"As a public figure, whether on or off the court, you need to strictly demand yourself, and your words and deeds must be worthy of being a national player." Zhao Rui said this at the Chinese men's basketball pre-game mobilization meeting. Apologize for the misplaced behavior.
In the 2019 World Cup, the Chinese men's basketball team had the home court advantage, but failed to lock in an Olympic spot. Missing the Tokyo Olympics is almost a foregone conclusion, and the Chinese men's basketball team has hit a trough. However, as a member of the national team, Zhao Rui was photographed wearing the uniform of the US men's basketball team and became the target of public criticism. After being criticized as being unpatriotic, Zhao Rui was even called "American Rui". Zhao Rui's reputation became extremely bad, and he faded out of the national team. It was not until today that he was able to return.
For a long time, even if Zhao Rui performed well in CBA, he could not get rid of doubts. The matter of wearing the American men's basketball jersey was mentioned repeatedly. Zhao Rui seems to have become a heinous sinner, and no matter what he does, he can't stand up. As a member of the Chinese men's basketball team, Zhao Rui wore an American team uniform in public. It was really inappropriate and there was no doubt that he had done something wrong. But Zhao Rui is not unforgivable. In terms of contribution, Zhao Rui is still a hero.
In the 2018 Asian Games , Zhao Rui made a great contribution to the Chinese men's basketball team winning the championship. Zhao Rui is a very hard-working player. He went all out in the CBA and helped the Guangdong Men's Basketball Team win multiple championships. When playing for the Chinese men's basketball team, Zhao Rui spared no effort and contributed everything to the team. The same is true for the 2019 World Cup.
Although he has not faded out of the national team like Zhao Rui, Zhou Qi has a worse reputation. Zhou Qi is regarded as the number one culprit for the Chinese men's basketball team's failure to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics because he made consecutive mistakes at the last moment against the Polish men's basketball team. As a result, the opponent seized the opportunity and completed the reversal. As Zhou Qi said, the ball is in your own hands and you have the greatest responsibility. When criticized as a sinner, Zhou Qi was not unjustly accused, but when ridiculed as a Polish , he never defended himself.
But it is inappropriate for Zhou Qi to bear all the blame alone, because it is the failure of the entire team. Head coach Li Nan only had three insiders and relied too much on Zhou Qi, which led to his physical exhaustion and made him make mistakes one after another. In the game against the Polish men's basketball team, most of the players performed poorly. In fact, in that game, Zhou Qi's performance at the beginning was quite brilliant, which was also the key to the Chinese men's basketball team taking the lead. During the entire World Cup, Zhou Qi was also the best performer in the entire Chinese men's basketball team besides Yi Jianlian . When
makes mistakes, it can only be said that Zhou Qi is not capable enough, rather than not working hard enough. Zhou Qi has been playing for the country since the youth team. As the leader of the National Youth Men's Basketball Team, he finished seventh in the World Youth Championship . In the 2013 Asian Championships, the Chinese men's basketball team was upset by Chinese Taipei and only finished fifth. The Chinese men's basketball team can climb out of the trough, and Zhou Qi deserves a lot of credit. In the 2015 Asian Championships, Zhou Qi played at a dominant level and helped the team win the championship.
Zhou Qi has not forgotten the failure in 2019 and continues to improve himself, hoping to make up for it. In the past few seasons, Zhou Qi has made significant progress. In the losing game, Zhou Qi played at a high level. This season, although Zhou Qi went to play in the Australian League, he still puts serving his country first. Such Zhou Qi is still a hero even if he cannot bring the Chinese men's basketball team to the Olympics in the future.
Having the same problem as Zhou Qi is Guo Ailun, who is also a player who has been playing for the country since he was a teenager. However, after his poor performance in the 2019 World Cup, Guo Ailun was criticized as useless and ridiculed. Since then, Guo Ailun has also been considered to be more famous than his strength. Even if he performs brilliantly, he is criticized for being a quarrel. No one mentioned at all that Guo Ailun played as one of Asia's top defenders in the 2015 Asian Championships and was a contributor to the championship. Playing with injuries for the country is a common occurrence for Guo Ailun.
It is not difficult to see from Zhao Rui, Zhou Qi and Guo Ailun that national players can also make mistakes and problems can occur on and off the field. But when they play on the court, they will give everything they have and contribute to the team. When they make mistakes, they can be criticized, but they cannot be beaten to death with a stick. They must be given a chance to correct themselves. After all, they are not intentional.
