On September 9, a familiar figure of a women's volleyball fan stepped onto the track of the Hangzhou Asian Games torch relay.
Zhou Suhong, as the first torchbearer of Huzhou Station, took a step forward - "I am very excited and feel very honored to be able to run the first pole in my hometown. Although he is no longer on the field, the identity of the torchbearer still makes Zhou Suhong proud.
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Zhou Suhong relays the Asian Games torch. Photo by Pu Yaolei (00:54)
It is worth mentioning that in this torch relay, there is not only a female ranking player like Zhou Suhong, but also the enlightened mentor who once brought her on the road of volleyball - volleyball coach Li Haiqing.
The pair of masters and apprentices met again on such a special occasion, so that Zhou Suhong almost didn't hold back her tears. Decades after discovering Zhou Suhong, coach Li Haiqing is still engaged in volleyball work, and still witnesses the inheritance of the spirit of women's volleyball from generation to generation.
Coach Li Haiqing.
After running five times, I finally dug up a good seedling
For the 78-year-old coach Li Haiqing, the name Zhou Suhong is undoubtedly one of the proudest achievements in his coaching career.
And the appearance of this women's volleyball national player is inseparable from Li Haiqing's "stubbornness" and persistence.
After graduating from university, Li Haiqing was assigned to Changxing County Major Sports School in Huzhou to engage in volleyball. He still remembers the surprise he was when he saw a child named Zhou Suhong more than thirty years ago.
At that time, 11-year-old Zhou Suhong participated in the county athletics meeting, and the results made Li Haiqing's eyes shine, "He is relatively tall, and I will definitely not let go of a tall athlete in our county in that era." ”
As a youth coach who focused on searching for good seedlings, Li Haiqing immediately went to Zhou Suhong's home, wanting to persuade her family to send her child to a junior sports school for training, but encountered an unexpected situation.
Zhou Suhong's parents are engaged in ship transportation work, all year round, there are only old people, Zhou Suhong and a younger brother at home, the sensible Zhou Suhong has been cooking and doing housework since she was a child to take care of the family, in this case, the family is reluctant to let Zhou Suhong enter the sports school and leave home.
Not only that, because Zhou Suhong has good academic performance in school, the teachers and leaders of the school are not willing to let go of such an "excellent student". But Li Haiqing's principle of "not letting go of a seedling" has not wavered in the slightest.
"Then I went to her home, including the school, five times. In the end, through some connections, Zhou Suhong's mother found a job on the shore, so that Zhou Suhong entered the major sports school. In order to keep this child's talent from being wasted, Li Haiqing tried his best at that time.
And this eventually became the beginning of a national player legend. Two years after receiving coach Li Haiqing's guidance from the junior sports school, Zhou Suhong, who started playing from "zero foundation", quickly rose to prominence, was selected into the provincial team, and finally stepped onto the stage of international competitions.
Coach Li Haiqing was a torchbearer for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Inheritance of mentors and apprentices, and jointly contribute to the cause of women's volleyball
It can be said that without the repeated persuasion of coach Li Haiqing back then, there would be no Zhou Suhong's start on the road of volleyball. This is also why Zhou Suhong's heart is always full of gratitude to her enlightenment coach.
This time, the two met on such an occasion as the Asian Games torch relay, which can also be described as a surprise.
"I was notified a month ago to serve as a torchbearer, and I was also actively exercising and preparing, and after I came, I learned that Zhou Suhong was the first pole of this torch relay." Li Haiqing told the surging news reporter.
In the exchange with the surging news reporter, Zhou Suhong herself was quite emotional, "I haven't seen Coach Li for a long time, and tears almost flowed when I saw him." He discovered me when I was 11 years old and nurtured me, so thank you very much to my coach Li. ”
In fact, although she was promoted to a higher-level team after two years of getting along, Zhou Suhong still often missed the old coach.
"The first time she went abroad for the national team, she bought two Swiss watches, a man and a woman, and gave them to me and my lover. Later, when I went to France to compete, I bought French wine and gave it to me. Li Haiqing still remembers some clips from many years ago.
"It's not that I want her things, but it shows that this child really has a heart." When it comes to the disciple's personality, Li Haiqing is also full of praise, "Zhou Suhong has always been very humble, and he can get along well with the people around him. ”
While always paying attention to and supporting the development of Zhou Suhong's volleyball career, Li Haiqing's work of cultivating good seedlings has never stopped, engaged in volleyball work for more than 50 years, he has trained dozens of outstanding athletes for Zhejiang, including four who entered the national team.
Even though he is now nearly 80 years old, he continues to promote junior volleyball, amateur volleyball and gas volleyball and organize related amateur tournaments.
In the words of Zhou Suhong, "Coach Li is slowly getting older, but he has always been involved in sports, and I think sports can make people young, and his mentality is like this." ”
Torchbearer Zhou Suhong in the torch relay. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fei
The 16-character spirit of the Chinese women's volleyball team
Holding up the Asian Games torch and looking forward to the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games, Zhou Suhong said that the women's volleyball team will still be her favorite and most concerned event.
"I have participated in three Asian Games, and this time I will cheer for my junior sisters in my hometown, I hope they can show the best spirit, to win glory for the country, and strive for the best results."
Coach Li Haiqing is also full of expectations for this honorary teacher of Chinese sports, "Our Chinese women's volleyball team is now training or competing, it is an upward trend, and their winning the championship in their hometown is the expectation of the people of the whole country and my expectation." ”
As a first-hand witness of the glory of China's older generation of women's volleyball team, Li Haiqing deeply understands the meaning of the four words "Chinese women's volleyball", "The five consecutive championships of the women's volleyball team inspired the people of the whole country and the country's economic construction, and the spirit of our women's volleyball team will not change in the future." ”
In her opinion, the reason why Zhou Suhong can succeed is first of all because her mind is smart and can learn technology faster than others, but what is more important is the spirit of hard work - this spirit is the essence of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
Zhou Suhong, who has helped the Chinese women's volleyball team create a generation of glory, also has the same view - even if time passes, the spiritual core of the Chinese women's volleyball team will not be lost.
"From winning the world championship in the 80s of last century to now, decades have passed, although the Chinese women's volleyball team has had ups and downs, but the spirit has always been there." When interviewed by the surging news reporter, Zhou Suhong couldn't help but sigh.
"The supremacy of the motherland, unity and cooperation, tenacious struggle, and never say die, this is the spirit that the Chinese women's volleyball team has always continued, and it is also the spirit we will continue to uphold in the future."