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On April 5, 2013, the Holy East Auditorium in Babaoshan, Beijing, welcomed many celebrities from the world of sports. Walking into the scene were many superstars such as iron-blooded female player Lang Ping, "intelligent" coach Chen Zhonghe, and Olympic champion Zhu Ling.
What's even more touching is that the old women's volleyball girls who have struggled side by side are also here, although their hearts are full of great grief, they still hold back tears to bid farewell to this friend who once fought together - Chen Zhaodi.
At this warm and sad moment, everyone was shocked to learn that Chen Zhaodi was actually seriously ill, but who would have expected that the disease would take her away so cruelly, when she was only 58 years old, and she should have enjoyed her old age.
This way of passing away was so abrupt that everyone present couldn't help but feel sorry.
At this time, many people from all walks of life had gathered in the open space outside the East Auditorium, some holding photos of Chen Zhaodi before her death, and others silently wiping the tears on their faces.
They expressed their nostalgia for Chen Zhaodi's outstanding contributions to the country, lamented the ruthlessness of the passage of time, and also recalled the pride of the Chinese women's volleyball team behind the glorious history.
Here, everyone was deeply shocked by a detail - it is reported that in the last half month of her life, Chen Zhaodi, who has always been strong, once said to her daughter: "Otherwise, there will be no cure".
This heroine of the women's volleyball team, who once dared to bravely enter the no-man's land, now has such an idea of giving up, and everyone is uneasy, seeing that the former never-say-die women's volleyball team general is about to be killed by illness.
Back in the summer of the 60s of the last century, 15-year-old Chen Zhaodi participated in a fierce Hangzhou middle school sports meeting. When her tall figure ran on the court with sweat, the cheers and applause on the sports field came like a tide.
The tall girl finally won the top honor in the show, receiving the championship trophy to the cheers of her classmates, and the slightly mysterious smile on the corner of her mouth instantly crushed all competitors.
In such a scene, the coach of the volleyball team of Hangzhou amateur sports school was deeply attracted by Chen Zhaodi. Soon after, he reached out to the young athlete and invited her to join the volleyball family.
In this way, Chen Zhaodi had the opportunity to get in touch with and understand the real sport of volleyball, where she began to undergo her first rigorous training.
For Chen Zhaodi, volleyball is a sport that perfectly combines profound artistic pursuit and team spirit. It's much more than just passing volleyball to each other at both ends of the court, the unique charm of volleyball lies in the meticulous design and the use of great skill.
Whether it's the precise positioning, the unique half-squat posture, or the meticulous calculation of the direction and number of steps of the jump, there is a subtle skill behind the athletes' mental understanding.
It is this depth and precision that attracts Chen Zhaodi, who loves sports so much.
In 1971, 18-year-old Chen Zhaodi officially joined the national youth training team after many selections, starting her systematic and professional volleyball training road.
As a member of the national team, the intensity of training is really rare, and the players are still unfamiliar with each other, and they need to re-establish that bond of trust that unites the team.
But this is not a problem for the experienced Chen Zhaodi, on the contrary, she is full of love for everything in front of her. On the court, she always stood bravely at the front and never discouraged by her injuries, even with bandages all over her body.
After embarking on the road of national team training, Chen Zhaodi once encountered doubts from the coach. The scene at that time is still vivid: the coach sternly reprimanded, "It turns out that no talent can be a reason for others to ignore you".
These cruel words were undoubtedly a heavy blow, and Chen Zhaodi suddenly looked sad, and her eyes revealed a trace of melancholy. As a great athlete, she deserves to be recognized, not blamed.
However, for a never-say-die seed like Chen Zhaodi, setbacks will eventually turn into motivation. She did not give up, but repeatedly examined her shortcomings and strengths in the dead of night.
Watching the incoming ball, preparing to hit the ball, adjusting the movement, passing, cushioning, serving... She carefully analyzes and scrutinizes each movement in her mind, hoping to find the direction of improvement.
After some careful consideration, Chen Zhaodi mustered up the courage to walk into the coach's office and humbly asked about her doubts. Seeing her dedication to excellence, the coach's attitude gradually began to change.
