Preface
Chen Zhonghe, the famous coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team, has led the Chinese women's volleyball team to win numerous honors. However, his love life was tormented, his ex-wife unfortunately passed away, and he missed the growth of his daughter.
After that, he remarried and married a disciple of the women's volleyball team, and his retirement life seemed to be stable and happy......
The source in this article comes from the official media [Beiqing.com], released on July 15, 2021, but in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, please read sensibly, for reference only!
1
In 1976, at the age of 19, Chen Zhonghe joined the Fujian provincial team, which began his indissoluble bond with volleyball, and three years later, he was transferred to the national women's volleyball team and began a long career as a sparring partner.
During that period of time, Chen Zhonghe paid silently, but he could only watch his teammates win the championship on the TV.
When everyone stood on the podium, he was still a nameless transparent person in the audience, and Chen Zhonghe also wavered, but for the sake of volleyball, he still insisted on staying.
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, in 2001, this year, when everyone was not optimistic, Chen Zhonghe took over the responsibility of the head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
The outside world did not evaluate him well, and Chen Zhonghe also felt deep pressure, but he did not back down, but led a brand-new women's volleyball team to start hard training.
The strength of this new team is worrying, the team members are short, and the basic skills are uneven, and they are nicknamed "short and fast".
Chen Zhonghe led the team to play abroad at the beginning of coaching, and he was directly closed, but he was not discouraged and continued to adhere to his training plan and vision.
Chen Zhonghe withstood the pressure of public opinion while carrying out drastic reforms, and he replaced a number of veterans to create more opportunities for newcomers Feng Kun and Zhao Ruirui.
These originally unknown new stars have bloomed under the cultivation of Chen Zhonghe, and Chen Zhonghe's vision has also been verified in competitions again and again.
However, what really decided the fate of Chen Zhonghe was the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, in this Olympic Games, the Chinese women's volleyball team won two games in a row when they fell behind 1-2, and after a thrilling reversal, they finally won the long-lost gold medal for the country!
At this moment, Chen Zhonghe in front of the TV was so excited that he couldn't speak, for more than 20 years, he finally waited for this day, and the victory of the women's volleyball team also proved his coaching path.
After winning the championship, Chen Zhonghe became famous, and Quanzhou, Fujian Province also gave him a mansion as a reward, but Chen Zhonghe was extremely humble, he said that this is the result of the joint efforts of several generations of women's volleyball elites, and he is just an ordinary coach, and there is nothing special.
Compared with his famous coaching career, Chen Zhonghe's personal life is very bumpy and sad.
2
Chen Zhong met his first wife, Wang Lili, when he first entered the Fujian Provincial Volleyball Team.
Wang Lili often looks at Chen Zhonghe, she thinks Chen Zhonghe is cool, outstanding ball skills, warm and cheerful, and her sunny personality deeply attracts her.
In 1977, the Fujian team won the national championship, Wang Lili plucked up the courage to confess to Chen Zhonghe, and the two began a sweet love.
Soon, Chen Zhonghe was selected for the national team and served as a sparring partner for the women's volleyball team.
The newlywed wife Wang Lili understands Chen Zhonghe's love for volleyball, and she never complains that her husband can't be by her side, but only hopes that everything will go well for him and he can shine on the court.
Three years after marriage, they had a daughter Chen Long, Chen Zhonghe focused on training, and Wang Lili took on the responsibility of raising her alone.
In the winter of 1991, before returning to the team, 3-year-old Chen Long told his father that he wanted to go to Beijing to see him, Wang Lili couldn't help but shed tears, Chen Zhonghe blamed himself, and promised his wife that the whole family would be reunited next year.
However, the good times did not last long, before the Spring Festival in 1992, Wang Lili was killed on a business trip to Xiamen at the age of 35, and this sudden bad news crushed Chen Zhonghe.
He deeply felt that he was too devoted to his work to be with his family, and his guilt and self-blame tormented him, and his life was in a slump.
In order to take care of his young daughter, Chen Zhonghe entrusted Chen Long to his parents in his hometown, hiding in the dormitory by himself, the room was messy, he didn't want to tidy up, and he couldn't afford to live.
Wang Lili's death is a hole that cannot be filled. Chen Zhonghe often remembered his promise - he would reunite with his family next year and take his daughter to Beijing, and he was almost overwhelmed by regret and remorse.
His wife was the girl he loved most when he was young, and she was also a confidant who accompanied him through the early hardships of his career.
However, all the sweetness and expectations came to naught, and he could no longer hear his wife's gentle advice and receive his daughter's innocent greetings. All that's left is endless thoughts.
Until one day, a woman named Li Donghong appeared.
