For people who have been paying attention to Chinese men's table tennis, the name Liu Guozheng will certainly not be unfamiliar. I think that back then, the slogan of "marrying Someone to Marry Liu Guozheng" was shouted almost all over China...
Turn the tide and save seven match points
In the semi-finals of the men's team at the World Table Tennis Championships in Osaka, Japan 20 years ago, the Chinese men's table tennis encountered a strong block from the South Korean team. At that time, The Chinese men's table tennis had a luxurious lineup of Liu Guoliang, Kong Linghui and Ma Lin, while in the semifinals, it was the 21-year-old Liu Guozheng who saved the Chinese men's table tennis.
In the first four sets of the semi-finals, Kong Linghui, who had just won a Grand Slam, unexpectedly lost to Kanazawa Soo and Oh Sang-woo. Fortunately, Liu Guoliang and Ma Lin withstood the pressure and helped the Chinese team win two sets, and the big score came to 2-2. In the final singles match, youngster Liu Guozheng will play against South Korea's first singles Kim Taek-so.
In the first set, Kanazawa continued his excellent hand in beating Kong Linghui to win 21-16.
In the second set, Kanazawa-so continued to exert his strength, at one point leading 19-16. After chasing the 19-19 draw, Liu Guozheng opened his performance of "saving the match point":
Trailing 19-20, the serve rushed to save the first match point
Trailing 20-21, the forehand arc ball slashed to save the second match point
Trailing 21-22, the serve scored straight to save the third match point
Round 3:
19-20 Serve backhand push slash
20-21 Pick up the ball and grab the ball, after 6 rounds of pulling, the opponent makes a mistake
21-22 After receiving the serve, a pair was formed, and Kanazawa-so sideways rushed to the net
22-23 Serve rushes to score
After chasing the score to 23-23, Liu Guozheng drummed up and scored two consecutive points to help the Chinese men's table tennis reach the final. After Liu Guozheng scored the last point, Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui excitedly "removed" the billboard in front of them and rushed into the field to celebrate with Liu Guozheng. Especially Kong Linghui, who had lost two points in a row before, he was even more excited than he had won a Grand Slam. Usually introverted, he hugged Liu Guozheng and roared in celebration, which was Kong Linghui's rare moment of release on the court. Kong Linghui said bluntly in a post-match interview: "They saved me. ”
After saving seven match points, Liu Guozheng became famous in one battle, especially his super psychological quality and ability to resist pressure, which was praised by the Chinese people. Therefore, there is a rumor that "marrying someone will marry Liu Guozheng".
Years later, at the Asian Games, Kanazawa-so, who has become the head coach of Korean men's table tennis, still has a lingering feeling when he recalls this match: "That game is still a very vivid memory, and I will remember it for a lifetime." ”
Missed the Athens Olympics and retired
After the Osaka World Table Tennis Championships, Liu Guozheng's status declined. At that time, the head of China's table tennis also decided to start defending and cultivating new talents, Wang Hao and Ma Lin began to rise, Liu Guozheng lost to Swedish veteran Perlson in the quarterfinals of the 2002 Sydney Olympic Games, and Liu Guozheng lost the election at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
Injuries are one of the reasons for Liu Guozheng's decline in form, and in 2005 and 2006, Liu Guozheng underwent two major surgeries in a row, and he spent almost a year recuperating. He himself sighed:
"The injury that should be recovered in half a year, after more than a year, let me learn to face the reality, I will not be defeated by any difficulties."
China's table tennis has never lacked geniuses, and a little slack may be immediately replaced by up-and-coming stars. In the end, Liu Guozheng gradually faded out of the Chinese men's table tennis national team under the influence of injury. In 2007, he silently chose to retire and transitioned to the coaching position of cultivating young players in national table tennis.
Deeply cultivate youth training and cultivate future stars
After retiring, Liu Guozheng transformed into a coach of the second national table tennis team, focusing on the training of young players. However, in 2017, when Liu Guoliang faded out of the men's table tennis coaching team, it was Liu Guozheng who stood up and provoked the burden of men's table tennis.
Cai Zhenhua, the elder of national table tennis, gave his own answer in the face of external doubts:
"If you want to use Liu Guozheng, then his contribution to the team and the danger of his athlete period are all key considerations." At least he has such a quality of resistance to pressure, which is not something that everyone has, and he must go through some occasions. ”
During the period led by Liu Guozheng, he led the men's table tennis to win the team championship of the World Cup and the World Table Tennis Championships. While training newcomers, it also ensures that the team's performance has been maintained at a high level, and his efforts have also been affirmed by the majority of national table tennis fans.
After Liu Guoliang's comeback, Liu Guozheng continued to retreat to the second line as the coach of the men's first team, and the goal was still to cultivate young players. Under his careful cultivation, post-95 players such as Wang Chuqin and Zhou Qihao have begun to emerge.
In particular, Zhou Qihao won the championship in the 2021 National Table Tennis "Straight to WTT Grand Slam World Table Tennis Championships" and the Xinxiang Station of the Olympic Simulation Tournament, and in the semi-finals and finals, He won the championship with Lian Ke MaLong and Fan Zhendong. After winning the championship, fans found out that his head coach was Liu Guozheng, who saved Chinese men's table tennis that year.
Wang Chuqin, another proud disciple of Liu Guozheng, can also occasionally appear in some international competitions. But he sometimes did not let Liu Guozheng worry so much, once at the Austrian Open, because of the loss to teammate Zhao Zihao, throwing a racket after the game was banned for three months, as his head coach Liu Guozheng was also implicated and banned for a month.
On Liu Guozheng's 41st birthday, Wang Chuqin sent birthday wishes to his coach through social media early and said that he would try to control his emotions after that. After Ma Long and Zhang Jike were over thirty years old, two of Liu Guozheng's disciples were regarded as their successors.
Who married Liu Guozheng?
Liu Guozheng, who is over 40 years old, has actually completed his life's work ten years ago, and his wife Lu Lu was once a table tennis player and a teammate of Zhang Yining and Ding Ning. Recalling her first impression of Liu Guozheng, she smiled and said, "I just feel that he is quite old." ”
In fact, in 2001, Lu Lu also witnessed Liu Guozheng's fame battle at the scene:
"In 2001, I watched his match with his teammates against Kim Hee-so in Osaka and was very excited and excited, and I kept cheering him on. But my heart also pinched a handful of sweat for him: why can't this person win the game with a single blow? Always win one point and then lose one point, really anxious for him! Of course, I am very excited and very happy to win the game in the end. ”
And Liu Guozheng's fate with Lu Lu also thanks to his then head coach Xiao Zhan, and even the news of the first date was sent by Xiao Zhan to Lu Lu with liu Guozheng. Now that Liu Guozheng is already the father of two daughters, Lu Lu's support behind him allows him to continue to cultivate rising stars for the national table tennis.
Liu Guozheng has been serving the national team for 28 years, and he will continue to work hard for Chinese table tennis in the coaching position, and he hopes that his disciples can support the Chinese men's table tennis and win more world championships for China.