To win better, Olympic champion Ding Ning spoke at the graduation ceremony of Peking University: Only by bravely facing the losing graduation ceremony | Peking University | Olympic champion Ding Ning
On the 5th, the 2023 graduate graduation ceremony and degree awarding ceremony of Peking University were held at the Qiu Deba Sports Center.
Ding Ning, the Olympic champion of table tennis and a 2021 master's student from the Sports Teaching and Research Department of Peking University, along with many classmates, graduated from Peking University and embarked on a new journey in life.
Peking University is the birthplace of Ding Ning's dream. At the age of 18, she once watched the women's table tennis final of the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the Qiu Deba Sports Center. She still remembers the exciting scene when everyone sang the national anthem together after the Chinese team won.
"When the whole audience sang the national anthem loudly together, I think I will never forget that moment in my life. My heartbeat was even faster than the rhythm of table tennis on the field, because it was the common heartbeat of all Chinese people on and off stage. It was the starting point of my dream and the place where I got along with Peking University." Ding Ning, as a representative of graduates, said to the teachers and students present at the graduation ceremony.
"Winning a gold medal and bringing glory to the country" has been Ding Ning's dream since childhood. She started playing basketball at the age of 5, joined the national youth team at 13, participated in the Olympics for the first time at 22, and won the championship at the Rio Olympics at 26, achieving a "Grand Slam" in singles at the Olympics, World Championships, and World Cups, becoming the captain of the Chinese women's table tennis team
On August 10, 2016, Ding Ning stood on the podium in the women's singles table tennis final at the Rio Olympics. Photo by Lin Yiguang, journalist from Xinhua News Agency
At the graduation ceremony that day, this outstanding athlete who claimed to have spent almost all of her first 20 years on the table tennis field shared with the teachers and students on site the hardships and glory of her athletic career, as well as her experiences and feelings of studying at Peking University.
"In the first half of my career, I was seen by parents as the 'child of another family', with honor added to it," Ding Ning said. "But only those who have experienced the darkest moments know that the championships and honors along the way have been won by me after constantly failing and standing up."
Ding Ning candidly stated that from the Chinese team's defeat in the team stage final of the Moscow World Table Tennis Championships in 2010 to her defeat in the women's singles final at the 2012 London Olympics, she had wanted to back down countless times. "But I have always told myself that only by bravely facing losses can we win better. It is this perseverance and perseverance that has given me a mature heart, allowing me to dare to challenge, rise against the wind, and see the sun through the clouds.".
In order to challenge new possibilities, Ding Ning chose to retire in 2021 and enter the long-awaited Peking University for further education, studying the sports industry and the direction of big health.
She said that before entering the campus, she had always been very nervous: from athletes to students, from the field and stadium to the classroom and campus, could she adapt? Can I catch up with my classmates who come from all over the world as academic achievers?
Despite facing new challenges and explorations, Ding Ning always maintains a positive and optimistic attitude. She gradually realized that being calm about winning and losing also applies to academic pressure.
And Peking University's open and inclusive academic style, profound sports traditions, and diverse and rich curriculum all deeply attract her. From being unfamiliar with learning and life upon entering school, to exploring the process of completing coursework with her classmates, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to it, gained a lot, and became increasingly confident.
"During my two years of studying at Peking University, I gained a deeper understanding of sports from various perspectives. As a table tennis teaching assistant, I even met classmates who had watched my matches live."
"In them, I saw what youth should be like, and although competition is the pinnacle of the sports industry, it is cruel, but it is also the starting point for more people to engage in sports, stemming from love, and I am the same," Ding Ning said to teachers and students.
"In Yanyuan, what I gain is not only knowledge, but also the best integration of theory and practice." Ding Ning encourages graduates with her own educational experience, even if they enter a new learning environment tomorrow and work in a job that may not be professional, they should actively face it, bravely pursue their dreams and pursue their glory, and strive for their shining youth dreams.
"During our time in Yanyuan, we have been given enough confidence, firm courage, and lofty aspirations to face the waves, fearless of storms, and move forward without hesitation. I hope we will never stop chasing after each other, pursue our dreams and glory, and live up to the times!" Ding Ning said.
