Zhong Nanshan’s Wife: Basketball Hall of Fame Induction & Love Story

The relationship between Zhong Nanshan and Li Shaofen is closely related to sports. (Guangzhou Daily)

Zhong Nanshan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and winner of the “Medal of the Republic”, is known to everyone during the COVID-19 epidemic, and his wife Li Shaofen also has many connections. On Thursday (25th), the Chinese Basketball Association officially announced the list of 2025 Chinese Basketball Hall of Fame inductees. Li Shaofen was selected as a former women’s basketball national player.

Among the list of inductees into the China Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025 are former national men’s basketball players Zhang Xishan and Sun Jun, former national women’s basketball players Zhou Yixian and Li Shaofen, well-known coach Wang Fei and others. The Chinese men’s basketball team from the 1996 Olympic Games was also inducted into the list as an outstanding group. It is worth mentioning that Li Shaofen is Zhong Nanshan’s wife.

The list of inductees into the Chinese Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025. (Chinese Basketball Association)

Public information shows that Li Shaofen was born in Guangzhou, Guangdong in 1936. He was the first batch of national women’s basketball players and the first batch of national athletes in New China. In the 1950s and 1960s, she and her teammates Yang Jie and Zhou Yixian jointly brought the Chinese women’s basketball team to the world level, and even won the championship of the World Emerging Powers Games in 1963. Li Shaofen also served as the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation at this event.

The relationship between Zhong Nanshan and Li Shaofen is also closely related to sports. According to reports, Zhong Nanshan often went to the Chinese women’s basketball training base where Li Shaofen was training during the first National Games. The two met and fell in love, and got married in 1963.

After retiring from the national team, Li Shaofen returned to his hometown of Guangdong. While serving as the deputy captain of the Guangdong Provincial Sports Team, she single-handedly facilitated the cooperation between the provincial basketball team and the Guangdong Hongyuan Team. After retirement, she was employed at the Rehabilitation Center of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases, where she devoted herself to sports research and contributed to the health protection of many athletes. She also perfectly combined her passion for sports with Zhong Nanshan’s medical field, and became her husband’s supportive wife in life and career.

The couple has a good relationship and attend public events together. (South +)

The couple has a good relationship and attend public events together. (South +)