Talking about Chinese basketball, fans may immediately think of Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Wang Zhizhi and others of the 08 golden generation, but before them, Chinese basketball has also emerged a group of strong players, fans call it the 94 golden generation, the previous article we talked about "Chinese Jordan" Hu Weidong, today we will talk about the "God of War" Liu Yudong.
Liu Yudong is a legend in the history of Chinese basketball, but also a fierce Chinese man, there is an old saying: Liu Yudong has never been injured only that heart, injury is an eternal companion.
In 2003, Liu Yudong, who was already scarred, had an operation at the doctor's urging, and the doctor removed ten broken bones from his knee, and when he looked at the broken bones that the doctor held with tweezers, Liu Yudong said calmly: In fact, I know that I am no different from a disabled person.
However, it is such a "disabled person" who has become one of the brightest stars in the history of Chinese basketball. In 2005, Liu Yudong beat Hu Weidong, Sun Jun, Wang Zhizhi and others to win the CBA "Ten Year Best Contribution Award", with the "Dai Meng De God of War Diamond Ring", in addition, Liu Yudong and the 94 golden generation won the eighth place in the 96 Olympic Games, the 8th place in the 94 World Championships, 4 Asian Championship champions, 2 Asian Games champions, 7 CBA championships, and the flag bearer of two (96, 00) Olympic Games...
More importantly, Liu Yudong's kind of hard work that never admits defeat, the more adversity and injury, the more powerful energy bursts out, and he deserves the name of "God of War".
Hello everyone, I am Kong Yiji who loves to steal books, today, let's walk into Hu Weidong's life path together, review the bitter history of blood and tears of a generation of war gods, as well as his enviable love story, as well as his regrets, and life after retirement...
01 He started basketball at the age of fifteen
Liu Yudong was born in 1970 in Hanjiang, Putian, Fujian, his parents are ordinary people, his father is 1.75 meters tall, his mother is 1.6 meters tall, due to the lack of local school funds and the simple venue, Liu Yudong did not even take physical education classes before the age of 15, let alone contact basketball.
Although his parents are not tall, Liu Yudong grew to 1.8 meters tall at the age of 15, which is a superior height even among local adults, and Liu Yudong's body is very strong and diligent, so in 1985, when Xiao Guangbi, the coach of Fujian Sports School, came to Putian to recruit people, he recruited Liu Yudong, who had not been exposed to basketball, into a sports school.
When he first entered the sports school, Liu Yudong didn't know anything, and he was suddenly compared by those comrades who started practicing early, but Liu Yudong did not give up, because this was his hard-won opportunity, entering the system to play in that era meant a lot, in order to fight for an iron rice bowl, Liu Yudong trained hard, every day was the first to come, the last to go, and his basketball level also improved rapidly in this process.
In 1987, Liu Yudong, who had just touched the ball for only two years, was selected for the Fujian men's basketball team and represented the Fujian men's basketball team in the National Games that year, in addition to believing in his talent, he was more willing to believe that it was the result of hard work.
In 1989, the Fujian men's basketball team was disbanded, Liu Yudong went to the Southern Military Region to play, in these years, in addition to hard training shooting, but also spent a lot of effort for strength training, in 1990, Liu Yudong's horizontal press has reached 130 kg, and bench press has reached 150 kg, as a comparison, Yao Ming before entering the NBA bench press is 120 kg, Wang Zhizhi is 110 kg, Yi Jianlian is 100 kg.
Strong strength and accurate shooting is the foundation of Liu Yudong's foothold in the future, you know, Liu Yudong is only 1.98 meters tall, but he plays the position of a power forward, with super strength, Liu Yudong always does not fall behind when grabbing rebounds with flying long people.
02 Tank, Medium Pitch King
In 1991, because Wang Fei, A Tijiang and others had begun to age, the Bayi team was obviously weak in the face of a young team like Liaoning, so the head coach Wu Xinshui strongly recommended the transfer of people from various military regions, basically the first person transferred to the military region, the resistance was very great, but under the efforts of the leaders of the Bayi team, Liu Yudong and others were transferred to the Bayi team, and Zhang Jinsong and others became teammates, which was a new beginning for Liu Yudong.
