The talented players of the Chinese men's volleyball team have always had a bad fate, such as Zhu Gang, a famous player from Sichuan who died of Ma Fang (Ma Fan's) syndrome in 2001, Tang Miao, a famous player from Shanghai who was seriously injured and paralyzed in 2007, Luffy who died of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in 2017, and today's protagonist - Zheng Liang.
Zheng Liang is one of the representatives of the Chinese men's volleyball team, once known as the "first deputy attack in Asia", under the leadership of his mentor Wang Jiawei, Zheng Liang and others in the 1997 Asian Championships, 1998 Asian Games, 1999 Asian Championships to achieve "three consecutive championships", creating a "golden era" of the Chinese men's volleyball team.
However, behind Zheng Liang's brilliant resume, there are ups and downs, the sadness of the player, the marriage change in middle age, and the paralysis in bed after the divorce...
Fortunately, there are mentors Wang Jiawei and his brother Zheng Liang and his wife, who lit the lights of Zheng Liang's life, and lived a positive energy in the torture of injuries.
01 Unexpectedly embarked on the road of volleyball, and his brother Zheng Wu is a role model
Zheng Liang was born in 1970 in a basketball family in Zhejiang, his father Zheng Guobao, mother Wang Lingyue, brother Zheng Wu, sister-in-law Wang Ying, nephew Zheng Qilong are all basketball players, only Zheng Liang "does not do business" and embarked on the road of volleyball.
Since his brother Zheng Wu was born, Zheng Guobao has intended to train him to play basketball, and his younger brother Zheng Liang has been weak since he was a child and has been suffering from minor illnesses, so Zheng Guobao did not ask him to practice sports, everything follows Zheng Liang's preferences.
And Zheng Liang is active and playful by nature, and he has been a picky eater since he was a child, so he has always been very thin, and he is 2.01 meters tall, and his weight in his prime is only 87KG.
Zheng Liang's bounce has always been very good, but his height suddenly jumped up after the third year of junior high school, and was therefore favored by the Hangzhou Youth Sports School and the southern volleyball team, but Zheng Liang was used to seeing his sweaty brother who practiced since he was a child, so he refused on the grounds of fear of hardship.
It wasn't until one day that Zheng Liang saw the Japanese drama "Volleyball Women" on TV, and the news that the Chinese women's volleyball team won the championship could be seen everywhere in the newspapers, that Zheng Liang became interested in volleyball.
Later, Hangzhou Juvenile Sports School came to ask for someone again, and Zheng Liang followed half-push and half-on-the-spot.
Zheng Liang entered the sports school in 1983, and he became the best player in the sports school volleyball team in only 7 months, and was officially selected for the Zhejiang Provincial Volleyball Youth Team two years later.
For Zheng Liang to go to the volleyball youth team, his father Zheng Guobao was very angry, because he had just returned from the provincial foreign aid coach and served as the head coach of the Zhejiang youth team, but he picked all over Zhejiang, and only picked 7 players that satisfied him, so he started Zheng Liang's idea.
Zheng Guobao said: "In the past, there was a world-class forward (basketball) in the Soviet Union, who was exactly the same size as Zheng Liang, and if Zheng Liang could enter the basketball team, I was ready to follow this model to train him as a forward." ”
Zheng Guobao and the volleyball youth team started the "Zheng Liang Competition", but in the face of Zheng Liang, whose elbow was turned out, the old man could only let it go, anyway, having Zheng Wu was enough for him to be proud in the basketball circle for a lifetime.
When he first entered the volleyball team, Zheng Liang was only about 1.8 meters and was not set in the secondary offensive position, but after only two years in the youth team, his height soared to 2.01 meters, according to his recollection: "In the family photo half a year ago, I was still at my brother's ear, and half a year later, my brother only had his own ear." (Zheng Liang is 1.97 meters tall).
Soon after, Zheng Liang appeared in the league, and people soon knew that Zhejiang Province had a good secondary attack.
Zheng Liang is destined to be a top student in volleyball, he is not a diligent person in his usual training, the only thing he can do is not to default on the training content arranged by the coach, even his brother Zheng Wu said: He is simply a genius player, but he is a child with very loose self-management.