3
Chen Zhonghe has just finished his work as a coach of the national team and returned to coach the Fujian provincial team, Li Donghong is still a young player in the team, she heard that Chen Zhonghe has just experienced the blow of his wife's death, and lives alone with his daughter, and can't help but be full of sympathy and concern for him.
When training on weekdays, Li Donghong always quietly paid attention to Chen Zhonghe, for fear that he would bear too much pressure alone, but she found that Chen Zhonghe was very introverted and never mentioned his pain to others.
Before New Year's Day in 1995, Li Donghong plucked up the courage to come to Chen Zhonghe's house, pushed open the door, and saw that the house was chaotic, and Chen Zhonghe was alone in the room.
Li Donghong didn't say a word and began to clean up the house, she put the house in order again, Chen Zhonghe was surprised, but also sincerely grateful. Since then, Li Donghong has come regularly to help him take care of his life.
With the passage of time, the relationship between the two became closer and closer, and on New Year's Day of this year, they finally entered the palace of marriage.
But Chen Zhong and his 7-year-old daughter Chen Long couldn't accept Li Donghong as their new mother, and she was very disgusted with Li Donghong.
Once, Chen Long suddenly had a high fever, Chen Zhonghe was not around, Li Donghong immediately sent her to the hospital urgently, and stayed in front of her bed to take care of her, and when she woke up the next day, Chen Long finally called "Aunt Li", and her attitude towards this stepmother also began to change.
In 2001, Chen Zhonghe served as the head coach of the national women's volleyball team and led the team to prepare for a new round of international competitions.
In the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Chen Zhonghe led the team to defeat a strong opponent and achieve a historic breakthrough in the Chinese women's volleyball team.
In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Chen Zhonghe led the team to fail to defend the gold medal, and he once again became the target of public criticism.
Over the years, Li Donghong has silently supported Chen Zhonghe's life and career, she doesn't care about honor, she only hopes that Chen Zhonghe can realize his dream, when the halo fades, Chen Zhonghe understands more and more, without Li Donghong's firm support, his life will be incomplete.
In her own way, she achieved the legend of Chen Zhonghe; She used her company to light up Chen Zhonghe's life.
4
In 2009, Chen Zhonghe ended his career as the head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team and returned to his hometown of Fujian to enjoy retirement.
Leaving the hustle and bustle of the arena, Chen Zhonghe had more time to spend with his family, and he began to try to do housework, although he almost cooked for the first time, but under the guidance of his wife Li Donghong, Chen Zhonghe's cooking skills gradually improved.
He also accompanies his daughter Chen Long to parent-teacher conferences and listens to her tell stories about the school.
For Chen Zhonghe, the happiest thing is to be able to get together with his old teammates, who will gather at Chen Zhonghe's house, talk and laugh, and share their own life bits, these former comrades-in-arms who fought side by side have now become important friends in his life.
The relationship with his wife Li Donghong has also become closer, and the couple will sit on the balcony after dinner and chat, with topics ranging from Chen Zhonghe's anecdotes to the novelties Li Donghong has seen.
Although he is no longer coaching, Chen Zhonghe's love for volleyball has never waned, and he will still be invited to share his volleyball experience and mentor the younger generation. He will also go to the training ground to observe, provide advice, and help athletes improve, Chen Zhonghe infects more people with his enthusiasm.
In 2017, Chen Zhonghe ushered in his 60th birthday, and the former players rushed back to Fujian from all over the country to celebrate the birthday of their teacher.
Seeing the teacher's gray hair, the team members couldn't help but feel that Chen Zhonghe had cultivated every disciple with his heart, and they had not forgotten the grace of the teacher's acquaintance, and the wonderful past was surging in their minds, and everyone was immersed in warmth and touching.
status quo
Now, Chen Zhonghe has long since retired from the firing line, and Li Donghong has also ushered in the harvest time of life.
She and Chen Zhonghe's son have grown up and found satisfying jobs in Fujian, and their daughter has started a family of her own.
Li Donghong occasionally accompanies Chen Zhonghe to attend some volleyball activities, and spends more time with her family, she will take care of housework and regularly check Chen Zhonghe's health.
Chen Zhonghe likes to drink tea, play chess, and chat in the courtyard, and Li Donghong will listen with a smile and a few words, interjecting a few words from time to time.
The sunset sprinkled into the courtyard, the two elders sat on the bamboo chair and laughed, Li Donghong sang softly, Chen Zhonghe hummed a few words, this dull day is the happiness they have been waiting for for a long time.
Chen Zhonghe said that it was Li Donghong who gave him a complete life again, and Li Donghong also found his true home.