After entering the Bayi team, Liu Yudong successfully won the favor of the national team with his strong body and daring to fight, and in 1992 Liu Yudong was officially selected for the national team, his fierce style of play is like a tank rampaging inside.
In 1993, Liu Yudong participated in the National Games as the youngest player of the Bayi team, and helped the team win the national championship, and he single-handedly cut 30+ in the final.
1994, a historic year for Chinese basketball, in this year's World Championships, the Chinese team scored the world's top eight for the first time, in Toronto against the United States, Liu Yudong as soon as he came on the court desperately rushed, facing a more physically good American old black, Liu Yudong and he robbed dead and alive, and this American is Wilkins with the "essence of human movies".
Due to Liu Yudong's strong body and fearless style of play, he gradually gained the name of a tank, but it was this style of play that made his body suffer wear and tear for a long time, but he was scarred and always insisted on fighting on the field.
Under the influence of various injuries, Liu Yudong is still gradually at the peak, he began to focus more on shooting, he trained his shooting every day, and was very confident, he said in an interview later: I usually train to shoot 85%, but more importantly, with confidence, the shooting percentage is higher.
In 1996, Liu Yudong participated in the Atlanta Olympics with the team, he averaged 8.6 points and 4 rebounds per game, and together with Lao Hu and others, he helped the Chinese men's basketball team enter the top eight of the Olympic Games for the first time, which was the best result of the Chinese Olympic Games.
When he entered the peak, Liu Yudong became a cold-blooded killer who had no solution in the middle throw and sealed his throat with a sword, and people gave him the title of "the king of the middle shot", and when witnessing him throw the killer ball again and again, fans added the word "divine accuracy" after the title of "king of the middle shot".
To what extent? Yao Ming in his youth said bluntly after a match with Liu Yudong: Liu Yudong is the only player who makes me feel that no matter how defensive I can, he is the greatest player I have ever seen.
Yang Yi, a famous basketball commentator behind, commented on Liu Yudong's three-pointer: Liu Yudong shot three points like a free throw, and he scored normally, but if he didn't score, he was lucky.
With accurate shooting, Liu Yudong dragged a pair of nearly disabled legs to become an unsolvable existence on the basketball court, in the first two seasons of the CBA, Liu Yudong averaged 20+ points per game, shooting more than 57% per game, and the three-point shooting rate was as high as 56%.
But there is one point, although he was powerful at that time, people still remember only his accurate shooting, not enough to call him "God of War".
03 God of War
In the 1997 Asian Championships, Liu Yudong began to suffer from injuries, in a game, his left knee negative ligament completely ruptured, had to undergo surgery, and this is Liu Yudong's first major surgery, although the operation successfully connected the ligament, but the person who has suffered this injury in the case of a large number of running, will lead to knee hydrops, and then cause complications such as bursitis.
During that season, Liu Yudong only played 9 games, and all the statistics dropped significantly, and everyone thought that Liu Yudong's career was a bit dangerous.
However, the matter is not over, soon after, Liu Yudong's meniscus suffered another injury, combined with the previous ligament rupture, cartilage wear, Liu Yudong's knee joint is almost in a loose state, if it is a normal person, it is estimated that he has long been retired in place, even in the NBA, it is almost impossible to let him play again in the NBA with this injury.
But Liu Yudong always insisted on the court, he used knee pads to forcibly fix his knees every time, and then played on the court, he limped on the court, his knees could not be bent at all, and he could only jump straight up when shooting, his legs were full of water in his knees, and occasionally he could see standing water wandering in his knees.
From 1997 to 2002, Liu Yudong underwent three surgeries and countless other injuries, but he only missed more in the 97-98 season, maintained 30+ appearances in other seasons, and won the scoring title in 2001-02 with an average of 37 points per game, which is unimaginable that a player with a near-leg disability can do, and he averaged 38.6 minutes per game that season.
For Liu Yudong's injuries, the team doctor, who has worked in the Bayi team for more than 30 years, used a very appropriate metaphor: "Like a bicycle, both sides rely on screws to tighten in order to run in a straight line."
