The female volleyball team called me “Uncle Gu”
I am 90 years old this year. Since the Chinese Women’s Volleyball Bamboo Shed Hall was first built in 1972, I came to the Zhangzhou Sports Training Base and witnessed the “five consecutive championships” of the Chinese Women’s Volleyball Team.
I still remember that during the “five consecutive championships”, every time the women’s volleyball team won the championship, the streets and alleys of Zhangzhou City were beaten with gongs and drums. When the women’s volleyball team came to the base for training, the compound was already full of welcoming people, standing on both sides of the southern gate of the base to welcome the women’s volleyball girls, which was very lively. The base also held a celebration banquet for the women’s volleyball girls. Women’s volleyball player Zhou Xiaolan’s wedding was held at the Zhangzhou base. In this way, the Zhangzhou base was called the “maiden’s home” by the women’s volleyball girls.
The champion of the Chinese women’s volleyball team is hard to come by. At the beginning of the establishment of the base, the national women’s volleyball team came to the training camp and the train arrived at Zhangzhou Station at 4 o’clock in the morning. There was no platform at that time, and the team members jumped off the train directly. When they arrived at the base, due to the tension in the dormitory, one dormitory had to live four or five people, and some of the team members had to live in the conference room. Before the team members go to training, they will also take out the big washbasin in the dormitory and put it in the lobby of the athlete building. The whole hall is covered with washbasins, and the momentum is huge, just to take the washbasin to wash after the training. At that time, the training volume of women’s volleyball players was really large, and they could endure hardships. Cao Huiying injured 6 of 10 fingers, and now she can’t bend her little finger; Li Guizhi was fined 150 spiking training by coach Yuan Weimin. Persist in completing the training requirements.
The “five consecutive championships” achieved by the women’s volleyball team continue to inspire me. Now both the veteran and young players of the women’s volleyball team call me Uncle Gu. During the 2021 Chinese women’s volleyball team’s Zhangzhou training camp, the head coach Lang Ping also specially visited me in the nursing home, which made me very touched. I have always been concerned about the development of the Chinese women’s volleyball team and hope that the young players will learn from the old women’s volleyball team, practice their skills and tactics, and return to the top of the world. (Gu Huaqun, retired cadre of Zhangzhou Sports Training Base, Fujian Province)
Meet them at that moment
Born in the middle and late 1960s, my contemporaries and I were fortunate to be the first generation of children in the reform and opening-up era. Returning to our 80s, sometimes I wonder what has nourished us? Every time, “Chinese Women’s Volleyball” is indispensable. Lang Ping, Sun Jinfang, Liang Yan, Chen Zhaodi…These shining names accompany our growth. They represent not only the power and beauty of sports, but also the deep and rich influence of personal glory and the destiny of the motherland. Tie. In retrospect, Song Shixiong used to call out these names again and again, and it still seems to be still in his ears.
I look for my first encounter with the Chinese women’s volleyball team in my memory. In 1981, 1982, and 1984, the Chinese women’s volleyball team won the World Cup championship, the World Championship championship and achieved three consecutive championships in the Olympic Games. At that time, the village in northern Jiangsu where I lived was still closed. But I believe I know the women’s volleyball team. I remember that our speech contest and our composition have all told and written stories about the “Women’s Volleyball Spirit”.
In 1985, the fourth World Cup. I have gone from a rural junior high school to a high school in the county seat. The Chinese women’s volleyball team was suddenly so close, the news of their championship no longer just came from afar. That was the first semester when we village children arrived at the county seat. We learned the schedule early and guarded a classmate’s small radio. We captured every sentence, every name and score of Song Shixiong, and for the first time we felt that the motherland and people in the distance are so close to the world. The world is rushing towards us.
Forty years have passed. Our young friends who used to scream with passion around the small radio have opened up their own long journeys of life, and occasionally we will meet and get together again. We will reminisce about our 80s and talk about the women’s volleyball girls’ names. They seem to be with our youth.
Now, I teach literature classes at Nanjing Normal University where Hui Ruoqi, Zhang Changning, and Gong Xiangyu are studying. Perhaps I have passed by them on campus more than once. Perhaps one day, I have the opportunity to talk to them about the Chinese women’s volleyball team in our youth. (He Ping, professor of the School of Chinese Language and Literature, Nanjing Normal University)
The spirit of women’s volleyball is flowing in our family’s blood
In November 1981, for me, two major events happened, one was the birth of my daughter, and the other was the Chinese women’s volleyball team won the world championship for the first time. The two things are intertwined and become the most unforgettable memory of a lifetime.
On November 16th of that year, the lover’s due date was approaching. On that day, there was snow in the small border town where I lived. I rode my bike and carried my lunch box to the hospital a few kilometers away. The car rides to the square in front of the railway station, and the huge broadcast speaker is broadcasting the grand finals of the 3rd Women’s Volleyball World Cup. People stopped and gathered to listen to this exciting game together. I temporarily forgot the real destination and joined the crowd. In Song Shixiong’s commentary, the whole game was ups and downs, exciting and exciting. When the Chinese women’s volleyball girls saved multiple match points and set the score back and forth at a victory of 17-15, the entire square was boiling, and many people left tears of excitement. Suddenly, my wet gaze fell on the lunch box hanging on the handlebar, and then I realized that I had missed the meal time of the lover who was waiting to give birth. I brought the news of this victory to my hungry lover. She did not complain about the late delivery of meals, and even said that she would give her child a name related to this victory. After 20 hours, our daughter was born.
