On November 7, Sun Qingmei, the leader of the Hebei Provincial Women's Football Team, followed the "Happy Playground" activity to Hengshui Lizhuang Primary School, interacted with the children and donated sports equipment to the primary school students to enjoy the happiness brought by sports. "I'm very happy to see these soccer kids." In recent years, this "sonorous rose" who once played a role in the green field has actively participated in public welfare activities, allowing more and more primary and secondary school students to participate in football.
In a public welfare activity on November 7, Sun Qingmei gave a demonstration to primary school students. Courtesy of Sun Qingmei
China's first "Miss World Football", the runner-up of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, the champion of the 5-time Asian Women's Football Championship, the champion of the 2th Asian Games, the winner of the National Top Scorer 3 times... As one of the first official members of the Chinese women's football team, Sun Qingmei, the former captain of the "old women's football team", has received countless honors in her sports career. Calm and calm, she is still sticking to the green field, leading the Hebei women's football girls to continue the spirit of hard training and tenacious struggle as an assistant coach and team leader.
"The first time I came into contact with football was when I was 17 years old..." In the face of the reporter's interview, Sun Qingmei told the story of her "association" with football on the side of the green field that she was most familiar with. Born in the Fengfeng Mining Area of Handan, Sun Qingmei has shown talent in sports since she was a child, and has won good results in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters of athletics competitions in Hebei Province for many times. In 1983, Hebei Province wanted to hold a women's football competition in Xuanhua, and Hao Guoliang, coach of Handan Sports School, began to prepare for the first Handan women's football team, because there were few girls practicing football at that time, and he selected small athletes suitable for football projects in various sports teams to participate in training. "At that time, everyone knew that I was running fast, so the first thing Coach Hao thought of was me, that I had just quit the athletics team of the Municipal Sports School, coach Hao went to our house to find me, I wanted to play football is also very fun, I decided to try." Sun Qingmei, who likes sports, gladly accepted, but her parents had a different attitude: "No! Where are the girls who go to play football, already like a 'tomboy' on the track and field field, and think of 'wild' on the football field? Sun Qingmei said that although her parents firmly opposed it, she still followed Coach Hao to start football training. At that time, every morning I got up at five o'clock, and after training, I went home to pack up my things and go to school, and my father locked the door and didn't let me in, and didn't let me eat breakfast. Later, I simply carried my school bag to training, and went straight to school after training. Sun Qingmei recalled.
In 1988, Sun Qingmei competed in the International Women's Football Invitational Tournament. Courtesy of Sun Qingmei
"Coach Hao is very accurate, she thinks I can practice, she takes me to train four times a day, I am also very attentive. I didn't know anything about football at first, but within a few days I was able to topple 100 goals in a row. "In the Hebei women's football match held a month later, Sun Qingmei played well and led the Handan team to a good result of third place." Zhangjiakou launched the women's football project earlier, so the top two teams are Zhangjiakou. We have only been in Handan for a month, and all the players have not been exposed to football before, and it is already remarkable to finish third. I was fast, no one could catch up with me, and I could get into the box as soon as I received the ball. Sun Qingmei told reporters that she scored a lot of goals in that game.
It was in that game that the dexterous Sun Qingmei left a deep impression on the coaches of the Hebei Football Team, Liu Peizhong and Geng Xiaodi. At the end of 1983, Hebei established a women's football team, and Sun Qingmei was recruited into the team. "At that time, I felt that my efforts had paid off, and my parents began to change their attitude and supported me to play in the provincial team." Sun Qingmei recalled that when the Hebei women's football team first formed a team, there were only 11 team members, and there was not even a full-time goalkeeper in the team. Coaches such as Liu Peizhong and Geng Xiaodi are very dedicated, and the players are also very attentive, and the performance of Hebei women's football team has improved rapidly. In May 1984, Hebei women's football team was invited to participate in the women's football gold cup invitational tournament held in Tianjin, and Sun Qingmei once again showed her outstanding football talent. 'I played really well in that tournament and scored a couple of goals. Sun Qingmei recalled that Tianjin's football culture is very deep, and many fans come to watch every game, because she is not tall, but she is fast and dexterous, and the style of play is very similar to the famous Brazilian star Zico, so the fans call her "Xiao Zike". "At that time, I felt that I was not playing well at all, and the fans chased me every day and shouted 'Little Ziko', and I was eager to find a seam to drill into." Since then, Sun Qingmei, who has a lot of requirements for herself, has begun to train harder, vowing to be worthy of the fans.
