Time always slips away from our fingertips inadvertently.
In the competitive sports arena, the
years have passed so that the young players have become the mainstay, but they have also left many scars on the veterans.
It is reported that on November 13, Yan Ni, the best deputy attacker of the Chinese women's volleyball team and known as the "Northern Great Wall", went to the Liaoning Provincial Sports Bureau to officially go through the formalities for her retirement.
Data map: Yan Ni is fast-breaking at the third position.
Photo by Tang Yanjun
Before the National Games in September, Yan Ni said on her personal social media platform that she would represent the Liaoning team. This is also the fourth time that Yan Ni has participated in the National Games.
This time, she was the standard bearer of the opening ceremony of the Liaoning delegation.
In the photos posted on social media, netizens sent good wishes.
Image source: Screenshot of Weibo comment.
Yan Ni
While watching the game, everyone slowly discovered that the bandage on Yan Ni's shoulder was getting thicker and thicker.
It may be time for Yan Ni to embark on a brand new journey after her first years.
But when this day really came, endless regrets still rushed to my heart, too many to express in words.
34-year-old Yan Ni, this time, may really be leaving the court.
Image source: Yan Ni Weibo.
Yan Ni, who was born in 1987, has been taller than girls of the same age since she was a child. After she became a volleyball player, she always went to Shenyang City Sports School to practice with her mother.
From her fledgling, to being selected for the Liaoning Youth Team, and then to becoming the main force in the team, her excellent movement speed and blocking skills allowed her to gradually show her head in the secondary offensive position.
In 2006, she was selected for the second national team to participate in the women's volleyball Asian Youth Championship and won the title of best block in the competition.
But if you talk about Yan Ni's high profile in the Chinese women's volleyball team, you have to mention Lang Ping's guidance.
Data map: Lang Ping.
In 2015, Yan Ni was selected for the Chinese women's volleyball team coached by Lang Ping
. She was close to 30 years old
at the time
.
After that, her outstanding performance in the national team
also made everyone give Yan Ni a "late bloomer" evaluation.
In the 2015 Women's Volleyball World Cup, Yan Ni played 8 games and scored 72 points, including 16 points for blocking.
The Chinese women's volleyball team also stood on the highest podium with 10 wins and 1 loss in 11 matches.
From helping the Chinese women's volleyball team to win the Rio Olympics champion in 2016 and once again ascending to the top of the world; to the successful victory in the Asian Games in Jakarta in 2018, to the title of best side attack in the 2019 Women's Volleyball World Cup.
Yan Ni became an out-and-out veteran of the team.
Data map: Yan Ni in the game.
With the passage of time, she did not move as quickly as she used to be on the field, but under the opponent's layers of defense,
her "back flying" was still sharp, and her block became a great weapon to stifle the opponent's attack.
When Yan Ni used solo blocks to end the opponent's offense again and again, when the camera was given close-ups on the scene, she seemed to have such a question on her helpless face: She is more than 30 years old, why can she still block my ball?
It was also the excellent performance in the blocking link in the competition that everyone gave Yan Ni the praise of the "Northern Great Wall".
An old house where a treasure
"Yan Ni is a veteran player with very rich experience. She has played a big role in blocking and has truly become the team's first line of defense." The veteran is pampered.
"Nier, if you don't protect it, go out and roll, and next time you will be solo defense." In a video widely circulated on social media, Lang Ping coached the players during training.
Facing Yan Ni, although Lang Guiding's mouth was quite harsh, his eyes were full of care and love.
Image source: Yan Ni Weibo.
Indeed, an old family is like a treasure. Under Yan Ni's precepts and deeds, the younger Yuan Xinyue, who is also a deputy attacker, is making rapid progress.
As a veteran, her contribution to the team is by no means only reflected in the data.
In a previous interview, Yan Ni said that her shoulders, knees, and waist were all plagued by injuries, and she was almost covered in injuries.
But in the face of this unavoidable problem in the competitive sports arena,
Yan Ni just said firmly, "It is incumbent to go all out."
For the young players in the team, this is undoubtedly a role model, and for everyone who pays attention to the Chinese women's volleyball team, hearing this sentence is like a reassurance.
That's what Yan Ni said, and she did the same.
Image source: Yan Ni Weibo.
Hard to say goodbye
"Life cannot be without regrets. Life without regrets is a kind of regret. What is important is not the final result, but the process of working hard, persevering, and giving all for the dream." This is the Chinese women's volleyball team returning from Tokyo. Later, Yan Ni wrote a paragraph when she was also preparing to go to the National Games.
Between the lines is a veteran's unremitting efforts towards his dream.
Image source: Screenshot of Yan Ni's social media.
On Yan Ni’s social media, sharing stories about volleyball occupies most of the content. It can be
seen that volleyball has become an indispensable part of her life.
After Yan Ni retired this time, netizens also sent warm wishes from the heart to the veteran.
Image source: Screenshot of Weibo comment.
What was revealed in the words was a tribute to the veteran, but also a reluctance to give up that memory.
Yan Ni, who jokingly said, "Except for the neck, other parts are wrapped with tape", which moved the fans too much, and the "Northern Great Wall" famous for blocking the game too many times made us excited.
This time, 34-year-old Yan Ni chose to bid farewell to the arena, but we want to say: Yan Ni, don't say goodbye!
(Author Liu Xingchen)