Putting the topspin on teaching
From table tennis champion to academic, Liu Wei sees her journey as an opportunity to inspire youth all over China, Li Yingxue reports.
Back to campus
In 1999, Liu became a law student at Peking University. For the then 30-year-old, the transition from world champion athlete to university freshman was challenging, and she had to redefine herself to fit into the new world of academia.
"On the competition stage, I knew exactly how many points I could score, but studying for exams felt out of my control," Liu says.
The pressure of finals was always intense, and she could lose up to 5 kilograms as a result of stress. When the national anthem played at her 2003 graduation, she broke down in tears — something she had never done during her seven World Championship victories.
"Competing for the national team gave me confidence, but studying at Peking University taught me how much I still had to learn. I learned to stay humble and composed, whether in the face of praise or criticism," she says.
After completing her undergraduate courses, Liu began teaching and coaching at Peking University while continuing her studies. She earned a master's in psychology and a doctorate in education, driven by a desire to understand the psychological barriers she faced as an athlete.
Her focus on sports-education integration wasn't just academic. In 2020, the General Administration of Sport of China and the Ministry of Education issued a plan to deepen the integration of sports and education, laying out strategies to strengthen school sports and improve youth sports systems. Liu saw this as a turning point and hoped to continue her work in this field.
Two years ago, after several years of planning, she started the Champion Lectures in response to the rising tide of reports about depression among younger students. Seeing that other departments regularly invited industry experts to speak, she decided to share the stories of champions as a way to inspire students. Through the lectures, she offers lessons on resilience, perseverance, and how to face life's challenges.
"This course is a subtle form of sports education," Liu says. "It adds more work to my already full schedule, but I believe in its importance, and that motivates me."
