In 2024, 65-year-old Zhang Rongfang will stay at home in Beijing and live a daily struggle with pain.
High blood pressure requires some medication to control it. If your blood sugar is high, you also need to prepare some medications. Now, I also have a problem with my knees, and it hurts when I walk.
This once the goddess of leaps on the pitch is now even difficult to climb and descend stairs.
However, Zhang Rongfang is not someone who gives up easily. She has the stubbornness and persistence of an athlete.
Although her body is not as good as before, she has always insisted on exercising and doing her best to keep her body in good condition every day. Although her physical condition is not as good as before, her spirit has not diminished at all.
Looking back on the past, Zhang Rongfang's eyes flashed with a complicated light. Splendor? Naturally, there is. The glory of the "triple crown" still makes her proud to this day.
Torture? That's innumerable. When the national anthem is played, behind it is the pain of injuries and illness.
"Which of these faults didn't fall for volleyball?" Zhang Rongfang said with a wry smile.
But she didn't regret it, but in the silent and lonely night, she unconsciously remembered those extraordinary days.
Zhang Rongfang now lives a simple and peaceful life. Her husband Hu went to Sichuan to teach, and her son and daughter-in-law occasionally came to visit her.
Most of the time, she lives quietly and alone.
As soon as volleyball is mentioned, Zhang Rongfang's eyes will suddenly brighten, and the majestic "Mao Mao" on the court seems to be back.
"Volleyball gave me everything and took everything away from me at the same time." Zhang Rongfang said this, with tears in her eyes, but her face was full of a smile of relief.
This may be a true portrayal of an old women's volleyball team.
Speaking of Zhang Rongfang, no one can ignore her wonderful performance at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
That year, she conquered the world with her "monster ball" skills.
Want to know how powerful Zhang Rongfang is? Look at these data and you can understand: in the final, she scored 21 points alone, 4 points more than "Iron Hammer" Lang Ping! This record directly made her the "National Top Ten Athletes" throne.
Zhang Rongfang will not only eat with a "strange ball" in one hand. As a "little man" with a height of only 1.74 meters, she moved forward bravely in an environment full of volleyball masters, and she fought her way out.
Her unique skills are superb ball skills, her eyes are as fast as an eagle, her hands are as fast as a rabbit, her feet are as fast as the wind, and her ball is tricky, which is always unguardable.
The Japan team's defense was perfect, and even Lang Ping's heavy dunk could not break through. However, when they encountered Zhang Rongfang's "strange ball", they were helpless.
He throws the ball like a magic fast breaker, and people never know where they will fly in the next second.
But in reality, behind this brilliance is countless injuries and suffering.
Zhang Rongfang was scarred all over her body, including the heart, lumbar spine, cervical spine and other parts. At some times, she couldn't even breathe, bend her waist and squat her legs.
"I almost gave up," Ms. Zhang recalls those days, her eyes filled with bitterness.
Do you think that's the end of it? No, it's just the beginning. In preparation for the 1986 World Championships, the pregnant Zhang Rongfang stood in the training gym for nine hours a day, and her legs became swollen like bread.
I was too hungry at night, because I was too tired, so I rummaged through the refrigerator in the athlete's apartment to find something to eat.
But Zhang Rongfang endured hardships and no longer complained, she always said: "This is not my personal business, but to win glory for the country!" This sentence became the motivation for her to persevere.
Zhang Rongfang now looks back and re-examines her career, and she is already full of emotion. She believes that volleyball has not only given her glory and achievement, but also taken away her youth and health.
I really don't regret it.
Zhang Rongfang is a women's volleyball hero who exchanged youth and health for honor, and her story makes us see the sadness and tenacity behind the championship.
When talking about Zhang Rongfang's marriage, it is indispensable to mention her husband Hu Jin. This pair of "golden boys and girls" in the volleyball world should have been the envy of everyone, but their story has experienced a lot of ups and downs because of the "little round ball" of volleyball.
In 1985, Zhang Rongfang and Hu Jin got married in Beijing. They were drafted for the national team in 1976 and they bonded over a common hobby.
However, the dolce vita after marriage did not last long.
Why? And not because of work! Zhang Rongfang is in Sichuan, Hu Jin is in Beijing, and separation has become the norm.
We've had a good day, and we haven't survived the honeymoon period yet.
In 1992, it was a real test for Hu Jin. This year, he took over the responsibility of the head coach of the Chinese national women's volleyball team.
It was originally a good thing, but it brought unexpected trouble to Zhang Rongfang.
In the Olympic Games, the Chinese women's volleyball team only finished 7th. The fans were very unhappy and threw all their anger on Hu Jin.
In 1999, Hu Jin wanted to take over the national team again, but Zhang Rongfang resolutely opposed it, and the couple almost divorced.
In the end, the superior leaders came forward to mediate, and Zhang Rongfang reluctantly agreed.
However, in order to "turn over", Hu Jin soaked in the training hall all day long, and Zhang Rongfang fell ill in bed and couldn't even drink hot soup.
Zhang Rongfang couldn't help but burst into tears as she watched her son busy cooking noodles for himself in the kitchen.
The story of Zhang Rongfang and Hu Jin is a love that met because of volleyball, fell in love because of volleyball, and stepped onto the marriage stage because of volleyball. They have been through many trials and have shown us how difficult professional athletes need to make the choice between love and career.
