Another touching spirit of women’s volleyball.
This article is transferred from Guangming. com;
[Special Report of Tokyo Paralympic Games]
Another touching spirit of women’s volleyball.
—— Sidelights of China Sitting Women’s Volleyball Team in Tokyo Paralympic Games
Guangming Daily reporter Wang Dong
On the morning of September 5th, the sitting women’s volleyball final of the Tokyo Paralympic Games was fought by China and the United States. In the previous group match, China beat its opponent 3-0. Therefore, before the match, it was generally believed that China had a better chance to win.
In the Paralympic Games, China and the United States are a pair of old rivals, and they always occupy the leading position in the world. Since the project entered the Paralympic Games in 2004, China won the championship for three times in a row. In the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, the United States defeated China for the first time to win the championship. At the Tokyo Olympic Games, they once again became opponents in the final. Unfortunately, however, the China team failed to realize their long-cherished wish. In the final, they lost to their opponents 1-3 and won the silver medal.
After the game, the famous women’s volleyball team in China, Zhu Yunying, commented on this group of women’s volleyball girls: "We feel that this silver medal is not lighter than the gold medal. After all, compared with the healthy people, this is really a group of girls who are determined not to give in to fate. From them, we can feel a different and moving spirit of women’s volleyball! "
If you have a dream, you have to fight for it.
For the defeat in the final of Rio Paralympics five years ago, all the players and coaches are holding their breath, and they are extremely eager to regain this gold medal in Tokyo.
Last March, when Tokyo announced that the Olympic Games and Paralympics were postponed due to the epidemic, all the players in China’s sitting women’s volleyball team were relieved. Although this meant another year of training around the clock, at least the game was still there, and they were more worried that the Tokyo Olympic Games would be cancelled. "The Olympic Games are held every four years, and we all particularly hope to stand on such a stage." Team member Tang Xuemei said.
In this team, there are many three or four elders, and some players can’t even take care of their children for training. To this day, they only want to hit the dream of gold medal. As Zhang Xufei, a veteran who has been playing since the Beijing Olympic Games, said: "There are still dreams, so we must fight again."
According to Xu Huimin, the head coach, during the training for more than a year, the players’ mental state is very good. "In order to realize the dream of an Olympic champion, everyone’s heart is very United, and the atmosphere in the team is very good. No one has ever asked for leave because of poor physical fitness. Some old players are even better than the last Paralympic Games. This is the power of faith, and this is the spirit of women’s volleyball. " Xu Huimin said.
Extraordinary efforts and efforts.
After retiring from the Shanghai Women’s Volleyball Team, Xu Huimin began to coach women’s volleyball for the disabled in 2009 and took over the position of head coach in 2018. In her mind, this is a teacher of honor. These disabled and determined girls have stood on the top stage in the world again and again, and won the gold medal in the Paralympic Games for three consecutive times. Their achievements in the sports field are completely comparable to those of the China women’s volleyball team. And their hard work is even more beyond ordinary people’s imagination.
As soon as he took over the sitting women’s volleyball team, Xu Huimin was shocked. Compared with the conventional volleyball which needs to run and jump, the rhythm and skills of sitting volleyball are quite different. The same basic volleyball movements, such as receiving and sending, padding and spiking, are very difficult for sitting volleyball players and require more perseverance and sweat-all the movements of girls can only be done sitting on the ground. They should replace their feet with their hands and learn to move quickly on the floor; Touching the ground for countless times, blisters are everywhere on hands and buttocks …
In order to better experience the technical characteristics of sitting volleyball, she also sat on the ground: "I need to play with them to understand the rhythm of playing and adjust the training plan." Through continuous exploration, Xu Huimin has formed a set of efficient training mode. In order to achieve good results, Xu Huimin also applied for the sitting volleyball men’s team to practice with the girls, simulating high-intensity competitions and tempering their competitive state.
Xu Yixiao is the main force in the team. As a professional volleyball player, she started her sitting volleyball career after being disabled by injury. "The skill of sitting volleyball is completely different from that of professional volleyball. When I first started to contact sitting volleyball, I even felt that I couldn’t move at all, and then I started to learn from the basic skills." Xu Yixiao said, "To some extent, sitting volleyball for disabled people is more difficult than indoor volleyball for able-bodied people."
Never give up in the game, and live by dreams.
There are too many touching stories in this glorious group. Optimistic, hard-working, tenacious and sunny … Their experiences deserve to be known to each of us:
Tang Xuemei, who lost her left leg in the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, never gave up on herself. During the exercise, she found sunshine and self-confidence. "Volleyball brings me a lot of happiness. The shadow caused by the earthquake is almost gone. I have a higher platform and can realize more life value. As a disabled person, it is a great glory in my life to win the gold medal in the Paralympic Games and raise the national flag. " Tang Xuemei said.
Due to the special experience and the reality of changing people’s lives with sports, the International Olympic Committee specially wrote an article to report Tang Xuemei’s struggle story, which touched people all over the world and inspired children all over the world who struggled with their fate.
Rising from grief, Tang Xuemei practiced the spirit of women’s volleyball with her own actions, and at the same time opened a new life.
Wang Yanan was amputated in a car accident at the age of 17. She changed from a girl who likes dancing to a disabled person. Her life fell into gloom, and she even wanted to commit suicide.
However, many years of volleyball career have made her life have a different color, especially the gold medal of the London Paralympic Games in 2012. She still remembers: "I am very strong. When I was a child, I told myself that I would climb the biggest performance stage, but I didn’t expect that I would finally climb the highest podium in this way."
"I won’t think about saying that others look down on me, I can’t. I will take care of and help my friends now, and I have realized my value here. " Wang Yanan said.
Four-time Olympic veteran Zhang Lijun, from 14 to 36 years old, struggled in the sitting volleyball for 22 years and never wanted to give up. This is her last Paralympic Games. Zhang Lijun said, "I am very grateful for sitting volleyball, which has always inspired me. Volleyball is a complex that I can’t give up. Through sitting volleyball, I found myself and reflected my own value. "
Lu Hongqin, from Shanghai, is 41 years old. She is an old volleyball player who has experienced five Paralympic Games. Because of polio, Lv Hongqin lost her ability to walk normally since she was a child. In 1999, she became an athlete in Shanghai Sports Training Center for the Disabled. Sitting volleyball changed her life. Since 2000, she has won many honors, such as the national March 8th Red Flag Bearer, the national outstanding athlete and the national May 1st Labor Medal.
As Tang Xuemei said: "The spirit of China women’s volleyball team is the same as that of China sitting women’s volleyball team. Even at the last minute, as long as the game is not over, we can’t give up."
Guangming Daily (September 9, 2021, 09 edition)
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