In the eight years from 1995 to 2003, Liu Yudong and the Bayi team won 7 championships, personally won two finals MVPs and a regular season MVP, with his body, he should have recuperated, but he has always been strong, in order to compete for the championship, he brought injuries again and again.
Later, he said in an interview: "People are so contradictory, they want to keep it when they win the championship, and they are unwilling to win the championship, so they survive year after year."
Liu Yudong really entered the injury outbreak period at the age of 30, that is, after 2000, but Liu Yudong entered the peak of his career again in 2000, and in 01-03, he averaged 29.2 points, 37 points, and 30 points per game, which happened to be the most explosive time of his career scoring ability.
But in the past three years, in addition to the aforementioned injuries, he also suffered cholecystitis, a ruptured Achilles tendon, a knee operation...
And this period, just happened to be the period when Wang Zhizhi went to the NBA, Liu Yudong was almost a person dragging his stump leg, digesting the huge vacancy left by the loss of Wang Zhizhi, he personally also won the Finals MVP twice, personally felt that the gold content of these two MVPs can be called the most in the history of the CBA, this is not based on data alone, Liu Yudong shows the spirit of self-improvement and hard work to the end, which is worth learning from every Chinese person, especially basketball players.
Therefore, Yi Jianlian's sentence "He is a great wall in front of us, cannot be crossed", is really true, only people who have really watched Liu Yudong play and seen limping combatants know what is called "God of War"
On May 14, 2003, 33-year-old Liu Yudong finally couldn't carry it, his legs were no longer moving, his knees were swollen, and he finally had to undergo surgery.
During every operation, Liu Yudong's wife is always counting the number of operations, one, two, three... Even in which operation, Liu Yudong became a real cripple...
However, Liu Yudong never gave up basketball, and after recovering from surgery, he returned to the court, but in September 2003, Liu Yudong suffered another rupture of the Achilles tendon, for which he missed the entire 2003-2004 season.
It stands to reason that after so many injuries, and is 35 years old and full of honor, Liu Yudong has reached the time to retire, but Liu Yudong's perseverance is beyond everyone's imagination, in the 2004-2005 season, Liu Yudong returned to the field again, and also averaged 57% shooting per game to average 23+6 per game.
When asked about the motivation to persevere, Liu Yudong said: "At the beginning, I thought, I was injured like this, how can I play? But when I got on the field, I forgot about it all as soon as I was excited. ”
In 2005, Liu Yudong won the CBA Ten-Year Best Contribution Award, which was given to Liu Yudong, not only for his outstanding performance on the court, but more importantly, he told Chinese fans what is faith, what is love, what is persistence, Liu Yudong brings to Chinese basketball, is the true competitive spirit and the power of example.
Also in 2005, Liu Yudong announced his retirement for the first time after helping Bayi team win five consecutive National Games championships against Guangdong, when he was already physically overwhelmed, but after a two-year break, Liu Yudong returned in Fujian in 2007, when he was 37 years old.
In the three years since his comeback, Liu Yudong has been able to contribute an average of 10+ points per game every year, which is very valuable for a veteran who has experienced countless injuries.
In 2010, Liu Yudong officially retired, ending his basketball career of more than 20 years, in these 20 years, Liu Yudong went against the current, fought more and more bravely, and the more injured the stronger the spirit, always inspired countless fans.
04 God of War's love
Liu Yudong's wife is Zhang Hongzhen, once a member of the Bayi women's basketball team, the two met under the introduction of a friend, when they met Liu Yudong, Zhang Hongzhen was only 19 years old, and Liu Yudong was only in his early 20s.
In fact, Liu Yudong was already moved when he saw Zhang Hongzhen, who was 1.81 meters old and beautiful, but this extremely confident man on the court was extremely silent when facing the beautiful Zhang Hongzhen, and did not even say a few words.
I have long heard that Liu Yudong has only sent flowers to his wife once from the beginning of knowing Zhang Hongzhen to ten years after marriage, so how did this stupid big man who couldn't even send flowers catch up with the young and beautiful basketball goddess?
