Original title: Going forward and looking forward to meeting at the top – an exclusive interview with Li Yingying, the main attacker of the Chinese women’s volleyball team
Lost to the Italian team and stopped in the quarter-finals, the Chinese women’s volleyball team ended the journey of the women’s volleyball world championship with the sixth place. In this team, Li Yingying, the main attacker, is undoubtedly one of the most dazzling players.
With Zhu Ting, Zhang Changning and other main attackers absent, 22-year-old Li Yingying participated in the “three major competitions” (Olympic Games, World Championships, and World Cup) as the main force for the first time. She scored 179 points in the entire tournament, ranking sixth among all players; she was also at the forefront in many technical lists such as serve and first pass. Although there have been ups and downs in performance, Li Yingying’s final “answer sheet” was satisfactory, and it also made people see more possibilities for this young player.
“Although I often accompanied the team to participate in the World Championships in the past, they always played in difficult times. It was considered a ‘special soldier’, relying on the opponent’s ignorance of me (to get points).” Li Yingying said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency, ” This year, from the World League to the World Championships, when I played in the main role, I found that the pressure became greater both psychologically and technically, and my opponents began to pay attention to me and study me, so the difficulties faced were different. “
“I was nervous at the beginning, and sometimes both hands trembled.” Li Yingying admitted frankly.
The overall strength of this Chinese women’s volleyball team has a certain gap with the world‘s top teams such as Brazil, Italy, Serbia, etc. It is not guaranteed to win against Japan, the Netherlands and other teams in the same group. In the face of a strong enemy, letting go is the only way out.
During the entire competition, Li Yingying accepted a total of seven interviews, and the word she said the most was “spell”.
After winning the first game of the group stage against Argentina – “No matter who we face, we all have the mentality of fighting and rushing to the opponent.”
After losing to Brazil in the group stage – “Today we came up to attack them and fight for every point based on our own characteristics.”
……
No matter who the opponent is, Li Yingying and her teammates put themselves in a lower position, be fully prepared for difficulties, and attack the opponent point by point.
In the first stage of the group stage, the Chinese team first defeated the weaker teams of Argentina and Colombia, and then won the key battle with the Japanese team in straight sets, taking the initiative to enter the next stage in their own hands. . Despite the subsequent loss to the Brazilian women’s volleyball team, the Chinese team successfully advanced. In the five group matches in the first stage, Li Yingying scored 22 points in three games, and scored 18 points and 19 points in the other two games.
Next, Li Yingying and her teammates faced three European teams, including the World League champion Italy, the host Netherlands, and the relatively good Puerto Rico.
When looking forward to the second stage of the group stage, Li Yingying once said: “I think I will definitely be a player who will be taken care of. I may face high blocking from the opponent in attack, including key marking. I have to prepare myself in advance. The opponent’s blocking formation, find a point to break through. I hope that when the time comes, I can find a solution to the problem.”
At this time, Li Yingying is already one of the hottest athletes on the field of this World Championships. Whether foreign reporters, staff of the organizing committee, or local spectators, the first thing that comes to mind when referring to the Chinese team is – “That left-handed attack is really good!”
The Chinese women’s volleyball team got off to a good start in the second group stage, and Li Yingying continued to perform steadily. In the fierce battle with the Netherlands, she still scored 23 points despite not being in the best condition.
“With our firm belief in winning, we won the game.” Li Yingying commented on the game against the Netherlands.
But in the arena, belief alone is not enough. In the next match with the Italian team, the Chinese women’s volleyball team lost 0:3, and Li Yingying’s performance was sluggish, scoring only 8 points. In her own words – “played a mess”.
“I watched a lot of videos before the game. I watched last year’s games, this year’s games, including games from Italy and other countries. Because I wanted to win too much, I was very nervous. I hesitate to make a move. This is my own problem, I didn’t use a rational way of thinking to face the game, I paid too much attention to the opponent, and ignored what I should do myself.”
After defeating Belgium to advance to the quarter-finals, the Chinese team encountered the Italian team again. Despite the final 1:3 loss to the opponent, the Chinese team’s performance in the third game made people see the team’s hope, and Li Yingying’s performance was significantly better than the last time.
“The second time I played against the Italian team, I lost, but I enjoyed the game very much. I didn’t think too much about the final outcome. Instead, I wanted to show what I had. Even if I lost, I wouldn’t be discouraged. It can only be that my skills are not as good as others, it’s nothing, and I won’t stand still.” Li Yingying said, “The two games against Italy really gave me a lot.”
Since the first game of the World Championships, Li Yingying has always told herself that playing against a strong team is a learning process. Only by seeing the gap with top opponents can she know which direction she should work hard in the future.
“In the future, the technology will be more delicate and better. In addition, the biggest (problem) is still at the psychological level, especially how to adjust when encountering difficulties, and how to flexibly change on key balls. The World Championships concluded that there are Good and bad, but for me, I think there are more good aspects. Now I am more and more confident on the court, and I feel that the distance with the top attackers is gradually narrowing, not as far away as in the past .”
Isn’t Li Yingying the world‘s top player now? When asked this question, Li Yingying said that she still has a certain gap and there is still a long way to go.
But turning around, she told reporters: “But I believe I will do better next time. (Being a top player) is an expectation and a goal for me! I will do my best!”
Such an answer is just like the label she gave herself – optimistic and indomitable! (Xinhua News Agency reporters Xiao Yazhuo and Liu Yang)