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Preface
"My goal is to produce 100 World Champions. ”
"Godfather of National Feather" Li Yongbo, he has won 92 consecutive world championships in 24 years, Lin Dan, Zhang Ning, Chen Hong...... Behind these dazzling names is the result of Li Yongbo's careful cultivation.
But when he was just one step away from winning the 100th World Championship. suddenly announced his retirement from the national team and went to Malaysia to plant durian.
Why did he leave the high-paying national team alone and run away to become a "farmer"? What is happening to Li Yongbo now?
The words are amazing
The name Li Yongbo is a household name among people who are familiar with Chinese badminton.
As early as the age of 16, he successfully entered the national team with his outstanding badminton skills and embarked on the road of his badminton career.
In those passionate years, Li Yongbo won many World Cup championships with his solid basic skills and outstanding performance, and made remarkable achievements.
However, fate tricked people.
At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, Li Yongbo accidentally strained his thigh muscles during a fierce match, and this sudden injury dealt a serious blow to his badminton career.
With injuries difficult to recover, he made a difficult choice, which was to quit the national team.
At that time, many people regretted that Li Yongbo might drift away from the beloved sport of badminton, and might never see him on the court again.
However, life is full of uncertainties, and the story of Li Yongbo and badminton does not end there.
In 1993, shortly after Li Yongbo's retirement, the mainland's badminton team encountered unprecedented difficulties and urgently needed the support of outstanding athletes.
At that time, the badminton national team was in an awkward transition period, the older generation of players retired due to age, injuries and other reasons, although the new generation of players had potential, but they had not been fully experienced and polished, and the overall strength was obviously insufficient.
In the face of such a dire situation, the national team management realized that an experienced and productive coach was urgently needed to lead and develop this group of young players.
At this time, Li Yongbo, who has won the world championship honor 6 times, came into everyone's field of vision, and his rich practical experience and excellent record make him the best candidate for the head coach of the national team.
In this way, Li Yongbo accepted the call of the national team at a critical moment and took office.
However, as soon as he took over, he made a surprising statement, setting a goal that shocked everyone: to produce 100 world champions.
This goal was undoubtedly a difficult and almost impossible task for the national team, which was at a low point at that time and urgently needed to rebuild.
Hearing this oath, not only was there an uproar in the outside world, but even some players within the national team were skeptical, thinking that Coach Li might be exaggerating, and holding the mentality of watching the excitement to see if he could fulfill his promise.
But in any case, Li Yongbo's determination and courage have brought new expectations and motivation to the entire national team.
Devil Coach
At a time of internal disorganization and decay, the former invincible star was determined to reinvent the team with draconian measures.
Faced with the question of "can fight but not teach" and the label of "the worst class in history", Li Yongbo has a raging fire burning in his chest.
At the beginning of his tenure, Li Yongbo used a high-intensity "devil training method" to try to awaken the competitive state of the players.
However, injuries in the early stages of training made him realise that his approach was not correct.
Li Yongbo learned from the pain and began to understand the characteristics and needs of each team member, adjust and personalize the training plan, not only maintain the intensity, but also ensure safety, and effectively improve the team members' skills and team morale.
After returning from the Asian Games, Li Yongbo was not discouraged, and found a way for the team to break out of the cocoon and be reborn in the short loss.
Just a few months later, in 1995, he led the national team to win the Sudirman Cup, and then continued to make a strong effort on the international stage.
A historic turning point came in 1996, when the national women's doubles team won the Olympic Games and reached the top of the world.
With his firm belief and unique coaching style, Li Yongbo has successfully tempered a once-sluggish team into an impregnable team.
In the years that followed, the national feather made many achievements, and trophies and gold medals came one after another, proving that Li Yongbo's rhetoric was not empty talk.
However, as Guoyu entered the peak, the voices of praise were everywhere, and some people even thought that Li Yongbo had no problem to solve.
However, he knows that sports competition is like sailing against the current, and only by constantly moving forward can he defend his glory and fulfill his solemn commitment to the people.
Although he led the Chinese team to create many brilliant records, he has always been accompanied by various whirlpools of public opinion.
At London 2012, in order to ensure that China's women's doubles teams could avoid an early semi-final battle, the national team adopted a controversial strategy of having one of the women's doubles pairs deliberately lose in the group stage in order to adjust the knockout stage matchups.
