Shichahai

Last year training in one of the elite centres under intense condtions with table tennis top-10 national coach Zhen from Shichahai. While intense for myself it's a walk in the park for the kids that live there. I've been to Beijing many times even one time for chess as a young teenager. The city has changed dramatically but the people are the same, really down to earth and helpful!

Shichahai has produced many Olympic champions in various sports including Wushu, Volleyball, Taekwondo and SanDa (free style combat). A graduate from Shichahai is Xie Jun ex womens Chess world champion. I got a chance to play chess in the parks while doing 5km runs in the mornings, while hanging around there during the evenings you can experience the famous Red Lotus restaurant from the Tintin comic by Herge and see magic shows that can rival those that you see in Las Vegas from David Copperfield. I realized that Shichahai offered so many other recreations and martial arts that were just as rewarding. What is so remarkable about this place is that on any given day you will have national team members from all over the world Russia,USA,France, Japan, Korea,Indonesia surrounding you at a dinner table and the remarkable thing is it is common to find people conversing in someone elses language fluently! It's a place where you can share ideas and grow together through trials and tribulations.

Kids at a tender age of 12-13 from this centre already have the skill and mindset to spar with professional players from other countries or sometimes even defeat them. But how can this be possible? It's mainly due to the high level of competition and dedication during the physical training sessions. I took notes of the training techniques the coaches used as well as how they interacted with foreign students.

If you are adventerous and you are willing to fall down and face uncertainty, humiliation and defeat,extend yourself beyond limits you could ever have imagined then Shichahai is worth a visit. There is a reason why it has produced so many torch bearers! It is also a haven of hope as it welcomes even Paralympic players with open arms.