Recently, the news that Zheng Kunliang, the coach of Chinese swimming team's famous coach and Olympic champion Pan Zhanle, has been awarded the title of "Best Coach in Asia 2024" has attracted attention in the domestic sports circle. It is worth noting that this is the second consecutive year that the Chinese swimming team has won this honor. In 2023, the title of "Best Coach in Asia" went to Cui Dengrong, the coach of Zhang Yufei and Qian Haiyang. A year later, Zheng Kunliang once again won this award for the team. Netizens have left messages saying, "Congratulations to Coach Zheng, this is the best recognition for his silent efforts over the years!" "Helping Pan Zhanle win the Olympic gold medal and creating history for Chinese men's 100m freestyle at the Olympics, he deserves it!"
Zheng Kunliang was once a freestyle swimmer in China and achieved good results during his athletic career. At the 2005 National Games, Zheng Kunliang and his teammates won gold medals in the 4x100m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay events. After retiring, Zheng Kunliang taught at a sports vocational and technical college of a local team. According to relevant sources, during the Rio Olympic cycle, Zheng Kunliang actively cooperated with the training work of former Chinese swimming Olympic champion Sun Yang as an assistant coach, becoming one of the behind-the-scenes heroes of the latter's Olympic gold medal.
During the Tokyo Olympic cycle, Zheng Kunliang was nominated several times for the annual best coach in the domestic sports circle. In 2018, Pan Zhanle began to stand out in the Zhejiang team, and Zheng Kunliang served as his head coach. Under Zheng Kunliang's careful guidance, Pan Zhanle made visible progress in the freestyle event. At the 2019 Asian Junior Swimming Championships, Pan Zhanle won 1 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze medals. At the Shaanxi National Games, Pan Zhanle and his teammates won the gold medal in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay. At the 2022 Budapest World Championships, Pan Zhanle tied the national record in the men's 100m freestyle event.
At the 2023 Fukuoka World Championships, Pan Zhanle set new Asian records in the men's 100m freestyle, men's 4x100m freestyle relay, and men's 4x100m medley relay events. At the Hangzhou Asian Games, the outstanding Pan Zhanle successfully won the gold medal in the men's 100m freestyle. At the Paris Olympics, Pan Zhanle soared in the men's 100m freestyle final, helping the Chinese swimming team achieve a historic breakthrough. At the same time, Pan Zhanle also won the gold medal in the men's 4x100m medley relay.
As a result, Zheng Kunliang has completed the transformation from a gold medal coach to an Olympic champion mentor. In addition to Sun Yang and Pan Zhanle, Zheng Kunliang has also cultivated other well-known domestic swimmers such as Wu Yuhang and Fei Liwei. In this selection of the best coach in Asia, Zheng Kunliang won the final award without any suspense. In the previous selection, another meritorious coach of the Chinese swimming team, Cui Dengrong, won the award with the remarkable achievements of his beloved disciples Zhang Yufei, Qian Haiyang, etc. on the international stage. The Los Angeles Olympic cycle has already begun, and Zheng Kunliang will lead Pan Zhanle and others to continuously climb towards higher peaks!