Hung Nghe - Monkey Journey to the West 1986: 3 Olympic gold medals, the big boss of the Sports Department

After the 33rd Olympic Games ended in China. When mentioning the achievements of athletes participating in the Olympics, many people will immediately remember Hung Nghe. Interestingly, Hung Nghe also acted in the classic TV series Journey to the West.

Fate with the 1986 Journey to the West film crew

While still a member of the Hunan Provincial Diving Team, Xiong Ni had the opportunity to play a supporting role in the 1986 TV series Journey to the West directed by Yang Jie.

At that time, the film crew needed a lot of child actors to dress up as the baby monkeys surrounding Sun Wukong. Therefore, a member of the film crew found members of the Hunan Province Gymnastics and Diving Team, including Xiong Ni. At that time, Xiong Ni was only 10 years old and was assigned to play the role of a baby monkey in the film Shui Lian Dong.

At that time, the film crew's conditions were poor, the setting was mainly in caves, the lighting was only dim due to lack of electricity. Meanwhile, young boys like Hung Nghe were very active, often running and playing.

While resting, because he was too busy playing, Hung Nghe jumped high and hit his head on a stalactite in the cave, bleeding profusely but the boy did not cry out in pain. Luckily, at that time, actor Lam Chi Khiem - who played Nhi Lang Than discovered the incident and called for everyone to take Hung Nghe to the hospital to bandage the wound in time.

After being discharged from the hospital, Hung Nghe insisted on returning to the film crew to complete his work. He also asked Lam Chi Khiem not to reveal the incident to his parents for fear that they would prevent him from filming. After finishing all the scenes, Hung Nghe's mind was still focused on filming.

In her later book, the late director Yang Jie said that Xiong Ni loved acting so much that he even wrote a letter to Ma Lizhou, the accountant who was responsible for taking care of him at that time, expressing his desire to become an actor and not to continue his sports career.

Receiving Hung Nghe's letter, Ma Le Chau at that time replied and did not agree to let the boy become an actor and at the same time encouraged Hung Nghe to pursue the path he was on.

"Fortunately, the film crew rejected Hung Nghe, otherwise China would have lost a sports legend," commented Sohu newspaper.

Big guy in Sports

During his career, Hung Nghe participated in 22 international events, including the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, and the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He won 3 gold medals at the Olympic Games, breaking 2 records. In total, Hung Nghe won 16 gold medals in all international competitions.

Despite bringing home many honors and titles, Hung Nghe also suffered many injuries during his training and competitions. At the 1993 world competition, Hung Nghe had to compete with a bandage due to a muscle strain in his arm. Fortunately, he eventually won a gold medal in the 10m platform.

In September 1994, Hung Nghe continued to suffer injuries. The continuous injuries affected Hung Nghe for a long time and forced him to retire in 1997. However, Hung Nghe also declared that if the country called his name, he would not hesitate to contribute.

After Xiong Ni retired, the Chinese national team went through a difficult period before the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In the end, the team asked Xiong Ni to continue "playing". In order to fight for the honor of his homeland and fulfill his oath, Xiong Ni, then only 24 years old, had to spend more time and energy training harder than others.

Despite his injuries, Hung Nghe was still very resilient and performed the most perfect movements, helping him win two Olympic gold medals in singles and doubles. Hung Nghe's biggest rival at that time, Dmitri Sautin, once praised him: "I cannot claim to be the best athlete in the world. In my opinion, that title belongs to Hung Nghe."

In 2002, Hung Nghe officially ended his 20-year sports career.

"Early retirement" and the path to leadership

To nurture talent, Hung Nghe founded a training school named after himself. Besides, because of his love for football, he also founded Hunan Football Club and held the position of Club President.

According to The Paper, after his "early retirement" in 2002, Xiong Ni served as Secretary of the Sports Team Party Committee of the Hunan Provincial Sports Bureau and began his political career. In 2004, Xiong Ni served as Principal of the Hunan Provincial Sports Vocational College and became the youngest department-level official in Hunan Province that year.

In January 2007, Xiong Ni served as Deputy Director and Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Hunan Provincial Sports Department. In January 2015, Xiong Ni was elected President of the Hunan Sports Science Association.

In January 2020, he was elected Chairman of the 5th Committee of the Hunan Provincial Football Association. On December 27, 2021, on the official website of the Hunan Provincial Sports Bureau, Xiong Ni was appointed Secretary of the Party Committee of the Hunan Provincial Sports Bureau.

In 2007, Hung Nghe and his girlfriend Ly Kinh Man got their marriage certificate after many years of dating. Ly Kinh Man is also from Truong Sa, Hunan and is a former international student who studied abroad. In early January 2008, the two held their wedding at a luxury hotel. In 2012, the couple gave birth to a son.

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