This practice has undoubtedly touched the bottom line of "fair play" and "Olympic spirit" in the field of competitive sports.
Unexpectedly, the International Badminton Federation and the referee showed no mercy to this, determined that this behavior was a negative game, and dealt with it severely.
The incident not only caused an international outcry, but also caused great dissatisfaction among domestic spectators and netizens, who accused this unsportsmanlike practice of tarnishing the Olympic spirit.
As the head coach of the national team, Li Yongbo naturally became the target of public criticism, and for a while, he encountered unprecedented online violence, and criticism and questions from netizens poured in.
The occurrence of this turmoil is more like a stone thrown into a lake, causing ripples, and the various controversies faced by Li Yongbo in the past have also been resurfaced for public scrutiny and discussion.
suffered from online exposure and returned to the countryside
In 2011, Li Yongbo made a comment about the performance of tennis star Li Na.
Originally, he sincerely praised Li Na's outstanding achievements, felt that she had indeed won glory for China, and also encouraged Li Na to continue to work hard to improve her skills and strive to win more honors for the country.
But later, when the content of the interview was broadcast, somehow, the feeling that everyone heard changed their taste, as if they were belittling Li Na.
This time it stabbed the hornet's nest, and many netizens flocked to Li Yongbo's social platform to leave messages, accusing him of not commenting on Li Na like that.
In the face of overwhelming accusations and abuse, Li Yongbo couldn't bear it anymore, and he decided to respond directly to the fans who attacked him, making it clear that he actually recognized and appreciated Li Na for winning the championship, and there was no other malice at all.
He guessed that it might be a problem with the processing of the video clips, which made everyone misunderstand his original meaning.
Despite this, Li Yongbo understood the importance of the situation, and finally chose to apologize to the fans, hoping to resolve the misunderstanding through peaceful means.
The incident caused serious distress to Li Yongbo's life, and since then, he has had to endure all kinds of verbal attacks and violence from the Internet every day, and his life has been greatly affected.
In the world of the Internet, the speed and scope of information diffusion is very different from what used to be, and everything in the past can be mined.
There are rumors on the Internet that he embezzled the prize money of the badminton team in 1996, although there is no definite basis, but on the Internet, the rumors always spread faster than the facts.
In addition, Li Yongbo often participates in advertising endorsements, which has also aroused the suspicion of many people, thinking that he is making money under the banner of the badminton team.
The barrage of criticism has left Li Yongbo exhausted, and he is no longer qualified to coach the badminton team.
Finally, after a series of turmoil, Li Yongbo chose to submit his resignation, ending his coaching career in the national team.
In 2019, he moved to Malaysia with his family and started a new chapter in his life.
This time, he became an expert in growing durians.
Sure enough, excellent people can shine in any field, and Li Yongbo has also done a good job in durian planting, and the annual income is quite considerable.
Far away from the high pressure and right and wrong of the arena, Li Yongbo's pace of life has slowed down, and he has gradually become "happy fat", enjoying a quiet and fulfilling new life.
epilogue
Although Li Yongbo did not produce 100 world-class players as expected, his outstanding contribution to the Chinese badminton world cannot be erased.
His strict training system and deep feelings for badminton have laid a solid foundation for the development of badminton in mainland China, giving birth to batches of world-class badminton elites, making them create countless brilliant achievements in the international arena.
Although the goal was not fully achieved, Li Yongbo's influence and achievements in the badminton arena are enough for him to be honored as the "Godfather of Badminton", which is the best affirmation of his hard work and outstanding contributions in the field of badminton.
Regardless of success or failure, Li Yongbo's name will be engraved in the history of Chinese badminton honor, inspiring generations of badminton players to strive forward and pursue higher honors and achievements.
Sources of information:
Sina Olympics - Illustrating the reason for the deliberate loss of women's badminton: avoiding cannibalism with the same country and wanting to win gold and silver - 2021 London Olympics
China News Network - Li Yongbo made an "amazing remark": Li Na won the Grand Slam is not the highest peak
NetEase Sports - Li Yongbo's contribution is indelible, and the national team problem is not groundless"
Interface News - 24 Years of Merits and Demerits Li Yongbo's era has finally come to an end
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