Li Na: Girls should not give up their dreams
Former Grand Slam Champion Li Na recently was at the Just Do It Girls Sport Festival in China to encourage young girls to take up sports, saying it’s easier being a female tennis player in China as compared to men.
“Little girls should be more confident. They should not give up their dreams just to become one of the ordinary people or to meet other people’s expectations,” Li said.
She further added, “Some girls might want to do more sports, but when they are invited to go for movies or shopping, they don’t refuse so as not to look too special.”
“The situation might have improved now, but back in my school days, people still held prejudices against athletes, especially female athletes. They thought girls should care more about their studies instead of becoming sports professionals, who are usually physically strong but believed to be simple-minded.”
Her father was a professional badminton player, make her route into sports easier. “My primary school teacher once met my parents and suggested that I should give up tennis since my academic performance was good enough for me become a college graduate. My father’s answer was: There can be many college graduates, but there will be only one national champion.”
She then spoke about tennis development in her nation. “My primary school teacher once met my parents and suggested that I should give up tennis since my academic performance was good enough for me become a college graduate. My father’s answer was: There can be many college graduates, but there will be only one national champion.”
She also has an academy in Wuhan, “For young athletes, the most important thing is to avoid injury. I have been watching China’s young tennis players closely, and I hope they can make “smart playing schedules” for themselves and avoid injuries,” Li said. “Both my husband and I agree that we should only guide children to sports before the age of four. After that, children can start to make their own choice according to their interest. But it will be very wrong if you don’t even give children a chance to try sports.”
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2T1Tmca
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