Li Na thanks husband for ‘giving up dream’, Jiang Shan regrets she was never No 1
- China’s most successful star and husband Jiang Shan speak frankly in interview for Hunan-based Mango TV
- Domestic media report that long delayed biopic of maverick tennis pioneer will hit screens next year
Chinese tennis superstar Li Na has thanked her husband for “giving up on his dream” to support her on her glittering career.
“He accompanied me to play games all over the world, and then gave up his dream for my dream,” Li said. “That is a place that I am very grateful and touched by.”
Li, 39, and her husband of 16 years Jiang Shan were interviewed by one another on a programme called “Above the Peak POWER PAIRS” on Hunan-based satellite television broadcaster Mango TV.
The pair met at tennis school as part of the Chinese state sports system, ignoring the rules forbidding relationships, and then went to college together. Jiang eventually ended his own dreams of playing professionally on the tour to accompany Li in her career.
She became the first player born in Asia to win a grand slam when she won the French Open in 2011 and then lifted a second slam at the Australian Open in 2014. More than 110 million people tuned in to watch her triumph at Roland-Garros.
