1. The light of glory shines
As the midsummer sun shone on the fresh stage, an energetic young athlete named Quan Hongchan faced the audience and lifted her honor forged by the fire burning in her chest - the champion of the diving competition at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games.
At this moment, all her quiet time and endless sweat are condensed in this moment of shining moment, she holds the gold medal tightly, and gazes at the bright light in front of her affectionately, which is not only her first Olympic medal, but also an important milestone for Chinese diving to spread its wings and soar in the new era.
With an absolute advantage of 28 points, Quan Hongchan's performance completely destroyed the opponent's fighting spirit. The moment she steadily entered the water, the Chinese assistant coach Zhou Jihong in the stands involuntarily showed a proud smile.
That year, Quan Hongchan was only 13 years old, and the moment she joined the national diving team, Zhou Jihong, who devoted herself wholeheartedly to her career, was deeply attracted by her seemingly ordinary body with great potential.
"I was blown away by one of her warm-up dives, and despite her young age and a little rusty movements, her potential is endless." Zhou Jihong recalled the scene when he saw Quan Hongchan for the first time, with a happy smile on his face.
Since then, Zhou Jihong has incorporated Quan Hongchan into her command, tailored a rigorous and professional training plan for her, and carefully taught her to master every subtlety of diving.
However, the first days were not easy. Quan Hongchan's movements always failed to meet Zhou Jihong's expectations, and whenever training was over, she would always lower her head in frustration.
"During that time, she was too eager for quick success and had great mood swings." Recalling those years, Zhou Jihong frowned, as if he could still see Quan Hongchan crying silently after being severely criticized.
However, it is precisely because of the guidance of such a strict teacher as Zhou Jihong that Quan Hongchan gradually found a feeling in diving, became more mature and stable, and finally shined in the Tokyo Olympics.
"When I saw her on the podium, my heart was filled with warmth and pride, like a blazing flame in my arms." Quan Hongchan's success is undoubtedly another glorious moment in Zhou Jihong's coaching career, and in this young man, we seem to be able to see the hope for the future of Chinese diving.
2. Zhou Jihong's legendary road
In 1984, Zhou Jihong, who was only 19 years old, emerged at the Los Angeles Olympics and successfully won the first gold medal in history for the Chinese diving team! At that time, she was like a bright star, radiant, and everything was so smooth and smooth.
However, just when everyone was eagerly expecting her to achieve another glory on the diving stage, she chose to retreat bravely, which was unexpected by everyone.
"I was young and energetic at the time, and I thought that the gold medal was just a starting point, and that the road ahead was long and challenging." Zhou Jihong, who is now middle-aged, recalled that time, with a calm and calm smile on his face, "But I never expected that the gold medal would become the key to the turning point in my life."
Indeed, after winning the Olympic gold medal, Zhou Jihong resolutely gave up his dream of continuing to pursue divers and devoted himself to studying English at Peking University.
During her college years, she met another important person in her life, her future husband Tian Bingyi, and they fell in love, entered the palace of marriage, gave birth to the crystallization of love, and lived an ordinary and happy family life.
The heavy family responsibilities made Zhou Jihong have to devote herself to the daily chores of taking care of her husband and children, and her former sports career has been put on hold for many years. However, the deep love of diving has never been extinguished.
"Whenever I watch the live broadcast of the diving competition, I always have a trace of melancholy and yearning in my heart." Zhou Jihong said self-deprecatingly, blinking quickly to hide the sadness in his eyes, "Yes, how can I easily forget about diving?" It is like my first love, forever etched in the depths of my heart.
In 1998, when Zhou Jihong realized that the Chinese diving team was in a downturn, the blood in her heart was deeply touched. The once mighty and invincible Chinese diving team is now in trouble, which makes people sigh.
This love of diving made it impossible for her to sit idly by. So, with the strong support and understanding of her husband and relatives and friends, Zhou Jihong decided to entrust her son to the care of her parents, grasped the whip again, and returned to the training ground of the national diving team.
She fought with her back to the top of her country's glory. However, in the first year of Zhou Jihong's tenure as team leader, she was subjected to all kinds of doubts from the outside world, which undoubtedly brought her huge pressure.
