Such a great achievement as "the fifth consecutive women's volleyball championship" demonstrates the power of Chinese women to the world.
The most famous among them is undoubtedly the "iron hammer" Lang Ping .
However, there is another person whose contribution is no less than that of Lang Ping, that is Zhang Rongfang .
has made outstanding contributions to the women's volleyball team. has no good place in her body and is almost a "waste".
fell into a lot of controversy after retiring. Some people even said "Zhang Rongfang is a cancer of the Chinese women's volleyball team."
What did she do back then that made her fall into such huge controversy?
What kind of experience did Zhang Rongfang have before becoming the hero of the "Five Crowns"?
01
When she was a child, Zhang Rongfang had a very lively personality, and fights with boys were common.
's lively appearance gave her parents a headache. It wasn't until she was 13 years old that a turning point occurred.
This year, Zhang Rongfang suddenly became obsessed with playing volleyball for some unknown reason.
She couldn't get enough of playing in physical education class, so she wanted to join a professional team to play volleyball.
As soon as the idea was proposed, she was severely rejected by her parents. However, she refused to admit defeat since she was a child, so she immediately went to the sports school to recommend herself.
's reckless behavior actually aroused the appreciation of the coach. He had never encountered such a bold child, but this was the first time he had encountered such a courageous little girl.
As a result, Zhang Rongfang quickly agreed to Zhang Rongfang’s request to join the team for training.
Originally, the coach only took the little girl in because he thought she was interesting. Unexpectedly, Zhang Rongfang discovered that things were not as simple as she thought as soon as she got started.
She practiced with other players, and after learning it once, she could always make standard moves.
At first, the coach thought the child had hit her by mistake. Unexpectedly, after three months, she had mastered all the technical essentials of all movements.
In the team's training matches, Zhang Rongfang is always able to observe the opponent's weaknesses immediately.
This made the observing coach extremely happy, so he began to focus his energy on Zhang Rongfang intentionally or unintentionally.
She did not disappoint the coach. After another three months, she has reached the standard for playing games.
Seeing this situation, the coach focused all his energy on her.
Under the careful guidance of the coach, Zhang Rongfang, who was already extremely talented, once again improved by leaps and bounds.
In less than a year, she became the main force in the youth team of Sichuan Province.
In addition to talent, the reason why Zhang Rongfang was able to achieve so much in just one year.
She also has several very excellent qualities, that is, she loves to think and is willing to endure hardship.
It stands to reason that the short Zhang Rongfang is not suitable for playing volleyball, but she has made up for the shortcomings of her height through thinking and hard work.
especially thinks about it. She never plays according to the conventional route and always adjusts her skills and tactics according to the changes on the court.
And in daily training, she also constantly observed the way tall players played.
and then absorb them all to form their own style and characteristics.
With these outstanding talents and methods, Zhang Rongfang quickly entered the field of vision of the national team coach.
02
In 1976, she was transferred from the provincial team of Sichuan Province to the national team for training.
When she first arrived here, Zhang Rongfang was very ambitious and hoped to achieve the glory of her life here.
However, as soon as she came up, she was kicked hard by reality, so much so that she almost retired.
Those who can enter the national team training are the best in this field.
Zhang Rongfang’s advantages of loving thinking and being willing to endure hardship are not noticeable here.
Even her shortcomings of being short have been magnified infinitely.
At that time, Zhang Rongfang's ears were full of complaints about her height. thought that recruiting her into the national team was superfluous and would not help the team at all.
Over time, she began to lose her confidence and became timid in playing.
The more this happens, the worse her performance becomes, and the voices around complaining about her and being dissatisfied with her become louder and louder.
Gradually, Zhang Rongfang couldn't bear the pressure and wanted to leave here more than once.
Volleyball, which once brought her countless joys, has become so disgusting. She even had the idea of retiring, leaving volleyball completely and going home to school.
Head coach Yuan Weimin immediately noticed that something was wrong with her mood , so he often did ideological work for her.
Her close teammates also constantly comforted and encouraged her to continue playing.
As time goes by, Zhang Rongfang gradually becomes less resistant to volleyball.
The thought of giving up on herself disappeared without a trace. She wanted to prove herself.
People live just to breathe. Zhang Rongfang wants those who are not optimistic to shut their mouths completely.
So she started a hellish training. If she couldn't outrun taller players, she would increase her physical fitness.
can't prevent the ball from the opposite side, so they should find ways to improve their skills and offensive quality. will make it impossible for them to catch and hit the ball.
The goal was clear. After studying hard and practicing hard, Zhang Rongfang's strength greatly increased.
Not only did her level improve, her fighting spirit also infected her teammates to work together.
The successful victory in the 1979 Asian Championships proved that this Chinese women's volleyball team should not be underestimated.
The main offensive line composed of Zhang Rongfang and Lang Ping also proved that she is strong enough to serve as the main position.
Competitive sports rely on strength. After successfully winning the championship, there was indeed a lot less gossip around me.
After tasting the championship, she began to want to win the proud world championship.
