The world of sports has long been regarded as a "utilitarian" paradise. It is common to blindly pursue victory, at any cost, even at the expense of young people's development opportunities. The material selection turmoil of the Chinese women's volleyball team has once again triggered the outside world's reflection on this phenomenon.
The upcoming Paris Olympics in 2024 is the best time for the Chinese women's volleyball team to continue to dominate on the world stage. As one of the most high-profile projects, the women's volleyball team undoubtedly bears the expectations of the whole country. But at the critical moment, a decision by the number one coach Cai Bin caused strong dissatisfaction among fans.
Wang Yunrui, a main attacker from the Beijing women's volleyball team, was personally trained by Cai Bin for 3 years. As an important member of the main lineup of the Chinese women's volleyball team at that time, Wang Yunrui should be the best candidate for the Olympic squad. However, in the final selection process, Wang Yunrui was ruthlessly abandoned and finally missed the Olympic squad. In their place are two young players with modest backgrounds - Zhuang Yushan and Wu Mengjie.
This decision immediately sparked a strong reaction from public opinion. Fans were puzzled and questioned what Cai Bin was doing? Is he going to use national honor as an experiment?" wasted 3 years of resources in vain", netizens angrily accused.
What's going on? Why did a highly anticipated "love general" finally escape his fate? What is the basis for Cai Bin's decision? What's the secret behind it? This incident undoubtedly cast a shadow on the future development of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
Cai Bin's dream of "love general".
Let's first review the cause and effect of this incident.
In 2021, with star players such as Zhu Ting and Zhang Changning temporarily unable to return to the national team, the Chinese women's volleyball team urgently needs fresh blood injection. As the number one coach, Cai Bin naturally shoulders this heavy responsibility. And his choice fell on Wang Yunrui from the Beijing women's volleyball team.
Although Wang Yunrui was not very famous at the time, in Cai Bin's opinion, she definitely had the potential to become the next main attack. Therefore, Cai Bin decided to train her personally, hoping that she could grow into the backbone of the Chinese women's volleyball team as soon as possible.
In this regard, Cai Bin can be described as painstaking. He not only personally guided Wang Yunrui's technical and tactical training, but also spared no effort to give her support and encouragement in all aspects. Under the cultivation of Cai Bin, Wang Yunrui has made significant progress in a short period of time, and has gradually gained more opportunities to play.
This has certainly won the approval of the fans. In the absence of Zhu Ting and Zhang Changning, Wang Yunrui has become an important support for the main attacker of the Chinese women's volleyball team. Although her performance still has some shortcomings, it has been greatly improved compared to before.
For Cai Bin, this is undoubtedly a very successful case. He valued and nurtured a young player who eventually led her to become a regular for the national team, which is undoubtedly one of the coach's greatest achievements.
At that time, the outside world also generally believed that as long as Wang Yunrui could continue to improve, I believed that with her potential, she would be able to play an important role in the future events and win glory for the Chinese women's volleyball team.
However, it's not that simple.
Decision-making at the moment of truth
In 2024, the much-anticipated Paris Olympics are just around the corner. As one of the current powerhouses of the world women's volleyball team, the Chinese team is undoubtedly the favorite to win the championship.
At this point, Cai Bin is faced with a crucial choice - how should the final Olympic squad be determined?
In the eyes of many people, Wang Yunrui should be the first choice. After all, she is the "love general" that Cai Bin focuses on cultivating, and she has made great progress in the previous competition. In addition, Zhu Ting and Zhang Changning had not fully recovered at that time, and Wang Yunrui was undoubtedly the current core of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
But surprisingly, when the Olympic squad was finalized, Wang Yunrui's name did not appear. Instead, there are two young players from the Beijing women's volleyball team - Zhuang Yushan and Wu Mengjie.
The decision immediately sparked a backlash from fans. They wondered, why did Cai Bin give up the "love general" he had personally cultivated for 3 years, and instead chose two relatively unknown newcomers? Isn't this "experimenting with national honor"?
