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With the popularity of the Paris Olympics, Zhang Jike, who had been silent for a long time, appeared in the public eye again with a new identity - table tennis coach.

Recently, Zhang Jike's Douyin account "Zhang's Table Tennis Superstar Field" launched live teaching and training courses, priced at 199 yuan for 5 courses. On August 15, when the reporter consulted as a consumer, he learned that the live course was sold out.

After retirement, former Olympic champions who are at the crossroads of life also face the challenge of re-selecting their career paths. In addition to Zhang Jike, Liu Xiang, who became popular again at the Paris Olympics, has successively cooperated with Yili, Bawang Tea Princess, and Xiaohongshu, and his commercial ability is not inferior to that of active athletes; former world swimming champion Yang Lina, Sydney Olympic men's single 10-meter diving platform champion Tian Liang, and "diving queen" Wu Minxia have seized the opportunity of live broadcasting and short videos to open up new paths for "re-employment".

(Zhang Jike serves as the offline technical instructor of Ningbo Daily Sports Table Tennis Club.Video screenshot)

Zhang Jike's popularity rises during the Olympics, with nearly 3 million people crowding into his live broadcast room

Judging from the trend of Baidu Index, Zhang Jike's popularity was average from April to July, and it fluctuated upward at the end of July. On August 4, Zhang Jike sent a microblog, "Strength is the main thing, prediction is the secondary, Grand Slam plus one, dream come true in Paris" to congratulate Fan Zhendong for winning the gold medal in men's singles table tennis at the Paris Olympics. It quickly accumulated 25,000 microblog comments and more than 900,000 likes; the next day, the popularity of Baidu Index exceeded 100,000.

With this popularity, more people got to know Zhang Jike again, and traffic was tilted towards his Douyin account "Zhang's Table Tennis Superstar Field". In just 10 days, the number of fans of this account increased rapidly by nearly 280,000. At around 19:00 every day, Zhang Jike would lead students to practice catching and throwing the ball in the Douyin live broadcast room. According to Feigua data, on the evening of August 6, the live broadcast had 2.913 million viewers, and the number of fans of the account increased by about 76,000.

On August 16, the reporter called customer service again as a consumer. According to the introduction, the 199 yuan five-session course is a theoretical course, in which Zhang Jike himself will explain basic issues such as arc and rotation, table tennis footwork, and improvement of training efficiency, so as to better understand his own style and playing method. "The theoretical course is 100 minutes per session, but the live broadcast period has passed, and now you can only watch the replay."

"Zhang Jike shares his experiences in competitions and training during live broadcasts, which is very useful for table tennis enthusiasts and those who are going to participate in competitions." Ms. Wang, who has purchased the course, mentioned that netizens can interact with Zhang Jike during the live broadcast, "The atmosphere is quite good."

The Douyin account of "Zhang's Table Tennis Superstar Field" is certified as "Ningbo Haishu Superstar Yang Cultural and Creative Studio". Tianyancha shows that the studio was established on April 30, 2024. The operator and beneficial owner are Zhang Jike. The business scope includes literary and artistic creation, sports competition organization, sports event planning and education consulting services.

Why set up a studio and start live streaming? "Some children at the age of 12 or 13 may not be able to make it to the national team, so they throw away their specialties because there is no good training environment and no good coaching guidance." Zhang Jike once publicly responded that he hopes that children can be admitted to good universities with their specialties, skills and academic scores.

In addition to live broadcasting, Zhang Jike also serves as an offline technical instructor for Ningbo Daily Sports Table Tennis Club. The club has opened a "long-term training class" to recruit students with a certain level of table tennis skills. Training is held from Tuesday to Sunday, with 5.5 hours of training per day and a fee of 4,980 yuan per month. Before May 1, Zhang Jike had opened an advanced course for table tennis candidates, charging 9,800 yuan per month, which has now expired.

"There are 50 children in a class, and Coach Zhang will make targeted training plans. During class, he will patrol the whole class to observe everyone's training situation. After class, he will give one-on-one guidance to the children in the class in turn according to the problems." "Xinxin's mother", a parent who once sent her child to the "Long Training Class" for training, said that the teaching mode is similar to that of professional teams, with sparring as the main method and coaching as the supplement. "My child is preparing to become a professional athlete. Coach Zhang came in January and we have been here ever since."

