Jiangsu Women's Basketball Team head coach Chen Xiaojia has finally returned to the court in this cold winter, a piece of news that has made many fans particularly happy because everyone knows it's not easy for her to still play at the age of 38.
Chen Xiaojia suddenly appeared on the bench during the match against Fujian Jinjiang Women's Basketball Team, stunning the fans at the scene because no one knew she would make an appearance in this game.
With just over four minutes left in the final quarter, she finally stood up, put on the familiar jersey and walked onto the court, a moment that was truly touching.
Her performance on the court was cautious, with no intention of shooting, but her passing and defensive awareness remained clear.
In those four minutes, she managed to grab two rebounds and two assists, which although not many, provided tangible help to the team.
During the game, she was knocked down by an opponent and lay on the ground for a long time before being able to get up, with medical staff entering the field to check on her condition.
Seeing this, the fans on the sidelines were sweating for her, after all, her recovery ability is indeed not as good as that of younger players due to her age.
After this game, many people said that Chen Xiaojia is really brave because she could have just been a coach without having to risk playing herself.
Last summer, the original head coach of Jiangsu Women's Basketball Team, Ding Tie, passed away due to sudden illness, shocking the entire basketball community.
The team decided during the off-season to let Chen Xiaojia take over as head coach because she had served Jiangsu Women's Basketball Team for more than fifteen years and knew the team very well.
Not only does she have rich WCBA experience, but she was also once a main player of the Chinese Women's Basketball Team and has played many games on the international stage.
This season, Jiangsu Women's Basketball Team loaned out many of its main players in order to give young players more opportunities.
Young players like Hu Xin Yu, Hong Xinyan, and Lu Ziwei have received many training opportunities this season, which is the painstaking effort of Chen Xiaojia.
She is different from Huang Si Jing of Guangdong Women's Basketball Team. Huang Si Jing now seems more like a player than a coach, with her playing time increasing instead.
Chen Xiaojia rarely plays on the court, she devotes more energy to cultivating young players, which is what a coach should do.
Now Jiangsu Women's Basketball Team has a record of 9 wins and 9 losses, ranking ninth in Group A, which is not ideal but not too bad either.
Chen Xiaojia is now recognized as the most beautiful head coach of the Chinese Women's Basketball Team, but she doesn't care about this title.
She is more concerned about how to lead this young team forward because the competition in Group A is really fierce.
Although all 12 teams in Group A can enter the playoffs this season, if they perform poorly in the playoffs, they may drop to Group B.
She originally had a chance to compete for the honor of the best coach, but it seems she might be a little short of the mark now.
For these honors, Chen Xiaojia doesn't seem to care too much, she values the long-term development of the team more.
She and Huang Jing of Shanghai Women's Basketball Team are the two oldest active players in the league, with Huang Jing still fighting on the court at the age of 39.
These two veterans interpret their love for basketball in their own way, they are role models for young players to learn from.
In this cold winter, Chen Xiaojia warmed the entire court with her own way, this is the charm of basketball.