Zhao trained under the tutelage of his personal coach and mentor Zhang Wenqiu at the Shanghai University of Sport.

Zhao qualified for the Chinese wrestling squad in the men's super heavyweight class (130 kg) at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, by finishing fifth and receiving a berth from the fourth stop of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Denver, Colorado, United States.

[2] There, he lost his opening match to three-time Olympian and 1992 heavyweight champion Héctor Milián of Cuba by an arduous 0–1 verdict, but bounced back to turn down Estonia's Helger Hallik on the mat with a magnificent 3–2 score to close the prelim pool.

Placing fourteenth out of twenty registered wrestlers in his signature category, Zhao's feat was not enough to advance him further to the quarterfinals.

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