Their experiences may represent the epitome of many couples in the world of sports.
In 1984, Zhang Rongfang led the team to win the Olympic championship as the captain.
In June 1986, 29-year-old Zhang Rongfang was appointed as the head coach of the national women's volleyball team, an appointment that shocked her.
When the leaders said that sentence and asked her to give up her child for the benefit of the country, Zhang Rongfang did not agree. She knows that this is not the last chance, because she firmly believes that every child should be seen as the hope for the future of the country.
Therefore, she made a surprising promise: "You don't have to worry, I will never affect the honor of the Chinese women's volleyball team because of personal matters."
Zhang Rongfang made a promise and practiced it to the end. During her pregnancy, she insisted on standing in the training gym for up to 9 hours a day, and her legs were swollen like steamed buns.
It took a tortuous amount of time to write the lesson plan, and it took a full 5 hours. Presumably, the stomach is already empty before the workout, and it is difficult to sleep at night looking for food to fill the stomach in the athletes' apartment.
In September 1986, Zhang Rongfang led the Chinese women's volleyball team to successfully win the World Championships, creating a miracle of "five consecutive championships".
She herself won the title of Best Coach.
However, the good times did not last long, and in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the Chinese women's volleyball team only won the bronze medal, which disappointed the fans, so they vented all their anger on Zhang Rongfang.
Someone gave her a rope to hang herself, and someone gave her a foul-smelling insole. This former "women's volleyball hero" became a "sinner" overnight.
After retiring, Zhang Rongfang still worked in sports, served as the deputy director of the Sichuan Provincial Sports Commission and entered the university for further study. Unfortunately, in 2015, due to health reasons, she chose to resign from the position of deputy director of the Discharge Management Center.
From the court to the sidelines, Zhang Rongfang's role has been constantly changing, and the only thing that has not changed is her love for volleyball.
Her experience tells us that the road to transformation is bumpy and bumpy, but as long as you persevere, you can always find your own place.
Athletes who are retiring can take some inspiration from Zhang's story: the field of life is far wider and more colorful than the court.
In 1970, 13-year-old Zhang Rongfang resolutely decided to devote herself to Chengdu People's Stadium, not to watch the game, but to become an athlete! Her spirit of fighting to the end amazed the coaches.
Since that day, Zhang Rongfang has devoted all her time and energy to volleyball training, whether day or night, she sleeps with a volleyball ball.
At that time, the Sichuan women's volleyball team was not vegetarian, and the team was full of veterans who had become mothers.
However, it is this "punctuation mark" that has succeeded in blazing a new path forward with its unique power and perseverance.
Zhang Rongfang often said that "this ball is not a question of whether I want or not, but whether the people of Sichuan want it or not." "
Does her words make people feel a bit secondary? But her stupidity makes her like a little tiger on the court, she has to grab every ball, and she wants the ball desperately.
In 1976, 19-year-old Zhang Rongfang was recruited into the national team by Yuan Weimin. The members of the national team were all famous players at that time, and Zhang Rongfang was the shortest. But it was this little man, with hard training and skills, who managed to win the main position.
From Sichuan to the whole country and then to the world, Zhang Rongfang has verified with her practical actions that "rushing out of Asia and going to the world" is not only a slogan, but also an action.
Her story tells us: as long as you are willing to fight, there is no so-called big or small dream, and there will be a day when you will come out.
Zhang Rongfang seems to be a serious person, but who would have thought that she was once also a confused little girl? However, it was the indomitable little girl who eventually became the legendary "Queen of Monster Balls".
Is the life of the players so cool every day? Zhang Rongfang's story tells us that behind the glory, there is often a bitterness that ordinary people can hardly imagine.
In the 1988 Seoul Winter Olympics, the Chinese women's volleyball team only won the bronze medal, which disappointed the fans very much and vented all their negative emotions on Zhang Rongfang.
Some people sent ropes for her to hang, and some people sent smelly insoles to her. This former "women's volleyball hero" became a "sinner" overnight.
Zhang Rongfang cried. This existence like the Iron Lady on the court also has moments of vulnerability.
However, she didn't choose to give up, knowing that this is the nature of sport – ruthless and brutal.
What's even more sad is that the men's Hu Jin's experience of coaching the national team twice. In the 2000 Olympic Trials, the Chinese women's volleyball team almost failed.
That night, Zhang Rongfang stayed up all night, calling her old teammates, and tears were streaming down the phone.
You think that's it? No, there's worse. Some people say that Zhang Rongfang and Hu Jin opened a "mom-and-pop shop", and some people say that she squeezed out Lang Ping in order to put her husband on the throne.
These gossips pierced Zhang Rongfang's heart like a sharp knife.
In the face of these criticisms, Zhang Rongfang chose to remain silent.
Now Zhang Rongfang has said goodbye to the volleyball court, but when she recalls the past, her eyes will still flash with a complicated light.
Zhang Rongfang said with tears in her eyes, but with a slightly relieved smile: "Volleyball is everything in my life, and it is also everything that takes away my life." ”
Zhang Rongfang's story is a story full of glory and tears, perseverance and helplessness. This story teaches us that the road to success is never easy.
But as long as the love of volleyball is still there, then it's all worth it.