Brother Zheng Wu has a great impact on Zheng Liang's life, Zheng Liang grew up behind his brother since he was a child, and has always regarded his brother as a role model for learning, on the day his brother was selected for the national team (1991), Zheng Liang, who has always been considered "lazy", suddenly said to his brother: Brother, I want to learn from you and be selected for the national team as soon as possible.
Talent does not necessarily mean strong, but talented people work hard, they must be very strong, just a year later, Zheng Liang was selected for the national team led by Shen Fulin and served as a substitute attacker.
For this pair of brothers who shine in the basketball and volleyball worlds, outsiders will always give such an evaluation: The elder brother is bitter, and the younger brother is born by talent.
02 After 12 years of main attack, Wang Jiawei lit up Zheng Liang's life
The height of 3.73 meters and the first blocking height in Asia of 3.53 meters made Zheng Liang quickly become the main force after entering the national team.
Three months is the time for Zheng Liang to carry his bag, and it is also the time for Zheng Liang to change from a substitute for the national team to the main force.
In 1992, Zheng Liang participated in the Olympic qualifying tournament with the team, although Zheng Liang performed well in the secondary offensive position, but due to the gap in overall strength, the men's volleyball team failed to break through, but this is not the beginning of the Chinese men's volleyball team in the Olympic Games, let alone the end.
In the "Shen Fulin era" of the men's volleyball team, Zheng Liang has always been the main force in the team's secondary offensive position, but the men's volleyball team in that period was really not strong, only won the fourth place in the 1993 Asian Championships, only 13th place in the 1994 World Championships, only won the runner-up in the 1995 Asian Championships, and failed to participate in the Olympic Games again in 1996, and the most regrettable thing is the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games.
The second day after the men's basketball team won the championship in the 94 Asian Games was the final of the men's volleyball team, and his brother Zheng Wu personally came to the scene to watch his brother's game.
But it is a pity that the Chinese men's volleyball team was reversed by Xiaori in the case of 2-1, recalling this incident, Zheng Wu said with great regret: It was the only time that he was so close to his younger brother in an international competition.
In the "Shen Fulin era", Zheng Liang is an excellent Zheng Liang, but he is not the best Zheng Liang, and the word "lazy" mentioned by his brother has always surrounded Zheng Liang.
At that time, Zheng Liang was still very playful, Zheng Liang as an elder brother had deep feelings, although the two were not in the same project, but they were both in the national team, and my brother often received complaints from the men's volleyball team leader: You have to take care of your second child, he is a little too much...
It turned out that at that time, Zheng Liang often went out to play slot machines after training, even if there was a game the next day, he still went, the head coach and team leader went to call him, and he didn't go back once, twice, three times, four times... Every time, Zheng Wu had to come forward to bring it back, and if Zheng Wu was not there, there would be no way.
In fact, in Zheng Wu's opinion, playing games after training can be relaxed, so that you can sleep well at night and be more energetic the next day, maybe the genius's way of thinking is different from ordinary people.
Zheng Liang also talked about a girlfriend in those years, but in 1996, the two broke up because they got together less and left more, and soon after, Zheng Liang suffered a serious Achilles tendon rupture, and was returned to the Zhejiang provincial team by the national team in May 1996.
Three sad things happened one after another, which made Zheng Liang disheartened, self-defeating, and even ready to retire, but the appearance of one person changed the trajectory of Zheng Liang's life, that is, Wang Jiawei, who was once known as "the world's No. 1 flying man in volleyball".
Wang Jiawei led the men's volleyball team to become a top team in Asia in the late 70s and early 80s, but was adjusted out of the national team in 1983 for special reasons, and soon chose to study in Japan and stayed in Japan for development.
In February 1997, with the enthusiasm for the Chinese men's volleyball team, Wang Jiawei gave up his luxurious life in Japan and chose to leave his wife and children to return to China to coach the men's volleyball team.
At that time, the men's volleyball team relied more on the offense of the secondary attack, and after Zheng Liang left, the offense and blocking of the men's volleyball team's secondary offensive position declined seriously, Wang Jiawei was anxious, he said: In the secondary offensive position, Zheng Liang's offense is first-class, and he should be given another chance.
At that time, Zheng Liang had been transferred back to the Zhejiang Sports Team, because he was addicted to the game and often returned late, so he was suspended by the coach and came to the verge of retirement.
Wang Jiawei had a deep understanding of Zheng Liang's mood, so he found Zheng Liang and had in-depth communication with him, he found that this child was actually self-motivated and wanted to play for the national team, so he told him: If you can recover your previous state, I will give you a chance, and I will come to Hangzhou to check in a month!
