Former table tennis mainstay Qian Tianyi, 26, got 720k resettlement pay, then an offer for a PhD at Nanjing Normal University, while her 800 sqm ping pong hall thrives.
Qian Tianyi, a former mainstay of the Chinese national table tennis team who turned 26, had just received 720,000 yuan in compensation for leaving the national team when he immediately secured a conditional acceptance letter for a Ph.D. program at the School of Physical Education at Nanjing Normal University. Meanwhile, the 800-square-meter table tennis hall he opened himself had already been bustling with activity since its grand opening.
She became a key player on the Chinese national table tennis team in her early
twenties. At the time, many people thought it would be only natural for her to choose a permanent position within the system—a secure job for life—an opportunity that others would kill to have. Given her young age, it was inevitably surprising that she would give it up so easily.
In fact, her decision was not a spur-of-the-moment choice. Jiangsu Province already has support policies in place to help retired athletes find employment on their own, and there is a special fast-track program for top athletes pursuing doctoral degrees. These concrete policy measures gave her the confidence to step outside the conventional path that most people assume is the norm.
Having spent years
in closed-door training with the national team, she had long developed exceptional planning and execution skills. As soon as she was released from training in January, her subsequent plans fell into place seamlessly: she obtained her license in February, received a letter of conditional admission to a doctoral program in April, and finalized the procedures for independent career planning in May—taking each step with confidence.Coupled with the network of resources she has built up over the years in the table tennis industry, these factors have enabled her to advance multiple projects simultaneously.
After more than a decade as an athlete, the most grueling part has never been the hardship of daily training, but rather the gradual process of adapting to and letting go of the identity as an athlete that had become ingrained in her daily life.She had long since come to terms with the fact that life isn’t supposed to have just one “right answer.” She didn’t follow the crowd and cram onto the narrow path of civil service exams, nor did she choose the conventional career paths typically associated with retired athletes. Instead, she has successfully balanced furthering her education, running a table tennis center, and managing her daily life.
In life, the control you hold in your own hands is what truly matters. Would you give up what others consider a stable option in order to live the life you want? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.