One day in 1998, Zhou Jihong, who had been away from the diving field for ten years, decided to stand up and bravely meet the challenge. In the face of the grim situation that the Chinese diving team fell into a low ebb, she ignited the love and persistence in her heart, resolutely waved the whip, returned to the training camp of the motherland diving team, and was determined to lead the team to rise again and rebuild the glory of the past!
"At that time, there were a lot of doubts, and some even questioned that I was just a housewife and not up to the important role of coaching." Zhou Jihong, who is now in her sixtieth year, looks back on those eventful years, her face is still full of firmness and seriousness, which makes it difficult to associate her with the image of a housewife.
However, as expected, Zhou Jihong's comeback road is not a smooth road, but full of difficulties and obstacles. As a result of being away from diving for a long time, many of her philosophies and training methods have fallen behind the times.
When she stepped into the training ground again, she often seemed to be in a hurry when explaining the essentials of the movements, her words were confused, and when she was emotional, she was even more angry, and the reprimand made the athlete burst into tears.
"When she was explaining, it was difficult for us to understand the theories she was expounding because they were too esoteric and old-fashioned." Li Lei, who is currently the leader of the national diving team, recalled the scene back then, and couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly, "Coupled with her rather impatient temper, we well-trained team members are terrified."
However, it was this seemingly ordinary housewife who made the Chinese diving team surprisingly energetic in just a few years. At the 1999 World Championships, the Chinese diving team successfully ranked among the world's leading positions with 9 gold medals and 1 silver medal.
"Her return has injected new impetus into all of us, and that spirit of perseverance and hard work has deeply infected each and every one of us." Li Lei talked about the experience with emotion in her tone, "Although most of us could not fully understand what she said at first, she always maintained great patience and guided us through practical actions.
After experiencing Zhou Jihong's 'devil's training intensity, the athletes all have respect for her. Not only does she strive for perfection in her movements, but she also pays great attention to the psychological condition of her athletes, always taking the initiative to help them stay in the best shape during the competition.
Since then, under the careful training of Coach Zhou Jihong, the Chinese diving team has shown a trend of courage and upward development, and many powerful players are as dazzling as the stars, including the familiar Tian Liang, Guo Jingjing and Fu Mingxia and other Olympic champions, who together shine again on the global stage for China's diving career!
Fourth, the expulsion of the "gold medal reaper" caused controversy
In Zhou Jihong's decades-long coaching career, she has personally cultivated many outstanding athletes, the most notable of which is undoubtedly Tian Liang, who is known as the "gold medal harvester". This talented teenager who was recognized by Zhou Jihong at the age of 14 rose to prominence in the 1997 World Cup, winning the mixed team championship with his partner Guo Jingjing, and became famous all over the world in one fell swoop.
Since then, Tian Liang has repeatedly achieved great results in the arena like a meteor piercing the night sky, once winning more than 70 gold medals. "Tian Liang was my protégé back then, and he was the best in the team in terms of talent and hard work.
Recalling those eventful years, Zhou Jihong said proudly, "I have paid special attention to him and look forward to him going further on the road of diving."
However, just as Tian Liang's fame and commercial value rose rapidly, he gradually relaxed his focus on training, and endorsements and commercial activities gradually dominated his life.
One day in 2005, Zhou Jihong resolutely made a shocking decision - the General Administration of Sports of China announced that Tian Liang would be revoked from the national team because his extensive endorsement activities had affected normal training.
"I also regretted it at one point, because Tian Liang is indeed a very outstanding talent." Talking about the decision that year, Zhou Jihong's expression was slightly gloomy, "But if I continue to let it go, more people will gradually lose their awe of discipline in the future."
As a coach, it is your duty to maintain discipline in your team. Therefore, even though Tian Liang was her most proud disciple, Zhou Jihong still ruthlessly expelled him from the team, just because he broke the rules.
This decision has caused widespread controversy in all sectors of society.
"What a sad state of mind at that time, Tian Liang is undoubtedly an outstanding top talent in the field of diving in the mainland!" Until now, the leader of the national team, Zhang Huanjie, still remembers vividly: the original decision made the whole team fall into deep confusion and self-blame.
However, if we fail to take this opportunity to demonstrate the importance of discipline, the future team will gradually lose cohesion, which is undoubtedly extremely detrimental to the long-term development of Chinese diving.
