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Slow healing of a fragile beauty
By Wang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-25 08:09
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More than a year after Zhao Ruirui's ankle injury, the tallest Chinese women's volleyball player of the past decade and 2004 Athens Olympic gold medalist still can't step on court. The only things that reminds her of her glorious past are the 10 trophies and medals neatly arranged in a cabinet in her 40 sq m living room
On April 3, 2008, Zhao broke her anklebone during a training session in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics. On January 13, 2009, she had an operation on her leg. She is still recovering at home.
While Zhao's teammates are attending games all over the country, Zhao is restricted to doing light physical excise for an hour in the morning, then having a nap and resting at home during the day.
"My leg still can't bend 90 degrees one year after the operation," she said. "I don't know when I will go back on court, maybe in a year; maybe I can't go back ever," she added.
"I didn't realize how important volleyball is to me until I was about to lose it forever," she said. "I love it so much. It's part of my life."
Injuries and wounds are no stranger to 29-year-old Zhao. She was given the nickname "glass beauty" because of her propensity for injury. The latest operation was her fifth, and she had her first operation on her knee when she was 18, just a few months after she was selected to the national volleyball team.
In 2007 she had a 50 cm steel bar inserted in her right calf, which causes her problems at airports. "Whenever I pass through a security gate, the alarms start beeping because of the steel bar. I have to explain the reason to the airport staff all the time," she said.
Despite the injuries and the "numerous pains and frustration", Zhao still considers herself very lucky to have been selected as a member of China's national volleyball team and to have won an Olympic gold medal. But despite her success and her popularity with fans at home and abroad, she is not rich, she doesn't even have a driver's license, let alone a fancy car, and she lives in a three-bedroom apartment with her parents, which was allocated by her team.
She said she never enjoyed much sponsorship from sports brands. Throughout her career she signed just one two-year contract with a famous local sports brand, and since her injury, the company reduced the contract to one year.
"Bonus and salaries are my only income. It is not a lot, but it's more than enough for me," she said.
Off the court, Zhao is like any other young woman. Her favorite hobbies are blogging, painting and pets. She has a blog at QQ.com that she updates frequently and painting cartoons has become an essential part of Zhao's life. Her favorite subject is angels. "They have wings. I like things with wings, because they can fly freely in the wind," she explained. Her pet is a grey hamster called "grey boy". She even sewed a pink sleeping bag for it to sleep in during the cold winter.
Recently, she became hooked on a new hobby - studying English. She now studies English for two hours every week with a private teacher sent by The Chinese Athletes Educational Foundation - an organization that provides athletes with tuition in languages, sports management, business administration etc.
"I often have games oversees and foreign doctors come to Beijing to check my recovery, so it is very useful for me to grasp the language," she said. "Listening to English songs and watching movies is very helpful."
While most of her former teammates in the national squad have found romance and some are even expecting babies, Zhao remains single. Some media have reported that her height plus her star status are obstacles to a serious relationship, but she doesn't believe so. "Love cannot be forced. I strongly believed he is out there. I just need a little bit more time to find him," she said.