Just when she was working hard for it, injuries fell on her without any warning.
In 1980, Zhang Rongfang, who was preparing for the World Cup, injured her lumbar spine while diving to save the ball during training.
She fell to the ground and was sweating in pain, unable to move.
During the period of treatment and recuperation in the hospital, the volleyball in her hand never let go. Zhang Rongfang was afraid that she would lose her sense of the ball because of her recovery.
As soon as she recovered from her injury, she returned to the team to continue training. This was just the beginning of Zhang Rongfang's injuries.
She came to the United States to train in the same year, and ran into the training ground without even having time to adjust to the jet lag.
At the end of the training, she squatted alone in the toilet, spitting out yellow water from her mouth.
With this will not to relax until the last moment, Zhang Rongfang and his teammates successfully won the World Cup championship in 1981.
What people don’t know is that her ankle was severely sprained on the field at that time, making it difficult for others to walk.
Zhang Rongfang finished the entire match abruptly without even taking a minute's rest.
When she finally got on the podium, her feet were so swollen that she lost her appearance.
Her will has infected all her teammates. It is this spirit that allowed the women's volleyball team to achieve five consecutive championships.
After winning the precious Olympic gold medal in 1984, Zhang Rongfang chose to retire.
At that time, she wanted to continue playing, but the overload of her body had made it difficult for her to continue.
After she retired, she and Hu Jin entered the palace of marriage.
03
In 1984, not only Zhang Rongfang chose to retire, but several other teammates also retired one after another. The departure of
's main players put the powerful Chinese women's volleyball team into an awkward situation.
For the honor of the women's volleyball team, she took over the coaching staff in 1986 and began coaching the Chinese women's volleyball team.
It is hard to imagine how much pressure she was under at that time. At this time, she also found out that she was several months pregnant.
Zhang Rongfang, who was already 30 years old at the time, was in dire straits. Her advanced maternal age and the pressure from the team made her life a mess. Fortunately,
was accompanied by Lang Ping, and the two worked together, won the 1986 World Championship .
In this way, the great cause of the Chinese women's volleyball team's "five crowns" was completely completed.
After this incident, Zhang Rongfang retired and was transferred to the General Administration of Sports as a leader, in charge of the volleyball project.
In 1989, Hu Jinjin took up the position of head coach of the women's volleyball team.
This decision was not pushed by Zhang Rongfang, but was born out of discussions among leaders and coaches. In order to avoid suspicion, she will no longer be in charge of volleyball .
However, not everyone is Yuan Weimin and Chen Zhonghe. Hu Jin’s first coaching results were very unsatisfactory.
The 7th place result in the Olympic Games is unacceptable to everyone.
Therefore, Hu Jin left the position of head coach, but the matter was not over. At this time, there was a sudden voice from the outside world, saying that the reason why Hu Jin could serve as the head coach was because of Zhang Rongfang's efforts.
Excited people began to accuse her of nepotism, but the fact is that this matter had nothing to do with her.
She had no choice but to swallow the consequences alone, crying silently in grievance.
Seeing this once glorious Chinese women's volleyball team gradually fall to the bottom, with the help of Zhou Xiaolan, Lang Ping returned from abroad and began to take charge of the national team.
In the hands of Director Lang, this new women's volleyball team has gradually recovered, and its competitive strength has once again returned to the first echelon in the world. However, still did not win the golden medal.
So after discussion among the leaders, Lang Ping reluctantly left the position of head coach and replaced Zhang Rongfang's husband Hu Jin.
This simple appointment aroused great public opinion at the time.
The level of public reaction this time was far more ferocious than the last time.
The outside world unanimously believes that it was Zhang Rongfang who forced Lang Ping away for the sake of her husband, regardless of past relationships and national team results.
In fact, the fact is that Zhang Rongfang is very opposed to Hu Jin continuing to serve as the head coach of the national team.
The two even had a big fight over this, and there was no communication with each other for several months.
She will not even attend meetings of relevant departments as long as her husband is involved.
The two of them also had a deep grudge, and their relationship was no longer as harmonious as before.
In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Chinese women's volleyball team led by Hu Jin only finished fifth..
Public opinion once again pushed him and Zhang Rongfang to the forefront, and previous speculations swept through again.
Some people even said "Zhang Rongfang is the cancer of the Chinese women's volleyball team" .
She did not respond to any of these, leaving all questions to time and waiting for the day when the truth would be revealed.
Nowadays, Zhang Rongfang's old injuries are becoming more and more serious, and her lumbar spine is so painful that it is difficult to even walk.
In 2015, because her body was really unable to support herself, she resigned from her position as deputy director of the drainage center and went home to rest and recuperate.
Nowadays, she has been fighting against the disease , and her life can be considered relaxed and comfortable with her son and daughter-in-law.
Conclusion
No matter what the public opinion is, just because of dedicating one's life to the Chinese women's volleyball team, one suffers from injuries.
Zhang Rongfang deserves all of us to admire , and things are not as outrageous as the outside world says.
wishes this women’s volleyball veteran good health, peace and joy in the rest of his life.
