Sport has the power to make a man out of a boy.

There is no better proof of this than Cong Peien's upbringing that allowed him to become, at a young age, CEO of a sports-language education business.

When I first saw Cong on a bright Sunday afternoon on Tsinghua University's baseball field, the graduate of Beijing 101 Middle School looked no different from other teenagers in his black T-shirt, sports shorts and worn-out sneakers. Only his gel-fixed hairstyle and sun glasses made him stand out.