Wei Jizhong, who once made waves in the Chinese sports world, is a figure that cannot be ignored.
His series of actions and decisions in the field of sports have made the public evaluate him with mixed reviews and controversy. Wei Jizhong served as an official of the General Administration of Sport of China, and later became the secretary-general of the Chinese Olympic Committee, and was involved in international sports affairs, including as president of the FIVB. These positions have made him profoundly influential in a number of sports in China, particularly the Chinese women's volleyball team and table tennis team, two high-profile teams.
In the history of the Chinese women's volleyball team, Chen Zhonghe is a highly respected head coach. Under his leadership, the Chinese women's volleyball team won several world championships, including the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. However, after Chen Zhonghe stepped down, the performance of the Chinese women's volleyball team began to decline.
The outside world generally believes that this is because Wei Jizhong pushed his confidant Cai Bin to the throne. Although Cai Bin took over as head coach, it failed to make the Chinese women's volleyball team rise again, but led to a further decline in performance. During Cai Bin's tenure, the Chinese women's volleyball team faced a series of problems such as brain drain and tactical confusion.
When Wei Jizhong tried to intervene in the affairs of the women's volleyball team again, the public's reaction was very strong. In the end, the Chinese women's volleyball team had to seek a new head coach, and Lang Ping returned in this context and began to lead the team out of the trough. Although Wei Jizhong frequently criticized Lang Ping and even took it lightly, fortunately, Lang Ping withstood a lot of pressure, proved himself at the Rio Olympics, and led the Chinese women's volleyball team on the right track.
Wei Jizhong also interfered in Chinese table tennis. In the name of flat management, he questioned Liu Guoliang's coaching style, and finally forced Liu Guoliang to leave the national team. However, the move sparked a heated public debate, with many fearing that it would have an impact on the stability and development of the Chinese table tennis team. After Liu Guoliang's departure, the state of the Chinese table tennis team also fluctuated. In order to stabilize the morale of the army, the table tennis team had to ask Liu Guoliang to return again.
Wei Jizhong's intervention sparked widespread discontent. The public perceived him as being too meddled in sports affairs, focusing on personal interests over the health of the sport. Despite this, Wei Jizhong does not seem to care about the doubts of the outside world, saying that he will continue to participate in sports and will not choose to retire.
