From “dark horse” to disappearance: surgery, car accidents and epidemics, the mystery of the disappearance of Malaysia's diving “first sister”

 “Hello, hello”, he is still fluent in Mandarin. The voice of Malaysian diving athlete Zhang Junhong came from his mobile phone through a transnational WeChat call.

            At the 2017 Budapest World Championships, Zhang Junhong overpowered the Chinese team with “double insurance”, and was also the champion and runner-up of the Rio Olympic Games-Ren Qian and Si Yajie. They upset and won the women’s 10-meter platform gold medal and became famous in World War I.

           This new world champion who studied in a Chinese school since childhood and had contact with many Chinese coaches was once regarded as the most powerful competitor of the women’s platform Chinese team. However, after undergoing knee surgery in 2018, for 26 months, the audience never saw her on the international stage again…

           When the call was connected, Zhang Junhong was in a closed training camp for the Malaysian national team. She, who has turned 30, was bravely heading for Tokyo next year and set out again.

In 2018, it was especially sad for Zhang Junhong. The joy of winning the World Championships just now has not faded. In the four-stop series at the beginning of the year, she was eliminated in the first round of three of them, and her state was incredibly low. Outsiders only feel that the Shinco World Championship champion is falling at a rocket speed, but they don’t know how tortured her body.

           In April, at the Commonwealth Games, Zhang Junhong relapsed from an old injury to his right wrist and insisted on finishing the game with analgesics. Next, without any warning, Zhang Junhong’s knee suddenly began to swell, and after a effusion was drawn, it turned out to be a second degree of effusion, and was finally diagnosed as cartilage injury.

           In desperation, Zhang Junhong underwent surgery in September.

In order not to delay training as much as possible, Zhang Junhong only took a rest in the hospital for less than a week before actively recovering his functions. However, in her own words, “Old wounds came out to greet me ‘back and forth’ at this time.” Perhaps the effect of the painkiller has passed, and Zhang Junhong’s wrist has begun to tingle again.

          Every day, Zhang Junhong had to face the dilemma of pain in his legs without crutches and pain in his hands with crutches, and the recovery process took half a year.

          The so-called misfortune does not come singly, what Zhang Junhong did not expect is that even an accident while driving almost threatened her career. One night at the end of March 2019, Zhang Junhong drove alone, and the brakes suddenly failed at a bend on a high-speed intersection. “Suddenly I couldn’t control the car. I stepped on the brakes, but there was no response.” In panic, Zhang Junhong saw a small piece of sand on the side of the road, and drove the car over, relying on the sand to slow down before stopping. “The people and the car are okay, it’s just that the legs are shaking. Hell, I scared the baby to death.” Thinking of the situation that night, Zhang Junhong is still a little scared.

Although the athletes understand that physical injuries are inevitable, but in the interview, when she was asked to explain the mystery of “disappearing” in the international arena, her previous continuous tone disappeared, and there was a pause before hearing the call. From the other end came the emotion of “Hey, it’s really hard to say a word”, and the feeling of loss could not be concealed in the tone.

          Throughout 2019, Zhang Junhong has been working hard to recover. At the end of 2019, Zhang Junhong applied to the Malaysian Sports Commission, hoping to practice with coach Yang Zhuliang, who has led him for 7 years, to hit the Tokyo Olympics. Although due to complicated reasons, the Malaysian Sports Commission and Yang Zhuliang separated from each other, this time, for the Olympics, the bureaucrats gave Zhang Junhong the green light.

          “I am very grateful to the Sports Committee for believing that I have the opportunity to reach the Olympics, and also to Coach Yang for his willingness to continue to lead me. After all, over the years, I have seen the changes he has brought to me. The tacit understanding between coaches and athletes, and trust will make I feel relieved.” In this way, it seems that Zhang Junhong’s road to comeback is beginning to be on track.

 No one could have predicted that the sudden outbreak of the epidemic would catch everyone by surprise. It was only three months after coach Yang started to return to training. Malaysia announced on March 18 that it would implement the “Motion Control Order” nationwide, and all athletes including Zhang Junhong were required to return home.

             This stay lasted from March to June.

There is an old saying: “Practice for one day, practice for one day, don’t practice for ten days.” For diving athletes, three months of no practice can only be described as a “nightmare”, not to mention that it is for the newly injured During the illness, Zhang Junhong, who started from “0”, said. The three-month home holiday means that Zhang Junhong’s road to comeback will be more difficult.

            Without professional equipment and training facilities, Zhang Junhong can only squeeze out a small space at home, do some body stretching and very simple strength exercises. Use a five-liter bucket and watermelon instead of dumbbells, and step on a rag to increase the strength of the ankle…Every day, Zhang Junhong exercises for about two hours, and the question she thinks about the most every day is “what do you want to eat today” At other times, I was immersed in watching “Chen Qing Ling” and fighting with my friends for the glory of the king.

           “You can go to bed late every day, and you can wake up naturally, very leisurely.” Zhang Junhong said that far away from the life of the national team and diving training, she seemed to have entered the “old care mode.”

The result of rest is similar to zero. It is false to say that it is not anxious, but Zhang Junhong’s mentality beyond age can always make him understand in a short time: “I felt that there was pressure at that time and there was no way, because it was really Nothing can be done. Anyway, everyone is in the same situation. At that time, I felt that health and safety were more important. We must first ensure these two points and then recover.”

             In the second week of June, when the Malaysian Sports Commission was approved by the Ministry of Health to convene diving teams for training, Zhang Junhong understood that her “abnormal” life was finally returning to “normal”. As a result, she would mutter in her heart like a student who is not willing to start school after a vacation is about to end: “Three months passed so fast, it seems that I haven’t had enough rest!”

            Compared with the recovery from injury in 2019, Zhang Junhong said frankly that it is more difficult to start from scratch this time: “After all, the body is growing, and the body certainly does not recover as quickly as when he was young. Although he was injured in 19 years, he has maintained rehabilitation training. This time, when I came back, my muscles were degraded a lot, my physical fitness decreased, and it was very difficult to do some tumbling movements.”

Since continuing to train with Coach Yang in June, Zhang Junhong feels that his condition has just recovered 50 to 60%. Although years of waist injury will still trouble her from time to time, for Tokyo, Zhang Junhong’s goal is very clear: to work hard to participate in the diving World Cup next year, and to make full use of the Olympic seat.

In addition to injuries, age is also a great test for Zhang Junhong. At the Tokyo Olympics, Zhang Junhong will be 31 years old, and the Chinese women’s 10-meter platform athletes she faces are generally underage. Quan Hongchan, the “dark horse” that emerged in the National Diving Championship held in October, will not even turn 14 next year, not even half of Zhang Junhong’s age.

           In this regard, Zhang Junhong still maintains his iconic indifferent mentality: “Age is not a problem. There is no age limit for sports. Regardless of age, it is great to be able to stand on the jumping platform, and there is a place worth learning.”

           On November 16, 2019, Zhang Junhong finally got his university diploma after 10 years of study. But for the future, Zhang Junhong still does not have a very clear goal. Even for the expectations of the Olympic Games, Zhang Junhong is reluctant to think too much. In her law of life, everything happens, “focus on improving yourself, go all out, and other gods have their own arrangements.”

At the age of 30, Zhang Junhong once again embarked on a difficult road from zero. Regardless of the outcome, whether you feel confused about the future or not, it is a kind of happiness to continue to stick to the Olympic goals and work hard for it. Looking forward to the Tokyo World Cup next year, a familiar Zhang Junhong will arrive as scheduled.

Source: Tencent