A reporter once asked this question, and Zhang Hongzhen also answered with a smile: "He didn't chase me, I chased him!" ”
Maybe Zhang Hongzhen was joking, but the two did fall in love at first sight, when Liu Yudong had a national character face, thick eyebrows, and played well, which easily attracted Zhang Hongzhen's attention.
Both are real people, they don't have much romance when they fall in love, for them, the most romantic thing is to go to the cinema to watch a movie, and then chat, it is worth mentioning that since confirming the relationship, Liu Yudong has changed his taciturn personality, and has become a talker, and the words he says several times can top the year he tells others.
The love between the two is a typical Chinese love, Liu Yudong will bring gifts to Zhang Hongzhen when he goes to the away game, and Zhang Hongzhen expresses his love by knitting sweaters and neck bibs for Liu Yudong.
In 1995, the two decided to get married, when the two took half a day off from the team to come out for a pre-marital physical examination, but they did not expect that the pre-marriage physical examination would end in less than an hour, and the two obtained a certificate by the way, but because Liu Yudong was busy with competitions and training all day, the two could not even get the wedding.
After getting married, Liu Yudong ran around all day, and the two lived a day of gathering less and separating more, although Zhang Hongzhen missed the wedding, missed the wedding dress, missed the honeymoon, and missed a lot of sweetness between husband and wife, but Zhang Hongzhen never complained and helped Liu Yudong take care of the family.
In 1998, Zhang Hongzhen gave birth to Liu Yudong's son Liu Jianlong, but the family of three is still in a situation of gathering less and separating more, Zhang Hongzhen lived a life of being both a father and a mother, which is also the norm for a basketball player's wife, fortunately Liu Yudong's parents helped Zhang Hongzhen solve a lot of problems.
But Zhang Hongzhen expressed his understanding of Liu Yudong: "Since I chose this husband, since he chose such a career, I will support him unconditionally." ”
Later, Zhang Hongzhen was found to have a herniated disc in the waist and needed surgery, but Liu Yudong was unable to accompany his wife for surgery because of the competition, and when he entered the ward, it was Zhang Hongzhen's mother and sister who accompanied him, although Liu Yudong made a lot of calls, but Zhang Hongzhen did not receive a single one.
When Liu Yudong was operated on due to injury, Zhang Hongzhen would accompany her husband every time, and what she was most afraid of was that her husband who loved basketball would become crippled after the operation, which was tantamount to a big blow to her husband who loved basketball.
Zhang Hongzhen said: Except for Liu Yudong, I have never had a heart for any other man."
When he won the CBA Ten-Year Best Contribution Award in 2005, Liu Yudong also bluntly said that the most sorry person in his life was his wife, he said: I am the CBA Ten-Year Best Contribution Player, but in the ten years of marriage, I am not the person who has contributed the most to the family.
Liu Yudong repaid his love for his wife from his performance on the court.
04 God of War Afterword
Liu Yudong's son Liu Jianlong actually likes basketball at a very young age, and basketball talent is very good, at the age of 7 has grown to 1 meter 3, 1 meter 7 at the age of 12, and because of the worship of his father, he began to practice at a very young age, when he was a child, Liu Jianlong's favorite thing was to watch his father's games, and at the age of seven he said that he wanted to become a basketball player like that father.
Then, God did not give him the opportunity to become a basketball player, and he was later diagnosed with asthma, which completely cut off his connection with the path of athletes, which also became his biggest regret, but also Liu Yudong's regret.
And Liu Yudong's wife actually transferred to the Military Medical University after retiring from the Bayi women's basketball team in her early years, and became an obstetrician and gynecologist after graduation.
After Liu Yudong retired again in 2010, he first became the leader of the Bayi men's basketball team, and after the Bayi team was disbanded, Liu Yudong first returned to work in the army, and later became the leader of the Bayi women's basketball team, working hard for the training and selection of the women's basketball team.
It is worth mentioning that Liu Yudong enjoyed civilian division-level treatment after retiring from military service, so the people of Jianghu are called "Liu Division Commander".
On November 25, 2022, Liu Yudong was unanimously elected president of the Fujian Basketball Association, hoping that President Liu can carry forward his noble qualities against the current and cultivate one god of war after another for Chinese basketball!