Today, Tian Liang has become a leader in the business world, but he is still haunted by the dismissal back then. Even so, he still frankly said that he did not resent his mentor Zhou Jihong.
"Coach Zhou's decision-making back then was harsh, but everything she did was out of long-term consideration for the entire Chinese diving industry, and I deeply understand this." Tian Liang said, "However, if I had the opportunity to do it again, I would definitely make a different choice."
Fifth, Guo Jingjing turned around gorgeously to defend China's right to speak
In addition to the turmoil of expelling the "gold medal harvester" Tian Liang, Zhou Jihong has also been involved in two other controversial incidents during his coaching career, one of which is accused of embezzling bonuses, and the other is questioned about excessive concentration of power.
Fortunately, through the disclosure of accounts and the long-term integrity of the work, these controversies ultimately failed to have a substantial impact on Zhou's exalted position in China's diving world.
In comparison, her careful arrangement of retired athlete Guo Jingjing is more dazzling.
As Guo Jingjing was about to say goodbye to her career as an athlete, Zhou Jihong made a visionary suggestion to her: "Although you will no longer be an athlete to bring glory to your country, there is another way for you to continue to contribute to your country, and that is to work hard to become an international referee and thus enhance China's voice in global competitions."
"When Coach Zhou said this, I felt like I saw a new chapter in my life." Guo Jingjing recalled that time, with a happy smile on her face, "As an athlete who has won countless honors for the country, I naturally desire to continue to contribute to the country after retiring."
As a result, Guo Jingjing began a process of unremitting struggle to prepare for the international referee examination. Even though she was nearly nine months pregnant, she continued to study English and the rules of refereeing tirelessly to prepare for this important exam.
"In those days, she often fought hard, fought until late at night, and occasionally took a short rest, but accidentally hit her head on the table, and then woke up and immediately devoted herself to new learning!" Talking about those difficult years, Guo Jingjing's husband showed a little emotion and helplessness, "I have repeatedly advised her to take a good rest, but she always replied that it is for the country, even if she is in trouble, she must be brave to realize her own value."
Sure enough, Guo Jingjing's perseverance paid off. After her continuous efforts, she finally successfully obtained the international referee qualification, and was honored to become one of the first batch of referees in China to enforce the law on the world-class stage, providing a fair and fair competition environment for Chinese players and helping to safeguard the rights and interests of mainland sports.
Especially in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Guo Jingjing guarded the last line of defense for the diving event as a supervising referee, and when she appeared on the field, Zhou Jihong in the audience couldn't help but show a proud look.
Sixth, the new generation inherits the glory
Now, Zhou Jihong, who has entered the age of sixtieth year, pins his hopes on the two younger generations, Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi. At the Hangzhou Asian Games that ended not long ago, the fierce competition between the two attracted the attention of many audiences.
Although Quan Hongchan narrowly defeated teammate Chen Yuxi in the game, the picture of the two hugging each other tightly after the game fully demonstrated the excellent team spirit and positive sportsmanship of the Chinese diving team.
After the game, Chen Yuxi did not hide his praise for his teammates, and his words were full of sincere friendship.
As a mentor to the two, Zhou Jihong is extremely proud and full of expectations for their relationship. "They are a tight-knit team, and although there is some competition between them, this is precisely the source of motivation for both parties to make progress together," she said.
In the post-match interview, Zhou Jihong said with confidence: "Whether as partners or opponents, the relationship between them has always been very good. It is because of such a good teammate that I have been able to make such significant progress! ”。
In February 2023, when Zhou Jihong won the title of "Best Coach of the Year" for the outstanding divers she has cultivated, this is undoubtedly the highest honor in her career and the highest recognition of her years of hard work.
"Although Quan Hongchan has shown excellent stability so far, we cannot ignore that she still has a huge room for improvement to be explored, which undoubtedly needs to be further polished and tempered with the help of various future events.
When Zhou Jihong mentioned the most proud protégé, her face full of love and expectation also revealed a firm belief in higher standards and strict requirements.
Since the rise of Quan Hongchan, and then to the emergence of Chen Yuxi, as well as those reserve forces full of infinite possibilities, we have reason to believe that under the careful guidance of Zhou Jihong, an outstanding coach, Chinese diving will surely write a more magnificent and brilliant chapter!