Golden Pathway

Author: Xing Rong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features:
"Catapult King" Xu Haifeng
"Obsessed with Fencing" Luan Jujie
"Rare Weightlifting Talent" Wu Shude
"Gymnastics Prodigy" Li Ning
"Causing a Sudden Stir" Gao Min
"Iron Hammer" Lang Ping
"Vaulting King" Lou Yun
"Little Palm" Yao Jingyuan
"Water Butterfly" Qian Hong
"Tomboy" Lin Li
"Platform Prince" Sun Shuwei
"China's Youngest Olympic Champion" Fu Mingxia
"Sky-Diving Swallow" Lu Li
"Gymnastics All-Rounder" Li Xiaoshuang
"Little Giant in the Table Tennis World" Deng Yaping
"Good Character, Strong Drive" Lü Lin
"Focused on Willpower from Childhood" Wang Tao
"Mad Girl" Wang Junxia
"Stubborn Boy" Tang Lingsheng
"Natural Strongman" Zhan Xugang
"Ten Years for a Sword" Yang Ling
"Honest and Well-Mannered" Kong Linghui
"10-Year-Old Who Broke into Beijing" Liu Guoliang
"Bold Girl" Tao Lunna
"Stubborn Girl" Yang Yang
"Old Hunter" Wang Yifu
"Childhood Without Joy" Gao Ling
"King of Kids" Ding Meiyuan
"Responsible and Quiet Elder" Wang Nan
"Taking Flight" Ji Xinpeng
"Boy with a Racket" Wang Liqin
"Late Bloomer" Liu Xuan
"Frail and Ill" Sang Xue
"Meeting a Ruthless Mother" Chen Zhong
"Springy Little Frog" Tian Liang
"Unafraid of Hard Work" Yang Wei
"Playful Boy" Xing Aowei
"Almost a Desertion" Zheng Lihui
"Unyielding Girl" Du Li
"Tricky Little Spirit" Guo Jingjing
"Golden Baby" Wu Minxia
"Woodcutter's Daughter" Chen Yanqing
"Little Shorty" Lao Lishi
"Bookworm" Li Ting
"Hated by Dogs" Zhang Guozheng
"Outstanding in Studies and Character" Zhang Ning
"Late Bloomer" Liu Chunhong
"Boys' Playfulness" Zhang Yining
"Crying Little Boy" Ma Lin
"Table Tennis Prodigy" Chen Mi
"Rural Girl" Tang Gonghong
"Little Girl Running After a Bicycle" Sun Tianxia
"Rascal" Liu Xiang
"Doll" Xing Huina
"Beijing Spice" Luo Wei
"Forced into Swimming" Hu Jia
"Having an Opinion" Feng Kun
"Playful Piano Player" Yang Hao
"Grew Up with Volleyball" Zhao Ruirui
"Braving Injuries" Zhang Ping
"Former Child Star" Teng Haiyin
"One-Armed Boy" Lü Xiaolei
Excerpt:
"Rare Weightlifting Talent" Wu Shude
Wu Shude was born in a remote mountain village in Guizhou. The entire family of seven depended on his father's traditional woodworking skills and his mother's spinning and farming for a living. The kind and simple parents hoped their youngest son, Wu Shude, would achieve academic success. However, a chance encounter 13 years later changed Wu Shude's fate.
In 1960, due to severe famine, Wu Shude's family moved from Guizhou to Nanning, Guangxi. In the spring of 1973, while walking along a bustling street, weightlifting coach Yan Xikong of Nanning's Youth Sports School suddenly saw a schoolboy crossing the road, about to be hit by an oncoming car. Just as he was about to shout, the boy demonstrated extraordinary agility, dodged sideways, and sprinted onto the sidewalk as the car narrowly missed him. Many children had just finished school and immediately swarmed around him.
Coach Yan was impressed by the boy's extraordinary speed, courage, and explosive power. To find him, he persistently guarded the street for two or three months, finally locating him in a restroom. He persuaded Wu Shude's father to let him train in weightlifting. The father, who had studied for a few years in a private school, initially resisted, believing weightlifting was neither promising nor worth the physical strain. But after persistent and earnest persuasion, Wu Shude's parents eventually agreed.
From then on, Wu Shude began his journey in weightlifting. At the age of 13, he weighed only 31 kilograms and stood at a mere 1.26 meters tall, significantly shorter than the average height. When the coach first brought him to the training ground, some fellow coaches whispered behind his back, "Yan is purely torturing the child—he's crazy to make this kid train in weightlifting."
The pressure from society and family soon made Wu Shude want to quit. He secretly left the training team. The coach, feeling deeply sorry, went to the school to bring him back, telling him, "Your path, your future lies in weightlifting." His words struck a chord deep within Wu Shude, and he returned to the training ground.
Gradually, Wu Shude developed a strong interest in weightlifting and trained with great diligence. Though short in stature, his ambition to bring honor to his country was high. To achieve results, he lifted 10,000 to 30,000 kilograms of weight daily. Fueled by his unwavering perseverance and hard work, his performance improved steadily, and he began to shine in major domestic and international competitions, steadily moving toward the goal of becoming a world champion.
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