He sincerely appreciated Chen Zhaodi's tenacity and unyielding quality, and recognized her qualifications to become the spiritual pillar of the team.
Soon, the winter of 1979 came, and the Chinese women's volleyball team competed in the Asian Women's Volleyball Championship in Hong Kong. It was a crucial battle to determine whether or not he would make it to the final of the 1980 Olympic Games, and the pressure was heavy.
But the 28-year-old Chen Zhaodi has never been afraid, with her extraordinary fighting spirit and tenacious will, she led the team to break through several levels in a row, break through the encirclement, and finally defeated Japan and South Korea in the decisive battle, making great contributions to the national team winning the championship for the first time.
Later, in 1981 and 1982, Chen Zhaodi was even more powerful, leading the Chinese women's volleyball team to win many top competitions in the World Cup, World Championships and Asian Games.
Although she has been plagued by an old waist injury, she has never given up on the court, but has inspired her teammates to work together with her tenacious fighting spirit.
The glorious victories have come again and again, witnessing the legendary journey of the Chinese women's volleyball team from obscurity to the final rise to the top of the world.
In 1983, Chen Zhaodi, who was only 32 years old, resolutely announced his retirement from the game, which was like a thunderbolt from the sky, making countless fans and sports people sigh.
As an outstanding representative of the Chinese women's volleyball team, Chen Zhaodi has experienced countless glorious moments in the last days of her career, and has won many top championships for the national team.
Now, she chose to stay away from the stadium and leave the sight of thousands of fans, which is extremely regrettable and reluctant.
However, for Chen Zhaodi, retirement is not to leave the sports career, but to place hope and trust in cultivating new forces. Soon, she was appointed as the deputy political commissar of the "Bayi" women's volleyball team, and was also elected as a representative of the Sixth National People's Congress, starting a new journey.
In the following 30 years, Chen Zhaodi has been working on the front line of sports, successively serving as the head coach of the national youth women's volleyball team, an important member of the coaching staff of the Chinese women's volleyball team, and the director of the Culture and Sports Bureau of the General Political Department.
No matter what position she holds, she is determined to push forward the career she loves, volleyball. It is under her careful training and guidance that the Chinese women's volleyball team has successors, and batches of rookie athletes have emerged, continuing the glorious tradition of the women's volleyball team.
Although in some later periods, the Chinese women's volleyball team also fell into a trough for a time and was plagued by some difficulties and setbacks. However, the spiritual light established by the older generation of women's volleyball players such as Chen Zhaodi will always guide the way forward, and the new generation can always regain their fighting spirit in adversity.
They take these old-timers as role models to pass on the never-say-die spirit of the women's volleyball team from generation to generation to ensure that this flame will never be extinguished.
In March 2013, the news came from the front line that Chen Zhaodi was hospitalized with rectal cancer, and her condition had worsened to the point of dying. Knowing this bad time, Lang Ping's old friends of Chen Zhaodi all felt heartache.
They still clearly remember how tenacious Chen Zhaodi, who always tries her best and is petite but never gives up, is tenacious. No one could have imagined that this once strong warrior would now find himself in such a desperate situation.
Everyone knows that Chen Zhaodi has been fighting with illness for 25 years. During this long period of struggle, she fought bravely and never flinched, but now that the illness has finally taken over, her physical condition has deteriorated, and she has gradually lost her hope for life, and even said desperate words to her daughter, "If you can't be cured".
The heroine of the women's volleyball team, who has always been brave and fearless, would fall into such a desperate situation at the end of his life, and everyone was worried about it. But no matter what, everyone is still looking forward to the miracle of life will continue on Chen Zhaodi again, and look forward to this once tenacious warrior being able to regain his fighting spirit and grit his teeth to defeat the disease again.
Finally, in the early morning of April 2013, the former women's volleyball team general passed away amid the mourning of relatives and friends. Although the flame of her life is extinguished, the immortal spirit will always exist in the world, illuminating the way forward for future generations.
Chen Zhaodi has made outstanding contributions to the country's sports cause in her life, and her love for volleyball and unswerving quality will always remain in the hearts of the world.