Zeng Chunlei, born in Beijing in 1989, was first selected for the national women's volleyball team in 2009, began to appear in the international arena in 2012 and participated in the London Olympic Games with the team, replaced Hui Ruoqi as the captain of the 2015 World Cup, won the championship, and won the World Cup championship in 2019 with the Head Coach Lang Ping's Chinese Women's Volleyball Team.
| Author: Li Lulu
Zeng Chunlei, who was sitting in front of the "Global People" reporter, had a bright smile and a pair of big eyes. Unlike the passion and motivation that overflows when she fights on the field, she has more of a delicacy in life. "Big Flower Bud" is the nickname of the fans for her, but also her Weibo name, this smiling women's volleyball girl, with her own hard work and sweat, bloomed again and again on the field.
"The moment the national anthem sounds, my eyes will be moist"
Zeng Chunlei has loved volleyball since childhood. In the third grade of primary school, the coach of the sports school came to the school to select athletes, and Zeng Chunlei, who was of outstanding height, was favored at a glance and began his volleyball career. "After getting into volleyball, I found that I liked the sport, and although I was very tired during the training process, I really didn't think about giving up." Zeng Chunlei recalled. At that time, she was very well-behaved at a young age, the coach let her practice how to practice, her arms were swollen, she fell sore, she had torn her skin, and she never wanted to complain. Her parents were also very supportive of her daughter's choice to play, but asked her not to fall behind in the study of culture classes. When she returned home from vacation, her demanding family enrolled her in a cram school.
After rigorous training, Zeng Chunlei, who is talented, joined the national youth team at the age of 15. In 2009, the 20-year-old Zeng Chunlei was selected for the Chinese women's volleyball national team for the first time. After that, she quickly emerged with comprehensive technology and unique left-handed attack, and fought everywhere to serve the country. At the 2014 World Women's Volleyball Championship held in Italy, Zeng Chunlei served as the main force to receive the second pass, and won the runner-up with her teammates, creating the best record of the Chinese women's volleyball team in 16 years. In the 2015 World Cup, Zeng Chunlei replaced Hui Ruoqi, who was absent due to injury, became the captain of the Chinese women's volleyball team, and led the team to win the championship, and this "big flower bud" bloomed in a dazzling style on the field.
However, Zeng Chunlei's career has not been smooth. After the 2015 World Cup, she was affected by injuries, and although she continued to train until the last moments before the Rio Olympics, she regretted missing the Olympic Games. Zeng Chunlei's missed Rio Olympics caused a huge discussion among fans, and many people felt sorry for her. In this regard, Zeng Chunlei also has regrets: "Everyone went to the competition, I was alone at home, thinking a lot, and also precipitating a lot, the mentality was different." An athlete, when you turn around and leave because of injuries or other reasons, it is actually not easy to come back. I should cherish every moment on the field and cherish every day of playing. ”
Zeng Chunlei quickly adjusted her mentality, recuperated her body, and returned to the team. After that, she stood with her teammates in the 2017 Women's Volleyball Grand Champions Cup, and won the championship in the fourth round of the competition, which is also the Chinese women's volleyball team to win the Grand Champions Cup after 16 years.
On the occasion of the 2019 National Day parade, the audience watching the celebration suddenly discovered the Chinese women's volleyball team in the parade - under the leadership of Lang Ping, the women's volleyball girls took the last float to participate in the parade. Talking about this experience, Zeng Chunlei said excitedly: "I feel very honored to be able to take a float to participate in the National Day military parade and be received by General Secretary Xi Jinping. The general secretary exchanged views with the Chinese women's volleyball team, injected us with a shot in the arm, and added confidence to our investment in the next stage of training. ”
Zeng Chunlei and the women's volleyball girl participated in the 2019 National Day military parade under the leadership of Lang Ping.
Looking back on her career, when asked by reporters which of her matches was the most memorable, Zeng Chunlei said: "For us athletes, in fact, every game is very important and unforgettable. If the most important and memorable is the moment before the game when the national flag is raised and the national anthem is played. I've played so many games, whether it's international or domestic leagues, and every time the flag-raising ceremony, the moment I hear the national anthem, my eyes get wet. When we sing the national anthem quietly with the music, the mood is more exciting than standing on the podium, and the encouragement and excitement that the national anthem brings to our athletes is huge, leaving us with only one belief in our hearts, that is, I want to fight on the field, I want to win glory for the country! ”
The transformation of athletes
This year, a very special year for Zeng Chunlei, she was promoted to a mother, but she also missed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. For the fans who liked her, it was both a blessing for her new life and a regret for the interruption of her career. Getting married and having children is an insurmountable topic for female athletes, Zeng Chunlei, who has just experienced it, said: "Choosing a career is a state of life, and returning to the family is also a natural thing." Whether I play in the team or not, I can continue my love of volleyball and sports in different ways. ”
Zeng Chunlei and her husband's group photo.
