Chinanews.com, Tianjin, January 25th, title: Li Yingying: Fighting to the peak, never forgetting the original intention
Author: Zhang Shaoxuan
"Happy New Year. I'm watching a variety show with my mother. It's so comfortable to go home for the New Year. I'm in my hometown to pay New Year's greetings to the folks in Tianjin!" On the other end of the phone, Li Yingying's background sound was a little noisy, and she could still hear it vaguely. There were all kinds of laughter and laughter, and from the tone of voice, it could be heard that she had a very happy New Year.
Today, 20 years ago, on January 25, 2003, the Tianjin women's volleyball team won the league championship for the first time. When the players hugged each other excitedly to enjoy the joy of victory, Li Yingying, who was born in Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, was still a little under 3 years old. Baby, I don't know what volleyball is, let alone that my future self will have an indissoluble bond with the city of Tianjin.
Li Yingying holds the 2022-2023 Chinese Women's Volleyball Super League championship trophy.
Photo by Tong Yu
On January 25, 2023, when a reporter called Li Yingying, who was celebrating the New Year at home thousands of miles away, and talked about this topic, Li Yingying joked that everything was destined.
"I play volleyball because of God's reward, and I was lucky enough to meet the coach of the Tianjin team. I came to this champion team, and now I am a member of the national team and gradually provoke the leader. It was volleyball that chose me. I also chose volleyball."
Li Yingying said that after she came to the Tianjin team, the first game the coach showed her was the video of the Tianjin team winning the championship for the first time.
Young and ignorant, I was so nervous that my palms were sweating. In the 15-point tiebreaker, when the Tianjin team fell behind at 9:13, the seemingly hopeless game finally turned around and defeated the Bayi Women's Volleyball Team, which was in full swing at that time, at 25:23.
Saving the ball again and again, saving the match point again and again, the blood-thirsty game, and the deafening sound of cheering at the People's Stadium all made her determined. I want to be a member of this team, and I love volleyball.
Li Yingying smashed the ball in the league.
Photo courtesy of Tianjin Sports Bureau
Standing at a high point, we must go all out
In the 2022-2023 season, the Tianjin team won the fifteenth league championship trophy in team history.
It seems to be going smoothly without any obstacles, with 22 consecutive victories in the season and 39 unbeaten games across the season. The Tianjin Women's Volleyball Team is already a king.
However, this Tianjin team is also silently changing from old to new.
Li Yingying, born in 2000, this young "veteran player" has gradually become the "backbone" of the team.
In the past leagues, you only need to focus more on offense and scoring. Li Yingying, who does her best, is more like the "panacea" of the team in the 2022-2023 season. She always thinks about protecting the team.
When the team encounters difficulties, they are the first to stand up and find a way to solve the difficulties.
"In the Tianjin team, what I learned the most is teamwork. Now I can use actions and words to encourage my teammates, drive their emotions, and have a greater sense of responsibility on my shoulders."
On the field, facing young players such as Chen Boya and Wang Yizhu who are inexperienced in the competition, Li Yingying always uses emotions to drive their technical performance when communicating.
Reminding the characteristics of tactics, exchanging technical moves during timeouts, shouting on the field, and mutual encouragement, she said that young people must play vigorously.
Li Yingying will use her spikes and saves to tell her young teammates to cherish the game and dare to show herself to be worthy of the field under her feet and the fans who have always supported volleyball.
Li Yingying participated in the Chinese Volleyball Super League.
Photo courtesy of Tianjin Sports Bureau
"I have also been a young player all the way, and I have always been instructed by the coach and cared by my sisters. The Tianjin team has been winning consecutively in the league that just ended, and it seems to be going well, but behind the scenes we will face every opponent and every game. Take it seriously, prepare carefully, and carefully analyze the characteristics of each opponent and the tactical play of each team. The victory is achieved because we have prepared well, so we can perform better on the spot, even if we encounter difficulties. It was panic. I know more and more what I should do on the court than before.”
The tempering of the Tianjin team and the experience of the national team have allowed Li Yingying to grow rapidly.