During the years when my daughter was growing up, the family would often make fun of this incident, and my daughter would proudly respond that she was “waiting for this victory to be born”. In fact, in my heart, I hope that my daughter will have Like the Chinese women’s volleyball team, he is good at fighting against the wind and constantly surpassing his fighting spirit, determination and strength. My daughter’s 40th birthday is approaching, and it reminds me of the story of me and this game. I am also delighted to see that my daughter does have a bit of women’s volleyball spirit. She is hardworking, fearless, stubborn, and hardworking in her studies or work. Studying and climbing the peak… These 40-year-old women’s volleyball spirits flow in the blood of our family, and they have nothing to do with the gold medal. (Retired arts and crafts designer Wang Zhenshan)
The appeal of Chinese women’s volleyball team will never go out of style
“Women’s Volleyball Spirit” has been along the way with the reform and opening up for more than 40 years. As a fan, I have “witnessed” the ten championships from the Chinese women’s volleyball team’s first world championship in 1981 to the World Cup championship in 2019. The Chinese women’s volleyball team has been glorious for several times and has experienced several ups and downs, which have affected the generations of people related to it.
August 29, 2004 was the final day of the women’s volleyball team in the Athens Olympics. At that time, I was still working as a news editor. Whether you are a fan or because of work, you have to watch the game in front of the TV, and contact several colleagues who were on the front line at the time for interviews, and wait for the first time after the game to be published. In the end, the Chinese women’s volleyball team won the Olympic championship again after a lapse of 20 years. Under such an atmosphere, everyone in the office seemed to forget that they hadn’t closed their eyes for nearly 48 hours, and continued to work day and night with passion.
From 1981, the Chinese women’s volleyball team reached the top of the world volleyball, until the 1982 World Championships, the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the 1985 World Cup and the 1986 World Championships successfully forged “five consecutive championships”, but as fans, we What was unexpected was that we waited 20 years for the second women’s volleyball Olympic champion. Similarly, what is even more unexpected is that the Chinese women’s volleyball team ranked fifth in the 2012 London Olympics. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, a “youth army” with an average age of less than 25 years old miraculously won the Olympics again. Champion, and then on the podium of the World Championship for the tenth time in the 2019 World Cup.
Over the past forty years of reform and opening up, the Chinese women’s volleyball team has been advancing and growing up in difficulties, and has never given up on the impact of dreams. The “women’s volleyball spirit” has been constantly proven by time. As fans, we believe that as the Chinese women’s volleyball team continues to make history in the future, the “women’s volleyball spirit” will be vigorously promoted. (Book planning publisher Meng Tong)
The spirit of the women’s volleyball team is by my side
In 2004, when I was 12 years old, I was watching the women’s volleyball final of the Athens Olympics. The last minute, multiple rounds, every round made my heart tight and tight. With the powerful smash, the volleyball fell to the ground. As a primary school student, I was already excited. At that time, I only experienced the happiness of the women’s volleyball team winning the championship, but I couldn’t appreciate the hardships they made in preparing for the game.
When I was in college, I already had some understanding of volleyball. Especially after the 2004 Chinese women’s volleyball champion Yang Hao became the coach of Beihang Women’s Volleyball Team, I was fortunate to listen to her telling many stories about women’s volleyball. I learned that the Chinese women’s volleyball team has won five consecutive silver medals from the five consecutive championships in the 1980s to the 1990s. Regret, and then return to the world‘s top of the struggle in the new century. Every past is like a legend, and I deeply realize that the spirit of the women’s volleyball team is by my side.
At that time, the Beihang Women’s Volleyball Team was a strong team of college women’s volleyball teams, but it also experienced many ups and downs. We have won the championship through everyone’s hard work in difficult times, and we have missed the victory in some important games. When encountering difficulties many times, I always look at Sister Yang Hao habitually, hoping to get some new ideas from her. At the same time, I will constantly remind myself to focus on each ball and strive to seek breakthroughs and changes from it. Although we wholeheartedly hope that the ending can be reversed, and sometimes there is nothing we can do, but in any case, I did not have any thoughts of giving up because of the pressure brought by the game. Looking back on my college career, I was always surrounded by the spirit of the women’s volleyball team. That kind of perseverance and hard work is closely related to my life.
With the progress of the times, the spirit of the women’s volleyball team in my heart is also advancing with the times. The spirit of the women’s volleyball team in the new era, perhaps even more when you are at the top, all eyes are cast on you. How to deal with this kind of attention and maintain the original intention is the most thought-provoking topic. (Ren Kaiyi, former female volleyball player of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics)
A small seed takes root and sprouts
The women’s volleyball team has an unusual meaning to me. When I was in the fifth grade of elementary school, I was selected by my physical education teacher to become a member of the school volleyball team, which opened my volleyball road for more than ten years. Since then, volleyball has planted a small seed in my heart and made me a big fan of the Chinese women’s volleyball team.
