On the evening of November 16, 1981, the osaka gymnasium in Japan was holding the final of the third women's volleyball World Cup.
The final was played between the Chinese women's volleyball team and the Japanese women's volleyball team. The Japanese women's volleyball team was the world's top women's volleyball team at that time, and once set a record of 175 consecutive international matches after 1960, known as the "Oriental Witch". The Chinese women's volleyball team started late and did not participate in international competitions for many years, after the best result was to win the 4th place in the Women's Volleyball World Cup in 1977. However, under the leadership of head coach Yuan Weimin, the Chinese women's volleyball team passed five levels and slashed six generals, reached the final with a total victory of 6 games, and defeated the Japanese women's volleyball team 3:2 in the final, winning the world championship for the first time.
The Chinese women's volleyball team won the championship
This is also the first world championship won by a Chinese player in the three major balls (basketball, football and volleyball).
There are 6 main members of the Chinese women's volleyball team who won the championship for the first time, namely Lang Ping, Zhang Rongfang, Chen Yaqiong, Zhou Xiaolan, Sun Jinfang, and Chen Zhaodi. What kind of fate do they have in life?
First, let's look at Lang Ping.
Born in 1960, Lang Ping was 21 years old when he first won the championship. After Lang Ping won the third Women's Volleyball World Cup, he continued to be active in volleyball. From 1981 to 1986, the Chinese women's volleyball team won a total of 5 world championships, becoming the first team in the history of world volleyball to win the "five consecutive championships". Among them, Lang Ping participated 4 times as the main player.
As we all know, Lang Ping is known as the "iron hammer", is the main attacker in the team, and is known for his high point strong attack at the No. 4 position. In order to improve the strength and accuracy of the slam, Lang Ping "played for his life" training every day and achieved the "iron hammer" of "one fatal blow" on the field. But it also lays hidden dangers for physical health. In 1986, at the age of 25, Lang Ping was forced to announce his retirement due to injuries.
Lang Ping did not leave his favorite volleyball field, but chose another way - to become a volleyball coach. Since then, Lang Ping has successively coached in Italy and the United States, and led the American women's volleyball team to win the silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Not only that, Lang Ping also coached the Chinese women's volleyball team twice, serving as the head coach, and won the world championship three times in 2015, 2016 and 2019.
Lang Ping
Today, Lang Ping is still the head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
The second is Zhang Rongfang.
Zhang Rongfang is a native of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, born in 1957. Zhang Rongfang is a meritorious player of the "five consecutive championships" of the Chinese women's volleyball team. What is particularly valuable is that Zhang Rongfang has just won 3 world championships for the Chinese women's volleyball team as a player, and then led the Chinese women's volleyball team as the head coach in 1986 to win the 10th World Women's Volleyball Championship, drawing a complete end to the "five consecutive championships".
In the middle is Zhang Rongfang
After Zhang Rongfang retired from the army, she served in the Training Bureau of the National Sports Commission and the Volleyball Sports Management Center. In March 2016, Zhang Rongfang voluntarily left her job due to illness and lived a retired life.
Chen Yaqiong, a native of Yongchun, Fujian Province, is the main player of the Chinese women's volleyball team to win the third World Cup Women's Volleyball Tournament and the 9th World Women's Volleyball Championship. She bounces well, has a strong ability to stay in the air, and is especially good at blocking nets, which has caused the Japanese team to suffer a lot of losses. In December 1982, Chen Yaqiong suffered from a low back injury and had to announce his retirement.
Public information shows that in 1985, Chen Yaqiong worked in the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency, and has been working until today. In 2018, Chen Yaqiong's hometown of Yongchun, Fujian Province, established the "Spirit of Women's Volleyball Team" in his former residence. Chen Yaqiong Story Museum", inspiring and inspiring people not to forget their original intentions, dare to fight and win, and carry forward the spirit of hard struggle.
Chen Yaqiong teaches volleyball techniques to students
Zhou Xiaolan is a native of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, born in 1957. When Zhou Xiaolan was a child, she went to the countryside of Shanxi with her parents and lived for 3 years. It was these 3 years that made her feel the hardships of rural life. Later, after Zhou Xiaolan entered the Chinese women's volleyball team, she was not afraid at all in the face of arduous training. These are far from rural life, at least enough to eat white rice.
Zhou Xiaolan won 3 of the "five consecutive championships", the first time was the main player, and the last two were the substitute team. After Zhou Xiaolan retired from the army, he entered the Shanghai Institute of Sport to study, and later worked at the National Sports Commission. In 1995, under the circumstance that the performance of the Chinese women's volleyball team was declining year by year, Zhou Xiaolan was ordered to go to the United States and mobilize Lang Ping, who was studying in the United States, to return to China to teach. Today, Zhou Xiaolan lives in Maryland, USA.
Zhou Xiaolan wedding photo
Sun Jinfang is a native of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, born in 1955. Sun Jinfang is the captain of the Chinese women's volleyball team, leading the team to win the third World Cup and the 9th World Championship.
After retiring from the military, Sun Jinfang chose to enter politics and successively served as deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Commission, director of the National Sports Lottery Center, and director of the Tennis Management Center of the State General Administration of Sports. Sun Jinfang once said proudly: "Not only did I do the world's first in the women's volleyball team, but when I managed the lottery, the performance I made in one year was the sum of other people's seven years." ”
Sun Jinfang
Chen Zhaodi is a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, born in 1955, the same age as Sun Jinfang. Chen Zhaodi is a soldier who was selected into the national volleyball training team in 1976 and made great contributions to the Chinese women's volleyball team winning the third World Cup and the 9th World Championship.
After chen Zhaodi retired from the army, he served as the coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team. In 1993, Chen returned to the army and was promoted to the rank of major general in July 2006, the only athlete in the army to be awarded the rank of major general. On April 1, 2013, Chen Zhaodi died of illness in Beijing at the age of 58.
Chen Zhaodi
The next day, the 15th edition of the People's Daily published an article "Sports Focus: The Women's Volleyball Team 'DesperateLy Sanlang' Gone", and at the same time distributed a commentary "You Leave the Soul of the Women's Volleyball Team" to commemorate Chen Zhaodi's great contribution to the Chinese women's volleyball team.