She said that every trophy she won is heavy, and they are an encouragement, reminding herself to constantly improve and improve.
The best way to face the sense of crisis is to try to make yourself stronger so that you are not afraid of any challenges.
Li Yingying said that standing on a high point is also like staring into the abyss.
She has been questioned and faced difficulties, but there is no shortcut to accumulating experience. She can only summarize herself through continuous participation in competitions, and hone her will and skills in the process of constantly affirming and denying herself.
Make yourself stronger and more calm.
"Whether in the national team or in the Tianjin team, training is the same for me. It is a process of learning and improving. Training does not depend on where you are. What is more important is the heart that needs to improve all the time. determination."
Listening to Li Yingying's voice, I can feel that she has a maturity and calmness beyond her peers.
This calmness is the spiritual inheritance accumulated by the Chinese women's volleyball team so far. One person is very small, but one's efforts are never mediocre, because she can infect more people and create a better future.
Li Yingying, who scored in the game, celebrated with her teammates.
Photo courtesy of Tianjin Sports Bureau
Beautiful girls are all the same
Li Yingying is very excited to be able to go home for the New Year this year. She has already planned her rare vacation as early as the end of the league.
Bear the brunt, of course, is to accompany the family and eat the meals made by my mother.
"After a year of busy work, I finally have my own time. Let's take a good rest first, and then summarize to welcome a new start. I can finally stay in bed, and the coach can't control me." Li Yingying said "dominantly".
Talking about the past when she first arrived in Tianjin, she said that she was only ten years old at that time, and Zhang Jingkun and other coaches simply raised herself as a daughter.
As a young boy, she has longing and longing for the future, but also anxiety and confusion about the unknown.
She will cry when she is tired from training, and wants to escape when she misses home, but the coaches and sisters of the Tianjin team are always by her side when she needs it.
"Then what's the secret? When raising a child, some people play red faces and others play black faces. After hard training, or being punished, take her out to have a good meal and play, and she will immediately feel better. Yingying She is a sensible girl, easy to coax." Tianjin women's volleyball team leader Zhang Jingkun said.
In the team, everyone is used to calling Li Yingying "sister", and she is still the favorite of the team so far.
And she also knows that volleyball is a team sport. Only when everyone understands and tolerates each other can the team achieve good results.
Li Yingying said that without the Tianjin women's volleyball team, she would not be where she is today. The Tianjin team practiced very hard, but this is like learning. Learning is like sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you will fall back.
In the first game against the Italian team in the 2022 World Championships, Li Yingying played very unsatisfactorily. As a main attacker, she said that she did not play the role she should have and did not adjust her mentality.
But along the way, she also learned to face it calmly, and she will be one step closer to success after encountering failure.
Li Yingying, who scored in the game, celebrated with her teammates.
Photo courtesy of Tianjin Sports Bureau
Being able to contribute to the Chinese women's volleyball team and the Tianjin women's volleyball team in her limited youth is what Li Yingying feels most fulfilled.
"To live up to my youth, I think this is enough. Besides, volleyball is my favorite sport. My youth has been on the way to pursue my dreams, and I feel quite fulfilled."
Finally, when talking about life and hobbies, Li Yingying returned to the liveliness of a little girl.
She loves food and loves to eat everything that is delicious.
She loves beauty. Like many girls, she likes to do manicures, hair, and eyelash extensions.
But it is a pity that these have to be removed during the competition, so she complained that the time she can be beautiful is too limited.
During the holidays, she will choose to travel and climb mountains.
In this way, all the negative energy can be released, just like her Weibo name, she is full of blood instantly, becoming "Little Yingying of Energy".
Li Yingying, who loves volleyball and loves life, and has gradually become the main force of the national team, always has the word "serious" engraved on her body.
She is young and full of vigor; she is calm and looks at the overall situation.
In life, there is the liveliness of a little girl, and in the arena, there is the demeanor of a king who gives me nothing.
The 2023 Paris Olympics volleyball qualifiers are about to start. In 2024, everyone is looking forward to the continued glory of the Chinese women's volleyball team where Li Yingying is.
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