As soon as he heard that he could continue to play for the national team, Zheng Liang trained desperately like a chicken and quickly recovered his condition.
A month later, Wang Jiawei came to Zhejiang again and found that Zheng Liang was like a different person, the original "thin ghost" had become a spiritual guy, and he decided to restart Zheng Liang on the spot.
However, the leaders of the platoon management center believed that Zheng Liang was greedy for fun, and he should not be allowed to come back, so after Wang Jiawei negotiated with the leaders of the platoon management center many times, he made a military order: I must strictly discipline him!
In order to prevent Zheng Liang from playing slot machines again, Wang Jiawei specially sent an assistant coach to "monitor" 24 hours a day and told Zheng Liang: Once discovered, he will be fired immediately!
Under the discipline of his mentor, Zheng Liang's prodigal son turned back and never played a game again in the days to come, becoming the best secondary attack in Asia.
Zheng Liang has always kept in mind the help of his mentor, he said: "If it weren't for my mentor, I would have stayed away from the volleyball world, and I am really grateful." ”
In fact, Wang Jiawei not only lit up the light of Zheng Liang's volleyball world, but also lit up the light of Zheng Liang's life, and in the days that followed, Wang Jiawei gave Zheng Liang a lot of help.
03 The children of the evergreen trees in the volleyball arena are long
During Wang Jiawei's tenure, the "golden generation" composed of Zheng Liang, Zhou Jian'an, An Jiajie, Zhang Xiang, Zhang Limin, Lu Wei and others began to dominate Asia.
In September 1997, Wang Jiawei led the men's volleyball team to win the Asian Championship in Doha, Qatar, which was the first time that the men's volleyball team won the Asian Championship after 1979.
In December 1997, the Chinese men's volleyball team participated in the Intercontinental Champions Cup, Zheng Liang played as the main secondary attacker, won the best blocking award of the event, so he won a bonus of 15,000 US dollars, but according to the regulations, this money had to be handed over to the team, and as a compensation, Wang Jiawei gave Zheng Liang the highest share of the bonus.
Since breaking up with his ex-girlfriend, Zheng Liang has remained emotionally blank, until he went to Shaoxing with the Zhejiang men's volleyball team for closed training, Zheng Liang's heart rippled again.
At that time, Zheng Liang and the team lived in the Red Sun Hotel on Laodong Road in the city, and he had two hours of activity time after dinner every day.
Entering the stadium, Zheng Liang noticed at a glance that Zhao Liang, the tall and temperamental bowling alley switchboard operator, don't look at Zheng Liang's usual big grin, in fact, he is very careful, when he was playing, he secretly asked the waiter for the phone number of Zhao Liang's house.
But Zheng Liang didn't expect that the waiter happened to be a good friend of Zhao Liang, and he leaked the military information to Zhao Liang immediately after he left the stadium, but Zhao Liang was not a sports fan, she didn't know who Zheng Liang was and what he looked like.
Because he knew the military situation in advance, Zhao Liang had already prepared for Zheng Liang's upcoming call, and when Zheng Liang asked, "I want to get to know you, please have a meal, are you free?" Zhao Liang readily agreed, because she also wanted to see what the volleyball star looked like.
On the day of the date, Zheng Liang was so nervous that he forgot to wear glasses and became "blind", and he couldn't find Zhao Liang, but because his height was too conspicuous, Zhao Liang, who had never met him, recognized him at once and took the initiative to find him, alleviating the embarrassment.
Because Zheng Wu and Zheng Liang are famous sports players in Zhejiang, there are many fans, so the two of them were surrounded by fans without eating much on their first date, and the two could only take the opportunity to slip away.
Love is so easy, since then the two fell in love like this, in the closed training time, Zheng Liang always secretly risked his life from the 5th floor in the middle of the night to go out on a date with Zhao Liang.
But the closed training does not last too long, so the two lovers soon started a long-distance relationship, three or four months in the league, seven or eight months of national team training, and seven or eight months of competition, Zheng Liang has no free time for a few days throughout the year, so the two can basically only contact by phone, often a dozen is an hour or two, and the salary of the two is not even enough for a month's phone bill.
