Passing on experience key to success: Lang

By Lu Wenao Source:Global Times Published: 2019/10/13 21:13:40

‘It takes team efforts to win championships,’ says Iron Hammer


China's women's national volleyball team general coach Lang Ping gestures on Sunday in Beijing. Photo: Lu Wenao/GT

China's women's national volleyball team ­general coach Lang Ping said older players passing on their experiences to younger players was the key to the team's recent triumphs.

"It takes team efforts to win championships," Lang told reporters during a training session for younger players on Sunday in Beijing. "Passing on experience from our older players to the younger generation is the key for Chinese women's volleyball to stay at world top level."

The women's national team won its fifth FIVB World Cup title with 11 ­consecutive match wins last month in ­Japan. The team now had 10 major world titles.

From 1981 to 1986, China's women's national team won two World Cups, two World Championships and Olympic gold, earning a nationwide reputation for their hardworking attitude and relentless efforts. 

"It's a great encouragement for us as the whole country loves the national team," Lang said. "But I think the national teams of table tennis and diving also deserve credit as they are always dominating."

The "Iron Hammer" noted that she urged her players to learn from past teams to achieve their "mission" at the Tokyo Olympics, where China will be the defending champions in women's volleyball.

Lang Ping (left) and Zhu Ting Photo: Courtesy of organizers

At the training center of the national team in Beijing, a giant billboard inside the arena reads "Everything starts from zero after stepping down from the podium."

After their recent win at the World Cup in Japan, the national volleyball team received wide applause. 

They appeared on a float at the ­National Day parade at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing, as Lang did in 1984 when she was a player with the team ­after winning gold at the 1984 Olympic Games. 

"It was my second time participating in the National Day parade," Lang said. "But it's more stunning this time as the atmosphere is more fervent and our country has developed a lot." 

Outside spiker Zhu Ting, who became the team skipper in 2017, has played a key role in the national team's recent success. She has been named MVP at multiple events since debuting for the senior team in 2013 when she was 19.

"I think I am more composed these years, both mentally and physically and I can help my teammates," Zhu told reporters. 

Now 24, Zhu has returned to the domestic volleyball league after spending three seasons aboard with Vakıfbank Istanbul in Turkey.

A movie depicting the legends of the national women's volleyball team is set to hit cinemas on the first day of next Chinese Lunar New Year (Januray 25, 2020), with both Lang and Zhu featured in the movie.

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