Official Arrest! The Highest Official Position in Chinese Sports to Date, Deeply Affected Liu Guoliang and Cai Zhenhua
Introduction
On December 19, 2024, CCTV reported that Gou Zhongwen, the former director of China's General Administration of Sport, had been arrested. As the "top leader" in the sports world, Gou Zhongwen's actions during his tenure deeply affected Liu Guoliang and Cai Zhenhua. Since Gou Zhongwen was placed under investigation in May, there has finally been a result. So, what did Gou Zhongwen do during his tenure that made netizens pay so much attention?
Parachuted Director
The name Gou Zhongwen first appeared in front of the public in 2016. At that time, Liu Peng, the director of the General Administration of Sport, was in the period of stepping down and making way for others. Among those capable of taking over, the most hopeful was Cai Zhenhua. Because Cai Zhenhua had participated in events such as the World Table Tennis Championships and the Olympics in his early years, winning many world championships. Famous figures in the table tennis world like Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui were all his students. Therefore, people generally believed that the next director of the General Administration of Sport would be him. However, the result was that an electronic information department dean named Gou Zhongwen was parachuted in to directly replace Liu Peng's position. When this announcement came out, everyone who cared about this matter was stunned. After all, everyone knows that to lead a specific group of people, one generally looks for a suitable manager within that group. But this time, someone who knew nothing about sports was parachuted in to manage, and after Gou Zhongwen took office, he directly wielded the axe to reform the sports world, and the first cut fell on Cai Zhenhua. At that time, Gou Zhongwen not only did not consult Cai Zhenhua on this knowledge, but even felt that Cai Zhenhua was very obtrusive in the sports bureau, directly transferring Cai Zhenhua to the All-China Federation of Trade Unions to serve as vice-chairman. However, this was not the end. Since it was a new group, using his own capable people was inevitable, so he began to carry out a major reshuffle of the sports world's managers.
Strike Controversy
The first cut of this reshuffle fell on Liu Guoliang, who was at the peak of his fame at the time. Liu Guoliang was then the head coach of the national table tennis team and also the core figure of the team. However, Gou Zhongwen directly abolished Liu Guoliang's position as head coach and, to prevent Liu Guoliang's prestige from affecting himself, transferred Liu Guoliang to serve as vice-chairman of the Table Tennis Association. This meant that Liu Guoliang was nominally promoted but could no longer manage the front-line national team, with a chairman above him, leaving Liu Guoliang unable to do anything. If he were to appoint others to manage the national table tennis team later, everything about the national table tennis team would be decided by him. However, what Gou Zhongwen did not expect was that this move aroused the dissatisfaction of everyone in the national table tennis team. It happened to coincide with the 2017 ITTF World Tour, which was being held in China. However, the national table tennis team members chose not to participate in order to show their dissatisfaction with Liu Guoliang's transfer. They collectively posted online to complain about the reasons for not participating in the competition, directly exposing Gou Zhongwen's actions. However, their protest did not immediately bring Liu Guoliang back, and they even received some punishment. As a result, Ma Long and others could only post apology letters online to ease the situation. Seeing that he could not reform the national table tennis team, Gou Zhongwen extended his hand to other areas.
Reform Rampage
In 2020, Gou Zhongwen wanted all domestic athletes to develop comprehensively, and he directly required all athletes to have explosive power and endurance. Gou Zhongwen also stated that if these tests were not met, then they would not be allowed to participate in competitions. This seems to be good for the athletes, but in reality, it brought significant disadvantages to some athletes. For example, diving athletes need strict control over their physique and weight, but if diving athletes increase their explosive power, they must increase their muscle mass, which will lead to an increase in weight, causing larger splashes when diving. However, Gou Zhongwen ignored these issues and insisted on implementing this plan. Therefore, from that time on, we often found that some outstanding athletes were无缘赛场的事情发生。If these things were not enough to get Gou Zhongwen punished, then for matters involving the national football team, he could not escape even if he wanted to.
Absurd Reform
Everyone knows that the reputation of the national football team has always been poor. Gou Zhongwen wanted to improve the performance of the national football team to reverse his own unsavory past. In fact, having this wish is still good. If he really succeeded, it would not only restore his reputation but also allow him to firmly hold the position of director of the General Administration of Sport. However, he directly stated in the Chinese Super League and China League One that as long as local players scored, that goal could count as 1.5 goals. Upon hearing this, netizens were all amused. If Gou Zhongwen implemented this rule, local players would only need to kick in a few goals to win, and their face would be lost in front of the world. Therefore, after Gou Zhongwen said this, the entire Football Association opposed this proposal. Finally, in 2022, Gou Zhongwen chose to step down because of his lackluster performance. After stepping down, Gou Zhongwen served as deputy director of the Ethnic Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and worked there until May 2024, when he was investigated for involvement in the Li Tie case. In December 2024, the superior authorities issued an order to expel Gou Zhongwen from both positions, thus ending his career.
Conclusion
Regarding Gou Zhongwen's affairs, many people find it laughable. After all, a person with no sports knowledge was directly parachuted into the General Administration of Sport and reformed the sports world based on his own ideas. This situation inevitably fails to produce any good results. There are people around him who understand these matters, yet he does not seek their advice. Ultimately, everything he does will become a laughingstock.
References
Hongxing News - December 12, 2024, "Gou Zhongwen, Former Director of the General Administration of Sport, was 'Double Expelled,' and the notification stated that he seriously disrupted the political ecology of the sports system."
Beijing News - June 20, 2017, "Liu Guoliang no longer serves as head coach of the national table tennis team and is appointed as vice-chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association."