Netizens have mixed opinions on Zhang Jike's comeback. Some netizens commented: "9,800 yuan is too appropriate for this skill" and "With titles such as Olympic champion and fastest Grand Slam winner in history, plus the 'Bawang twist' skill, I want to send my child to the school." Other netizens felt that 9,800 yuan exceeded the expectations of most parents of non-professional athletes and the fee was like "robbing money."

(Tian Liang and his wife Ye Yiqian live streamed goods under the Eiffel Tower. Video screenshot)

Live streaming, endorsement deals... the former Olympic champion's path to "re-employment"

Looking at the most typical case of Chinese athletes' "re-employment", it is the "Prince of Gymnastics" Li Ning who founded the "Li Ning" brand. In 2023, "Li Ning" was selected as one of the top ten most valuable clothing brands in the world, with a brand value of up to US$3.065 billion.

However, Li Ning's success is a case that is difficult to replicate. Cross-border career change, live streaming, endorsement, brand incubation... The reporter found that many former world champions and former Olympic champions have embarked on a diversified "re-employment" path.

The athlete who "crossed over" the fastest was Hong Kong, China's Jiang Minhui. Less than half a month after winning the women's individual epee championship at the Paris Olympics, she officially joined the Hong Kong Jockey Club, responsible for promoting youth development, sports development and social welfare.

Live streaming is a major option for retired athletes to "re-employ". For example, during the Paris Olympics, Tian Liang sold goods under the Eiffel Tower, with sales reaching 23.4 million yuan, a very impressive result. Luo Dan, the champion of the trampoline team at the 25th Trampoline World Championships and head coach of the Hunan Trampoline Team, led netizens to "dance" in the live broadcast room after retirement and gained 720,000 fans; from July 15 to date, Luo Dan has sold goods 11 times, with the highest number of viewers being 159,000 people, and the highest sales reaching nearly 80,000 yuan. Li Yuanyuan, a disabled cyclist who broke the world record twice, sold seafood from her hometown Lianyungang live after retirement, not only paying off more than 300,000 yuan in foreign debt, but also saying that "TikTok is the second track of my life."

The 2024 Douyin Retired Athlete Data Report shows that in 2023, retired athletes who earned income on Douyin increased by 54% year-on-year, the number of orders for goods sold increased by 368% year-on-year, and helped sell more than 4.32 million domestic products. More than 2,500 retired athletes are active on Douyin, actively interacting with the audience through content creation forms such as imparting sports knowledge, in-depth event analysis, skill teaching and sharing, popularizing sports injury prevention knowledge, and vividly recording daily sports.

There are also many people who have transformed themselves into "bosses". After retiring, "table tennis king" Deng Yaping devoted herself to the business world. Not only did she obtain a doctorate in economics from Cambridge University, she also established the Deng Yaping Sports Industry Investment Fund with a total fundraising scale of 5 billion yuan. This is also the first fund in China named after an athlete. Lin Dan, the first Grand Slam player in the history of world badminton, founded his own underwear brand after retiring, and also cooperated with coffee chain brands to expand his business territory. Liu Xuan, the champion of the women's gymnastics balance beam at the Sydney Olympics, founded multiple brands after retiring. Tianyancha shows that Liu Xuan has 7 affiliated companies, of which she is a legal person in 1 and has a stake in 6.

"When the public recalls stars (athletes), it is also the public's subconscious review of scenes related to a certain social event or a hot figure, and then looking back on their youth." Zhang Qing, founder and chairman of Beijing Key Sports Consulting Co., Ltd., said in an interview with the media that, for example, Liu Xiang's achievements and stories are in line with national identity and patriotism, inspiring more people to challenge themselves, pursue excellence, and contribute to the realization of personal dreams and national rejuvenation.

Industry insiders analyzed that the extension of the sports industry chain, the rise of new media such as live streaming and short videos, the tolerance of brands and audiences towards athletes, and the support of relevant policies have provided more possibilities for retired athletes to "re-employment."

(Liu Xiang, who became popular again after the Paris Olympics, cooperated with Xiaohongshu, and his commercial ability is not inferior to that of active athletes. Image source: Internet)