During her childhood in Hebei, Sun's parents locked her in her bedroom in a bid to stop her playing football.[2] She was a member of the state track and field team when she started football training in 1983 and joined the Hebei club in 1984. After the 1991 Women's World Cup, Sun accepted a transfer to the Japan Women's Football League with Matsushita Denki. She helped the Takatsuki, Osaka-based team win the league title in the 1994 season.
International career
At the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament in Guangdong she was part of the hosts' team who lost the third place play-off to Brazil. The Chinese press voted her into the tournament's official all-star team.[3] At the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, Sun played the full 80 minutes in all four of China's games. The hosts reached the quarter-finals before losing 1–0 to Sweden.[4] In the first ever FIFA Women's World Cup match, Sun scored the fourth goal in China's 4–0 win over eventual finalists Norway on 16 November 1991.
In 1996 Sun won the Olympic silver medal with the Chinese team. She played all five matches and scored three goals. She retired from football after helping China retain the AFC Women's Asian Cup at the 1997 AFC Women's Championship in December 1997.
^Fan Hong, J. A. Mangan (2004). Soccer, Women, Sexual Liberation: Kicking Off a New Era. Frank Cass Publishers. p. 58. ISBN0714684082. By way of example, one famous player, Sun Qingmei, recalled that in the 1980s her parents locked her in her bedroom to prevent her going out to play football.
