"Teachers open the door," goes the Chinese proverb, "but you must enter by yourself." For most of her life, China's Ding Ning has kicked down doors as a professional athlete. Starting from age five, Ding dedicated her life to table tennis. While she started like many young hopefuls in her homeland, she saw success which only four other women in history have achieved: the coveted Grand Slam of table tennis (singles gold medals in the Olympics, World Championships and World Cup). After reaching such rarefied heights, there were no more worlds to conquer in the sport. Now, after 26 years playing table tennis, Ding Ning is trading in her paddle for a pencil and raising her hand at the prestigious Peking University. There, she will pursue a master's degree in a subject she knows better than most: physical education. "Today marks my first day as a grad student at Peking University! From now on, I’m no longer 'Ding Ning the athlete' but 'Ding Ning, the student,'" she posted on Sina Weibo, China's largest social media platform. It did not take long for the post to garner over 500 million views and a deluge of love and encouragement. "As the Chinese saying goes, diligence is the only vessel to navigate the boundless seas of knowledge," Ding continued. "I’ll continue to embrace the spirit of hard work and persistence and strive to do my part for the sports industry—in a different way." As a captain of the Chinese table tennis team, Ding Ning has navigated the world's most competitive waters and come up with every treasure to be found. Now, she has steered her ship to the open doors at Peking University. The consummate teammate, she now enters the hallowed halls of academia by herself.

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