Last night, China's women's volleyball team had its fourth match in the preliminary round. Though the result of this match will have little effect on the fate of the Chinese team in this year's Olympics, the match still caught the attention of many volleyball fans both at home and abroad.
U.S. head coach Lang Ping talks to her players during their women's preliminary pool A volleyball match against Venezuela at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 13, 2008. [Agencies]
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The reason for the wide attention is simple: the US volleyball team, the opponents of China in their fourth match, are coached by Lang Ping, a famous retired Chinese volleyball player.
Lang Ping, brought up in Beijing, was one of the top three volleyball players in the Chinese team in the 1980s. She was the arch member of the Chinese volleyball team when they won a number of world champions five years in a row between 1981 and 1985. To many Chinese in their 30s and 40s, Lang Ping is the icon of the golden years of Chinese women's volleyball.
However, in February 2005, at the invitation of the US Volleyball Association, Lang Ping became the head coach of the US women's volleyball team, whose performance at that time was at a historic low. Two years later, the US team climbed out of the doldrums and returned to the rank of the world's top volleyball teams, according to a People's Daily report.
Insiders attribute the US team's progress to Lang's unique training method which draws upon traditional volleyball training from both the East and West. Many US volleyball players use the word "Great" to describe their Chinese coach. Thanks to Lang, women's volleyball in the US has also received unparallel attention from the international media.
Lang's decision made her a super hero in the US, yet for a period tainted her "great" image in her own nation.
Actually, the first few years after Lang made her decision to coach the US team, many Chinese volleyball fans showed deep misunderstanding. But, gradually, more and more Chinese people have started to look at the issue of Lang's coaching abroad in a different perspective.
Xinhua, China's official news agency, used the following headline on its website, "Lang Ping still fights for the honor of the motherland" on Saturday, right after Friday night's match when China lost the game to the US.
Its article said Lang Ping was an example of high-level sports professionalism, and that is why she had been asked to be head coach for the US.
Also Lang showed the Olympic spirit during Friday night's match. She defended the principle of fair play and didn’t play soft to her motherland, continued the story.
"Maybe the whole world still regards Lang as a 'symbol of China', and this night they will see the Olympic spirit of the Chinese people as well as their generosity, integrity and professionalism," wrote Xu Jiren, deputy secretary-general with Xinhua’s Olympic coverage team.
"Through Lang Ping, the whole world pays more respect to the Chinese people. Isn't this a new way that Lang is gaining honor for her motherland?" writes Xu.
But Nie Weiping, a long-term friend of Lang Ping's who is also a famous Chinese chess player, has been less complimentary.
"I really don't understand. Why don't they [Chinese] work for their motherland, instead of going to coach teams of other countries? Is it really interesting to see Chinese fight against Chinese?” said Nie August 5.
“Lao Nie and I were good friends before, but given that we haven't seen each other for more than a decade, it's natural he has different opinions,” Lang responded.
"If one day his child goes to the US and needs some help, I think by that time he will understand me," continued Lang, jokingly.
The Beijing News, a popular local newspaper in Beijing, carried a story titled "Shouldn't Lang coach the US team?". It recalls the motto of the Beijing Games and gives its title question a definite answer.
"The fact that Lang became the head coach of the US volleyball team, represents a Chinese success overseas. If she led the US team to play soft against the Chinese team, she would be disgracing her country," the comment piece continued.
The Beijing Games have used "One World, One Dream" as its motto, so it's time for Chinese people to think globally. Such thinking will only do good to the country. This was the opinion of The Beijing News.
I could not agree more with this the paper's comment. Whereever athletes work, home or abroad, together they put into action the motto of the Beijing Games. They are working together to realize the dream of all Olympians, that is, becoming "faster, higher, stronger" through fair play.
More Chinese coaches coaching foreign players
Li Mao, a former member of the Chinese badminton national team, became coach of the Korean men's badminton team in 1999. He trained Korean badminton player, Shon Seung Mo, who won a silver medal at the Athens Olympic Games.
After Athens, he worked for the Malaysian badminton team and has coached Li Chongwei, now a badminton star rivaling Lin Dan, China's No.1 badminton player.
Li returned to the Korean team at the beginning of 2006, this time as head coach of Korea's men's singles team. He has trained ParkSung Hwan.
Qiao Liang, now head coach of the US women's gymnastics team, is the trainer behind famous US gymnast Shawn Johnson, the silver medalist of the women's gymanstics all-around at this year's Beijing Olympic Games. Qiao started coaching Shawn when she was six.
Email:yangjie1@chinadaily.com.cn