Just last year, netizens noticed that Zeng Chunlei entered Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business for an MBA, and the topic of whether she was preparing for retirement also caused heated discussions. Transformation is the only way for every athlete. Zeng Chunlei told reporters that since this time, she is still understanding and groping to see which road is more suitable for her.
"Some athletes will transform into coaches, such as Lang Dao, who has been coaching since 2013 and has been with me for 8 years now, which has a great impact on me." Zeng Chunlei said, "Lang Dao is 61 years old this year, but she is very strict with herself, and sometimes when you see her on the field, you really forget her age." Female coaches are indeed a very unique existence, if you want to be a coach, to cultivate a group of children, you must do your best, maintain a high standard, in order to live up to the women's volleyball team, not to live up to the country. ”
There are also many athletes who have achieved good results in the commercial field after retiring. "When I enrolled in Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, I also gave myself a chance to study and explore the value of sports. From the perspective of teachers and classmates in the business school, understand their views on the sports industry. During this time, I absorbed a lot of new perspectives, broadened my horizons, and realized that the sports industry is a diversified industry with a lot of professional knowledge to learn. Zeng Chunlei said.
In addition to these conventional ways out, more and more sports stars appear in variety shows. In September 2020, Zeng Chunlei and retired women's volleyball players Hui Ruoqi, Wei Qiuyue, Wang Yimei, and Xue Ming made a stunning appearance on the hit variety show "Sister Riding the Wind and Waves", and sang the song "Into the Sea" together: "The wind urges us to leave, leaving laughter and tears... Jump into the sea of people together and be a rushing wave. ”
Zeng Chunlei and retired women's volleyball players made a stunning appearance in the variety show "Sister Riding the Wind and Waves" (from left: Hui Ruoqi, Wei Qiuyue, Zeng Chunlei, Wang Yimei, Xue Ming)
The appearance of the women's volleyball team members ignited the climax of the show, and netizens called one after another: "The women's volleyball sisters sang so well!" "You can get on the court, you can get on the stage; you can win the championship, you can sing." "The sisters are so good-looking, beautiful and sassy, let's make their debut in a group!" ......
Zeng Chunlei feels that the recording of this variety show is very fresh and meaningful: "Sports athletes taking the stage can bring some positive impact to society, and it is also a way to promote the positive energy of sports." She hopes to have more opportunities to promote the image of the women's volleyball team and publicize volleyball-related knowledge.
Sport will become a national sport
At this year's Tokyo Olympic Games, Yang Qian, a Chinese "post-00s" athlete and Tsinghua student who won the first gold medal, attracted attention. In addition to the aura of the Olympic champion, Yang Qianqing's identity as a student in tsinghua has made people turn their attention to the integration of sports and education. In 2020, the State General Administration of Sport and the Ministry of Education issued the "Opinions on Deepening the Integration of Sports and Education and Promoting the Healthy Development of Adolescents", aiming to "promote the coordinated development of youth cultural learning and physical exercise, promote the healthy growth and sound personality of adolescents, and cultivate socialist builders and successors for the all-round development of morality, intellectuality, physical fitness, beauty and labor". The policy of Yunnan Province to "increase the sports score of the middle school entrance examination to 100 points" is even more a stone to stir up thousands of waves.
Regarding the integration of sports and education, Zeng Chunlei is deeply touched, and her own growth experience is a vivid example of the integration of sports and education: "When I was a child in sports school, we would follow the students of ordinary primary schools to attend classes in the morning and return to the sports school in the afternoon to exercise. In simple terms, on the one hand, the integration of sports and education is to let our athletes supplement some cultural knowledge, not only to teach us cultural knowledge, but also to include relevant knowledge in professional fields, such as sports psychology, tactical analysis, etc., as well as knowledge related to the sports industry. I am now enrolled in Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, which systematically learns the business knowledge of the sports industry, which is also a kind of sports-education integration. On the other hand, the main purpose of the integration of sports and education is to make non-athlete students studying in schools active, let them exercise more, cultivate sports hobbies, and improve physical fitness. ”
Zeng Chunlei's husband, who is engaged in education work, told reporters: "Now many government functional departments in various places have piloted the integration of education and sports. For example, in 2020, in the institutional adjustment plan of Fuzhou High-tech Zone, the District Education and Health Bureau (Social Welfare Administration) corresponds to the Municipal Education Bureau, the Education Work Leading Group, the Health Commission, the Sports Bureau, and the University for the Elderly. Now the state advocates 'burden reduction', which also creates opportunities for physical exercise. The 'three balls' of football, basketball and volleyball have become the basic teaching content of the compulsory education stage in many regions. ”
As a professional women's volleyball player, Zeng Chunlei said: "Sports can exercise students' ability to resist pressure, and can also cultivate their teamwork spirit and sense of rules. She believes that in the future, sports will become a national project, and she will continue to walk on the road of sports, participating in the dissemination and promotion of sportsmanship in different ways.