In this regard, Cai Bin's explanation is that Wang Yunrui's performance is too poor and has not been able to meet the standards of the national team. In contrast, although Zhuang Yushan and Wu Mengjie lack experience, their talent and potential have been affirmed and are worth a try.
These words undoubtedly made the fans even more angry. They think that since they were optimistic about Wang Yunrui 3 years ago, why should they give up now? Shouldn't she be given more opportunities to prove herself? Moreover, Zhuang Yushan and Wu Mengjie already lack experience in the competition, and will it cause huge pressure to let them take on heavy responsibilities as soon as they come up?
Cai Bin has never given a clear explanation for these doubts. He just repeatedly stressed that his choice was in the best interest of the national team and hoped that the fans would understand.
But in the eyes of many, Mr. Cai's decision does not seem reasonable. Is it possible to train a player for 3 years and finally abandon her at a critical moment, is this the so-called "for the sake of the national team"?
Suddenly, this incident swept the entire sports circle, and fans expressed their dissatisfaction with Cai Bin. Some people think that he is so obsessed with his dream of "love general" that he ignores the principle of objective judgment. What's more, they directly question, does this mean that the future of the Chinese women's volleyball team is already worrying?
I have to say that this incident has indeed damaged the image of the Chinese women's volleyball team to a certain extent. As the leading coach of the national team, Cai Bin's decision not only aroused doubts among fans, but also made the outside world worry about the future development of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
It is not difficult to see that there is a deeper problem behind this incident - that is, the "utilitarian" tendencies that are prevalent in the world of sports.
As we all know, the sports circle has always been the place where the "desire to win" is the strongest. Both coaches and athletes must always be ready to bring glory to their country and do their best to achieve their goals. In this context, "consequential heroes" have often become a common criterion.
For Cai Bin, Wang Yunrui's choice is undoubtedly because of her "potential". Through 3 years of careful training, he believes that Wang Yunrui will eventually grow into the main core of the Chinese women's volleyball team. But at the most critical moment, her performance disappointed him. So, out of the desire for victory, Cai Bin had to make the decision to "give up".
This is precisely the logic of "utilitarianism" that prevails in the world of sports. Here, the outcome always takes precedence over the process, and short-term benefits often trump long-term development. As long as you can win glory for the country, everything else can be ignored.
But the question is, is this really justified?
It is not difficult to see that Cai Bin's decision did cause strong dissatisfaction among fans. They think that since they were optimistic about Wang Yunrui 3 years ago, why should they abandon her now? This is not only a waste of resources, but also a play on the honor of the country.
For Zhuang Yushan and Wu Mengjie, the two young players, their situation is not too optimistic. Suddenly being pushed into such an important position will undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on them. After all, they lack major tournament experience and have a long way to go to prove themselves at a top-level event like the Olympics.
Therefore, it is not difficult to find that the underlying issues behind Cai Bin's decision are far more complex and thorny than they seem on the surface.
Blindly pursue victory, at all costs
This situation is not unique to the Chinese women's volleyball team. In fact, in the world of sports, this "utilitarian" thinking is ubiquitous and has become a widespread problem.
It is not difficult to find that whether it is football, basketball or other sports, coaches often give more opportunities to those "powerful" players in the selection of materials, and often do not pay much attention to some potential stocks.
This approach does lead to better results in the short term, but in the long run, is it really conducive to the sustainable development of sports?
We might as well return to the case of the Chinese women's volleyball team. If Cai Bin really insisted on cultivating Wang Yunrui and giving her more time and opportunities, maybe she would finally be able to grow into the main offensive core of the Chinese women's volleyball team. Even if her performance may not be satisfactory in the short term, in the long run, this is undoubtedly more beneficial to the future development of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
After all, the development of sports requires not only immediate achievements, but also long-term training and investment in talents. Is there really nothing wrong with blindly pursuing the immediate victory while ignoring the future?
Of course, we can't completely dismiss Cai Bin's decision. After all, as the coach of the national team, he must first and foremost think about the interests of the national team. If Wang Yunrui's state really can't meet the needs of the national team, then it is understandable to give up on her.