However, for Zheng Liang, he has a good brother, and when he is short of money, he asks his brother for it, after all, the salary of basketball players is higher than that of volleyball players (in fact, it was not high at that time), and his brother has taken care of his younger brother since he was a child, especially when it comes to the future brother-in-law, and he can't be ambiguous about anything.
At that time, the national team was not allowed to fall in love, but Wang Jiawei was very open-minded, as long as it did not affect the results, he could talk about how he loved, and even occasionally help a little.
Under the nourishment of love, Zheng Liangqiu played more energetically, and the men's volleyball team, which has an extremely loving team relationship, also reached the peak, winning the 1997 Asian Championships, the 1998 Asian Games, and the 1999 Asian Championships in a row.
On May 3, 1999, Zheng Liang and Zhao Liang entered the marriage hall with Zhao Liang under the witness of relatives, friends, leaders and brothers of the national team.
At that time, the men's volleyball team was not as good as the women's volleyball team, although it created a glorious era, but the salary of the men's volleyball players in the professional arena was not high, the team's starters were only a thousand yuan, and the substitutes were even only a few hundred yuan, and they were often "late", some clubs couldn't even find sponsorship, even the Chinese men's volleyball team was equally difficult, sometimes the protective gear had to be sponsored by the women's volleyball team, and the "bonus" could not be issued at all...
When other projects were divided, the house of the men's volleyball team was never visible, so when Zheng Liang got married, he didn't even have a wedding room, thanks to his mentor Wang Jiawei who came forward to negotiate with the leaders of the Zhejiang Provincial Sports Bureau, and asked the unit to arrange a house for Zheng Liang.
Didn't my brother Zheng Liang and his parents help? The reason is very simple, Zheng Wu had six surgeries and a car accident between 1996 and 1999, and Zheng Wu had just gotten married, bought a house, and gave birth to a son.
04 Sad men's volleyball team, sad Zheng Liang
After getting married, Zhao Liang resigned from his job in Shaoxing and came to live in Hangzhou, but Zhao Liang couldn't find a suitable job, and it was Wang Jiawei who came forward and arranged Zhao Liang to work in Hangzhou Bay Hotel.
It can be said that it was Wang Jiawei who solved Zheng Liang's worries and allowed Zheng Liang to play with peace of mind.
In February 2000, Zheng Liang ushered in the third Olympic qualifying match of his volleyball career, according to the strength of the Chinese men's volleyball team at that time, he could have qualified, but unfortunately lost, which made Zheng Liang and the members of the men's volleyball team fall into endless loneliness, fighting for 12 years, in the end, it was still a failure.
In addition to Zheng Liang's grief, the good news that he was pregnant came from his wife's side, which made Zheng Liang get out of his grief in an instant, and immediately resigned to the coach and went home to take care of his wife.
In November 2000, Zheng Liang and Zhao Liang's daughter was born, and Zheng Guobao invited a master from Taiwan as he did when he named Zheng Wu's son Zheng Qilong, pinched his fingers, and wrote the words "Zheng Shuyang".
"Shu Jun is depressed, promote my green ambition", Zheng Shuyang's arrival added a lot of fun to the family, and also made Zheng Liang, who was thirty years old, once again muster up the courage to launch an impact on the field.
In the first five or six years of marriage, Zheng Liang and Zhao Liang and their daughter spent less than 200 days together, and they didn't even spend the Spring Festival together, so Zheng Liang has always felt guilty about his wife and daughter, he said: "It's not easy, for my volleyball career, Zhao Liang can be said to have made a major sacrifice, quit his job in Shaoxing, and be a good housewife wholeheartedly, I am charging on the front line, she takes care of the house for me in the rear, I feel that my wife is really great." ”
From 2001 to 2004, because the men's volleyball team has not had a strong Mesozoic secondary attack, Zheng Liang, who can already be called a veteran, can only "occupy" the position of the main secondary attack of the men's volleyball team until he lost the Olympic Games in 2004.
In 2005, Zheng Liang officially retired and transferred to Zhejiang Sports Vocational and Technical College as a volleyball coach, finally ending the pain of getting together less and leaving more with his wife.
Xiao Biesheng is newly married, distance produces beauty, when Zheng Liang is not at home, Zhao Liang has always played the role of a good wife and mother, and he has done a very good job, and the two are also very affectionate. But after Zheng Liang returned home, the personality problems that were not exposed gradually emerged, and the difference in life concepts made the two stumble.