In 1984, Sun Qingmei (back row ninth from left) became one of the first members of the Chinese women's football team. Courtesy of Sun Qingmei
The outstanding performance in the Gold Cup Invitational Tournament made Sun Qingmei receive the attention of the national team coach Cong Zhiyu, and at the end of 1984, the Chinese women's football team was established, and Sun Qingmei became the first official team member. "I only started football at the age of 17, and when I arrived at the national team, I also participated in football training for more than a year, which is much less skilled than other players." Sun Qingmei introduced that after seeing her gap, she began to train "desperately", and she would practice for a long time after the end of the collective training every day. Sun Qingmei's efforts and progress were in the eyes of Coach Yu, and soon, she established the main position in the team. 'At that time, the national team played 433 tactics, I was placed in the left wing forward position, and at that time I had weak left foot skills, so I strengthened my left foot training every day." Kung Fu pays off, after the winter training, Sun Qingmei's left foot cross and shooting skills have taken a qualitative leap.
Sun Qingmei was named Miss World Football in the first "International Women's Football Invitational Tournament". Courtesy of Sun Qingmei
In December 1986, the Chinese women's football team went to Hong Kong to participate in the 6th Asian Women's Football Championship, which was the first time that the Chinese women's football team participated in an international competition. Sun Qingmei played as the main left winger and made a great contribution to the Chinese team to win the Asian championship. In the group stage against Asian powerhouse Japan and the semi-final against Indonesia, it was Sun Qingmei who took the lead in breaking the door of the Chinese team in the situation where the two sides were glued. As a striker, in addition to scoring goals herself, she also frequently creates scoring opportunities for her teammates. In the 1988 "International Women's Football Invitational Tournament", 12 top teams from all over the world gathered in Guangzhou, in that competition, Sun Qingmei once again conquered the whole field with her outstanding performance, was named "Miss World Football", and became the only Chinese athlete selected for the "Best Team".
Sun Qingmei (back row second from left) and her teammates won the silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Courtesy of Sun Qingmei
From Cong Eryu to Shang Ruihua to Ma Yuan'an, Sun Qingmei is an indispensable main player in the lineup of the first three head coaches of the Chinese women's football team. In 1996, women's football was included in the Olympic games for the first time, and in that competition, the 30-year-old Sun Qingmei's ability to move forward was still outstanding. In the semi-final match against Brazil, Sun Qingmei dribbled laterally outside the penalty area and shot furiously, scoring a world wave that shocked the four seats, helping The Chinese team to defeat Brazil to advance to the final. The runner-up at that Olympic Games was also the best result achieved by the Chinese women's football team at the Olympic Games.
On October 29, 2016, Hebei Women's Football Team successfully surpassed, and Sun Qingmei, as an assistant coach, celebrated the victory with the team members. Courtesy of Sun Qingmei
After the 1997 Asian Cup, the 31-year-old Sun Qingmei hung up her boots and returned to Hebei as an assistant coach of Hebei women's football team, starting her coaching career. In her 11-year coaching career, she has been drafted by the "national brand" team many times as an assistant coach of the Chinese women's football team, the Chinese youth women's football team, and the Chinese junior women's football team. Today, this "sonorous rose" is also concerned about the development of youth football while serving as the leader and assistant coach of Hebei women's football team. "Contributing all my strength to the cause of football is my life's pursuit." Sun Qingmei said firmly at the end of the interview.