As the best athletes prepare to perform on the region’s biggest stage at the coming Asian Games, Zhang Jiaqi, a Chinese Olympic diving champion, was making headlines for a different type of performance.The 22-year-old former diver, who won gold at the 2018 Asian Games and the Tokyo Olympics, recently appeared on the reality television show My Little One, providing viewers with a look at her unapologetic love for anime, casual living habits and desire to break free from the state sports system.Alongside Zhang, the current season features actresses Michelle Chen, Chen Yao and Huang Cancan.The show highlighted that Zhang’s current situation was very different from her gruelling childhood in the national team.Following her retirement in 2025 at 21 years old, Zhang declined a stable, state-arranged job, opting instead to rent a modest flat in Shanghai and start an e-commerce live stream.When asked why she turned down state employment, she said: “The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish,” implying a preference for high-risk, high-reward ventures.