About 10 years ago, Zheng Liang and Zhao Liang's marriage came to an end, and the daughter lived with Zhao Liang.
Because he failed to give his daughter a happy family, Zheng Liang felt guilty every time he saw his daughter.
05 Mentor and brother ignite hope
In November 2016, Zheng Liang suddenly had numbness in his legs and feet, and at that time he only thought it was overwork, and he didn't think about nerves at all, but after entering 2017, Zheng Liang's condition suddenly worsened, and he was gradually unable to walk, and then he lost consciousness completely, and was finally diagnosed with spinal cord lesions.
Having this disease requires a huge amount of financial resources, but Zheng Liang doesn't have much savings, and he can't make a splash if he throws it all in, even if his brother and sister-in-law, family and relatives all lend a helping hand, it will be useless, after all, his brother Zheng Wu is mostly engaged in NFL coaching after retiring, and the annual salary is not high, and he has emptied his family, and he is still short of more than one million, and he has to face at least 150,000 (after reimbursement) of medical and nursing expenses every year, not including daily living expenses.
Recalling that time, Zheng Liang said: I really have no dignity at all when I have this disease!
I can only insert a urinary catheter every day, and if I am not careful, I will have a urinary tract infection, and I can only lie on the bed without moving, and even more unfortunately, Zheng Liang's father died soon after, which made the family fall to the bottom, and Zheng Liang also had the idea of giving up for a while.
At the critical moment, the mentor Wang Jiawei appeared again, he first visited Zheng Liang with his wife, sent 100,000 yuan, and soon after he called the players of the men's volleyball team, the players spontaneously scraped together Zheng Liang's one-year rehabilitation funds, Wang Jiawei said: "Most of the players I led are engaged in volleyball work after retirement, and the economic conditions are average, and this cost is everyone's heart." The main purpose of our visit is to be his spiritual support. ”
Wang Jiawei held Zheng Liang's hand and said, "I hope you can hold on." Since it happened, you have to face it, recover well, and treat it well. ”
Wang Jiawei also specially lifted the quilt and touched Zheng Liang's legs, encouraging him: The degree of muscle atrophy is not very serious, and the strength is still quite good.
The relationship between the men's volleyball players that year was very good, according to Wang Jiawei: "We are a team that goes to life and death together."
At the time of parting, Wang Jiawei told Zheng Liang to pay attention to exercise and maintain positive energy with the team members, and at the same time instructed the team members: "After going back, each of them will think of a way to see what famous doctors and advanced drugs at home and abroad can help Zheng Liang." ”
After leaving, Wang Jiawei contacted famous doctors everywhere, trying to find out the cause of Zheng Liang's illness, hoping to help his disciples get back on their feet, and also contacted a number of charitable foundations to help Zheng Liang raise a lot of donations and contribute a lot to Zheng Liang's difficulties.
In addition to the good people in the outside world, his brother Zheng Wu and sister-in-law Wang Ying have been taking care of Zheng Liang, the hardest of which is Wang Ying, who has to take basketball training classes, take care of his eighty-year-old mother-in-law, and take Zheng Liang around to find a doctor, although Zheng Liang has a nurse to take care of, but Wang Ying still cooks Zheng Liang's favorite meals every once in a while, even Zheng Liang said: "Sister-in-law is really too hard, my sister and brother may not be able to do this." ”
After Zheng Liang retired due to illness, his monthly salary was only 6,000 yuan, and he couldn't afford huge expenses, in addition to donations from the outside world, many times it was his brother's family who helped him, and his nephew Zheng Qilong often took his girlfriend to visit his uncle after entering the professional league, and gave a big red envelope, Zheng Liang was very ashamed of this, he said: It should have been given by his uncle to the red envelope.
In order to reduce the burden on his family and regain confidence, Zheng Liang registered a Douyin account in 2021, often sharing his recovery process, explaining volleyball stories and skills, sharing positive energy deeds, and learning to bring goods through live broadcast, and his screen name is "Men's Volleyball Zheng Liang Positive Energy"
Finally, I hope that Zheng Liang can recover as soon as possible and maintain positive energy. If you are lucky enough to see Zheng Liang live. You might as well stop and watch and give Zheng Liang a little red heart!
The state of the world is more flavorful than the bright moon and breeze; It can be used as a book to read, and it can be watched as a play.