China can be grateful that Zhang's fighting spirit prevailed as his career continued to improve and reach new heights. Here's a closer look at some of the high jumper's milestones.

Zhang first competed in 2010, and later with his first big result coming in the 2012 IAAF world indoor championships where he finished joint 4th with a Chinese record-equalling mark of 2.31m- tying former world record holder Zhu Jianhua.

Zhang then overhauled Zhu's 26-year-old Chinese indoor record in 2013, clearing 2.32m to become the outright record holder.

He maintained his good form to win the silver medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games with a jump of 2.33m.

Zhang then narrowly failed to equal Zhu's national outdoor record of 2.39m when he came second with 2.38m in the Oregon IAAF Diamond meet in 2015.