But the question is, did Cai Bin really give Wang Yunrui enough time and patience? Is she really at the level she should be, and is it just a subjective judgment of the coach? Moreover, why did Cai Bin choose two completely inexperienced newcomers to take on such a heavy responsibility, isn't this adding huge pressure to himself and the players?
These questions can't help but make people question Cai Bin's decision-making. After all, it is not advisable to blindly pursue immediate achievements and ignore long-term development.
From a broader perspective, behind this problem is a reflection of a deep-seated problem that is prevalent in the world of sport – that is, excessive "utilitarian" tendencies.
In this circle, both coaches and athletes must always be ready to bring glory to the country and do their best to achieve their goals. But the question is, is this really good for the long-term development of sports?
Let's look at other areas. In the fields of scientific research and education, people often pay more attention to the long-term training and investment of talents, rather than blindly pursuing immediate achievements. Because they understand that only through continuous investment and patient waiting can they truly cultivate outstanding talents and drive the progress of the entire industry.
In sports, on the contrary, there is more short-termism and utilitarianism here. It is common to blindly pursue victory, at any cost, even at the expense of young people's development opportunities.
This approach is undoubtedly problematic. Because the development of sports requires not only immediate achievements, but also long-term training and investment in talents. It is probably not advisable to blindly pursue the present victory and ignore the future development.
Rebuilding the values of sport development
So, how can you solve this problem? I believe that the first thing is to fundamentally rebuild the values of sports development.
Specifically, we need to move away from purely "utilitarian" thinking and instead pay more attention to long-term training and investment in talent. This will not only give young players more opportunities to develop, but also contribute to the sustainable development of sports.
Taking the case of the Chinese women's volleyball team as an example, if Cai Bin really insisted on cultivating Wang Yunrui and giving her more time and opportunities, maybe she would finally be able to grow into the main core of the Chinese women's volleyball team. Even if her performance may not be satisfactory in the short term, in the long run, this is undoubtedly more beneficial to the future development of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
After all, the development of sports requires not only immediate achievements, but also long-term training and investment in talents. It is probably not advisable to blindly pursue the present victory and ignore the future development.
Rebuilding the values of sport development
So, how can you solve this problem? I believe that the first thing is to fundamentally rebuild the values of sports development.
Specifically, we need to move away from purely "utilitarian" thinking and instead pay more attention to long-term training and investment in talent. This will not only give young players more opportunities to develop, but also contribute to the sustainable development of sports.
Taking the case of the Chinese women's volleyball team as an example, if Cai Bin really insisted on cultivating Wang Yunrui and giving her more time and opportunities, maybe she would finally be able to grow into the main core of the Chinese women's volleyball team. Even if her performance may not be satisfactory in the short term, in the long run, this is undoubtedly more beneficial to the future development of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
After all, the development of sports requires not only immediate achievements, but also long-term training and investment in talents. It is probably not advisable to blindly pursue the present victory and ignore the future development.
At the same time, we also need to establish a more scientific and reasonable material selection and training mechanism. When selecting talents, we should not only be limited to the current performance, but should pay more attention to the potential and development space. At the same time, in the development process, it is also necessary to give young players enough time and patience, rather than blindly pursuing quick results.
Only in this way can we truly cultivate a group of outstanding athletes with sustainable competitiveness and inject lasting impetus into the future development of sports.
Of course, this requires the joint efforts of the whole society. As managers and decision-makers in the world of sports, they should be more aware of the importance of this issue and take action. Ordinary viewers and fans should also support the growth of these young players with a more inclusive and understanding attitude.
Only in this way can we truly achieve the sustainable development of sports, so that these young people will no longer be ruthlessly abandoned on the road to pursue their dreams.
Finally, I would like to emphasize once again that this is not only a problem faced by the Chinese women's volleyball team, but also an important problem that is common in the entire sports world. We need to fundamentally rethink this excessive "utilitarian" thinking and establish more reasonable and humane values for sports development.
Only in this way can our sports career truly move towards a better future.