By sportswriters Lin Deren and Wei Hua
BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- It has been a long time since Wang Wenjiao's last visit to the training center of China's national badminton team, where he spent a significant part of his coaching career.
Earlier this month, 86-year-old Wang was thrust back into the public eye when he was awarded the national honorary title of "People's Role Model", becoming the first sportsperson to receive the award.
Wang was one of the founders of the first-ever Chinese national badminton team, guiding it as it developed into one of the strongest in the world.
First honing his badminton skills in his birth country of Indonesia, Wang returned to China in 1953 and started his career then.
"At that time, I could beat the Chinese national champion 15-0," Wang recalled. "People didn't even have enough to eat back then. My mother delivered a lot of food from Indonesia to help me."
However, the early difficulties didn't dampen Wang's desire to improve the standard of badminton in his motherland. Thanks to his efforts, more than 20 Chinese provinces set up provincial badminton teams. Wang won a string of national titles between 1956 and 1959, and along with colleague Chen Fushou, published China's first badminton textbook in 1957.
Wang hang up his racket in the 1960s because of injury, and was named head coach of the Chinese national badminton team in 1972. His coaching helped greatly improve the standard of the Chinese team, and players under his tutelage won more than 60 world titles.
Wang coached players such as Yang Yang, Zhao Jianhua, Li Yongbo and Tian Bingyi, all of whom have played an important role in the storied history of Chinese badminton.
Victory at the 1982 Thomas Cup was one of the most memorable moments in Wang's long career.
"We were 1-3 behind on the first day of the final against Indonesia, but we came back to win the game 5-4 thanks to a strong performance on the second day," said Wang.
"I can still feel the honor of winning the title for my country, and that was indeed a very important achievement."
China's current standing as one of badminton's powerhouses is in no small measure down to Wang's leadership and contribution, and the former coach says that being named a "People's Role Model" was another important moment for him.
"I want to thank my country for still remembering me," said Wang. "I went back to my hometown recently, and everyone there was thrilled to hear of my award."
