An ordinary peasant family in Fuqing City, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, ushered in the birth of a new life. This baby girl is the "Southern Great Wall" of the future Chinese women's volleyball team - Xu Yunli. With a father of 1.81 meters and a mother of 1.67 meters, Xu Yunli perfectly inherited the excellent height genes of her parents.
Since she was a child, Xu Yunli has been a lot taller than her peers. The advantage given to her height also caused her some minor troubles. For example, at the age when she was in kindergarten, she was too tall to enter kindergarten and could only go directly to elementary school.
The gears of fate began to turn when Xu Yunli was eight or nine years old. At that time, Chen Dan, the track and field coach of the Fuqing Junior Sports School, went to Xu Yunli's school to select athletes. Among a group of children, Chen Dan took a fancy to the tall Xu Yunli at a glance.
In this way, Xu Yunli began her sports career, learning track and field with Chen Dan.
Although Xu Yunli's parents have no relatives or friends who are engaged in sports, they still choose to firmly support their daughter's sports studies. Seeing that their daughter got up on time at 5 a.m. every morning to go to the sports school for training, they strengthened their determination.
However, Coach Chen Dan soon discovered that Xu Yunli's height was still climbing. In order not to bury this talent, she quickly made a decision to change Xu Yunli's fate and recommended her to Fang Hanying, the volleyball coach of the Fujian Provincial Sports School.
When coach Fang Hanying first met Xu Yunli, she was amazed by her height, so she made an exception to recruit this "skipping student". According to the normal talent delivery method of Chinese sports, Xu Yunli should have gone to Fuzhou Sports School first, and then came to the Provincial Sports School.
So, Xu Yunli, who was only 11 years old, stepped into the door of Fujian Provincial Sports School and began her volleyball career. Here, Xu Yunli shows an extraordinary personality and sense of responsibility.
Not only did she keep her personal belongings organized, but she also became the youngest but trusted member of the team, and even the other team members gave her their own keys for safekeeping.
This girl from rural Fujian, with a volleyball dream, began her pursuit journey. In the future, she is expected to become the mainstay of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
In 1998, Xu Yunli's life took a huge turn. After only a month or two of training at the Fujian Provincial Sports School, her mother chose to go to Japan to help her sister with her business.
11-year-old Xu Yunli had to stand up and face the double pressure of training and life alone A girl of this age should have thrived under the care of her parents, but the young Xu Yunli had already learned to be independent early.
The mother and daughter agreed to call every Friday, and Xu Yunli would go to the coach's house every Friday to wait for her mother's call. Since there were no telephones in the dormitory, this small ceremony became the most anticipated moment of the week for Xu Yunli, and it was also the motivation for her to persevere.
Mother and daughter haven't seen each other for five years. Even when Xu Yunli went to Japan with the team to compete in 2005, she politely refused her mother's request to watch her play, saying that she had no time, except for training for the game. This maturity and thoughtfulness makes people feel distressed and admired.
In 2004, 17-year-old Xu Yunli rose to prominence in the Fujian women's volleyball team, and was appointed as the main force because of her outstanding performance, when she was more than 1.96 meters tall and played the main offensive position. One year later, at the suggestion of her coach, she switched from the main attack to the secondary attack, a decision that laid the foundation for her development in the national team.
In 2006, Xu Yunli ushered in an important turning point in her career. This year, she was selected for the national team's training squad for the first time and became a key assistant attacker. After playing a few warm-up matches, many experts praised her, commenting that she was "really a good and three moves".
Chen Zhonghe, the head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team at the time, also had high hopes for Xu Yunli, calling her a "talent that can be created".
In the same year, Xu Yunli participated in the World Championships with her teammates. In this high-level event, she performed well, accumulating 113 points, including 82 points in attack, 26 points in blocks and 5 points on serve. This competition experience made Xu Yunli deeply realize that she still has a long way to go, and also made her more determined to continue to move forward on the road of volleyball.
In 2013, the fate of the Chinese women's volleyball team ushered in an important turning point in this year. The decision of meritorious veteran Lang Ping to become the head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team again not only changed the fate of the Chinese women's volleyball team, but also brought new opportunities to Xu Yunli's career.
After Lang Ping took office, 26-year-old Xu Yunli was on the list in her first training list. After Lang Ping's careful training, Xu Yunli has significantly improved her technical and psychological qualities. Her efforts soon paid off.
In the 2014 Women's Volleyball World Championships, Xu Yunli became the oldest athlete in the Chinese national team at that time with her amazing strength. Xu Yunli ended up starting almost every game and played the whole game.
