celebrities such as Li Na and Peng Shuai in my country, and there will be more in the future.
Hu Na's end is her own responsibility, and any behavior that harms the interests of the country will only end up reaping the consequences.