Not just for the elite: China's ex-athletes in school sport push

Fitness instructor Sui, a 2012 London Olympic silver medalist, conducting a class at a university in Shanghai. Photo: Jessica Yang/AFP

Petite but commanding, China's former world champion gymnast Sui Lu stood among a sea of yoga mats doling out encouragement to her students as they bent their torsos towards their outstretched legs.

Sui was four years old when she was picked out by China's state sports machine and began training as an elite athlete. She became world champion on the balance beam in 2011 and won silver at the London Olympics the following year.