The Chinese women’s volleyball team has created a glorious history and experienced a downturn, but every step they take has deeply touched me. When I watched the women’s volleyball team in 2004, I might just like it, I would be happy for them, and I would be proud of the five-star red flag rising on the court. In the 2012 Chinese women’s volleyball team lost to the Japanese team in the London Olympics, I would frequently change channels because I couldn’t face this cruel result. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, I couldn’t cry when I saw the women’s volleyball girls enter the semifinals. When they successfully won the competition in the finals, I was no longer just proud and proud of them, but more about the women’s volleyball team. Convinced by the spirit.
The spirit of the women’s volleyball team is not only reflected in winning the championship, it has actually been deeply imprinted in the bones of every women’s volleyball girl, allowing them to create new brilliance from generation to generation. For me, this seed has taken root and sprouted, allowing me to treat volleyball as an amateur sport activity. I have made many like-minded friends in volleyball, and I have gained a lot of happiness. The girls’ spirit of unity, cooperation, and tenacious struggle gave me the confidence and courage to overcome difficulties in both study and work. (Liu Kexin, section member of Feicheng Veterans Affairs Bureau)
Fans always have the spirit of women’s volleyball in their hearts
I remember that the word “women’s volleyball” appeared in my life when I was in elementary school. Because Dad is a sports fan, I don’t know if it is a coincidence or Dad’s preference for volleyball. The Chinese women’s volleyball matches are usually shown on TV. I watched the ball with my dad. I didn’t understand the rules or know the players on the field. I would only say “out of bounds” when the opponent served the ball. When the Chinese team smashed the ball, I stomped and yelled wildly at home. , So parents often said helplessly, “The neighbor downstairs is coming to smash the door.”
In the summer of 2016, when I was a graduate student in the United States, I “forced” my two Malaysian roommates to accompany me to watch the women’s volleyball quarter-finals of the Rio Olympic Games. The roommates didn’t know anything about volleyball, but they were infected by me. In the deciding game, the Chinese women’s volleyball team and the Brazilian women’s volleyball team fought to 10 draws. I ran to the bathroom and did not dare to come out to watch. My roommate said that I was very “cute” at the time, and I said to them “desperately”: “What happened to the Brazilian women’s volleyball team as the defending champion? We won’t win it!”
Now my roommates and I are living in Canada, the United States, Malaysia and other places. The Chinese women’s volleyball team has broken down in Tokyo. They also asked me if I was sad. I said yes, but this is the charm of the uncertainty of competitive sports. Although the times are developing, I think that thousands of women’s volleyball fans always have the guidance of the “women’s volleyball spirit”, because this spirit will not happen from time to time, and it will not only flash at peak times. (Ph.D. Zhang Xiao, University of Calgary, Canada)
The spirit of the women’s volleyball team is a banner in my heart
Time flies, it has been forty years since the Chinese women’s volleyball team won the championship in Japan in 1981. For forty years, as a volleyball enthusiast and veteran fan, the scenes of women’s volleyball battles are still vivid, the most memorable of which is the 2003 Women’s Volleyball World Cup and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games to win the championship.
After the Chinese women’s volleyball team achieved a brilliant record of “five consecutive championships”, the overall strength has declined. For 17 years, thousands of people and I have been looking forward to the Chinese women’s volleyball team winning the world championship again. The Chinese women’s volleyball team did not let people down. In the 2003 Women’s Volleyball World Cup, the Chinese women’s volleyball team finally won 11 games and won the World Cup again after 17 years. When the Chinese women’s volleyball girls stood on the highest podium of the World Series again, tears filled my eyes with excitement. In the final match of the 2004 Athens Olympics, the women’s volleyball girls staged a Jedi counterattack in an extremely difficult situation. They achieved a 3-2 super reversal and defeated the Russian team. After 20 years, they won the Olympic championship again. I finally did it again. I saw the national hero in my heart return to the top of the world after five consecutive championships.
Every victory of the Chinese women’s volleyball team will greatly arouse the patriotic enthusiasm and national pride of the people of the whole country, and the Chinese people love the Chinese women’s volleyball team not only because of their excellent results, but also because of their daring to face strong enemies The fighting spirit. As a university professor engaged in natural science research, I have realized that Chinese scientists are the same as the Chinese women’s volleyball team. Every time I go forward, the spirit of the women’s volleyball team can always help me overcome difficulties, persist in moving forward, and climb the peak.
In 2004, due to my personal expertise and passion for volleyball, I became the head coach of the Peking University women’s volleyball team. With the continuous efforts of the team members, the Peking University women’s volleyball team won 12 Beijing college championships in succession. What is more important than winning the championship is that in Yanyuan, the magical land of democracy and science, the foundation of volleyball is growing step by step, and the seeds of hard work are taking root. (Huang Jianbin, Professor, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University)
.