She built an impenetrable line of defense in front of the net, and her excellent blocking skills earned the Chinese team many key points, earning her the nickname "The Great Wall of the Internet".
However, fate is always full of drama. In the semi-finals, Xu Yunli accidentally injured her foot. In the face of this blow, Lang Ping immediately made a decision and let the young general Yuan Xinyue take the top. But Xu Yunli was not depressed, but became a "coach" off the field.
She endured the pain, watched the game video with Yuan Xinyue, and patiently explained the technical movements to her, and it was this selfless spirit and team consciousness that made the Chinese women's volleyball team finally win the runner-up in the World Championships.
After the diagnosis of United States experts, Xu Yunli was seriously injured in her left knee after the World Championships, and two steel nails were inserted into it. Experts even thought that her career would end because of this.
However, Xu Yunli did not choose to give up, but insisted on rehabilitation training and was fully prepared for returning to the game.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Xu Yunli's performance reached the pinnacle of her career. After two years of rehabilitation and tempering, she teamed up with Yan Ni, known as the "Northern Great Wall", and under the guidance of Lang Ping, helped the Chinese women's volleyball team to become the Olympic champion again after 12 years.
In this Olympic Games, Xu Yunli participated in 27 matches and scored a total of 59 points, including 45 points for attack, 12 points for blocking, and 2 points for serving.
At this stage, Xu Yunli's comprehensive skills have also reached the peak of psychological quality and competition experience. Whether she starts or not, she is able to stabilize the morale of the team in key moments and earn important points for the team.
She is always ready to contribute to the team.
Lang Ping once spoke highly of Xu Yunli: "Although Xu Yunli is not a starter, as we all know, she is actually the real main force of the team. This sentence reveals Xu Yunli's pivotal position in the team, and also reflects Lang Ping's full trust and attention to her.
Xu Yunli's success as an Olympic champion is not only due to her personal skill improvement, but also to her perseverance and continuous learning over the years. She proved with practical actions that as long as you don't give up, there will always be a chance to shine.
From a rural girl to an Olympic champion, Xu Yunli's story has inspired countless young people who love volleyball, and her experience also vividly interprets the spirit of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
Behind the brilliance, it is often accompanied by pain. After the 2014 World Championships, Xu Yunli suffered a serious left knee injury and scored two steel nails. Experts in the United States even assert that her career may end there.
This bad news is undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for Xu Yunli, who is at her peak.
However, Xu Yunli was not knocked down by fate, she firmly gritted her teeth and persevered, and through unremitting rehabilitation training and hard work, she finally ushered in the glorious moment of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
She and her teammates reached the top of the Olympic Games, showing her worth and determination with the gold medal.
However, fate always seems to like to play tricks on people. During a match in 2017, Xu Yunli tore the ligament in her left knee again. This injury eventually forced her to end her illustrious career early.
Xu Yunli's retirement is a major loss for the Chinese women's volleyball team. Lang Ping once mentioned that Xu Yunli was a "fake substitute for Allah", and her departure had a big impact on the team.
However, Xu Yunli's injury gave Yan Ni, who also performed well, more opportunities to perform, which also confirmed that the Chinese women's volleyball team is full of talent and strength.
Xu Yunli's career is like a rose blooming among thorns, full of scars but still dazzling. With her tenacity and perseverance, she interpreted the true sportsmanship and made indelible contributions to the development of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
After retiring, Xu Yunli did not leave the volleyball career she loved. She chose a new path to pass on her experience and wisdom to the next generation. She entered Fujian Normal University to study for a master's degree, opening a new chapter in her life.
After finishing her studies, Xu Yunli chose to stay at the school to teach, bringing her rich experience on the field and a deep understanding of volleyball to the classroom, contributing to the development of future sports talents.
Today, 36-year-old Xu Yunli serves as the deputy dean of the School of Sports Science at Fujian Normal University. Although she has said goodbye to the fierce competition, she is still actively promoting the development of volleyball in China in another way.
In her teaching position, Xu Yunli has always maintained her tenacity and dedication on the field, influencing and inspiring more young people.
It is worth mentioning that the 36-year-old Xu Yunli is still unmarried, which may be due to her focus on her career, which makes people wonder who can win the heart of the "Great Wall of the South".
Xu Yunli, her story shows the true sportsmanship from a little girl in rural Fujian to the "Great Wall of the South" of the national team, and then to a university educator. Her experience will forever inspire those who come after her to forge ahead on the road of volleyball.