Chinese Women's Volleyball Team is the only team among China's men's and women's three major ball sports to have reached the highest podium at the Olympics. Therefore, we are always eagerly anticipating their performance at each Olympic Games, hoping that they can recreate their past glory. However, from finishing ninth at the Tokyo Olympics to fifth at the Paris Olympics, although they did not remain stagnant, the results were far from our expectations. The team's injuries were one issue, but it also seemed that there were problems within the team itself. Especially during interviews, the team constantly emphasized unity and even organized military training, which made us feel that things might not be as they appeared on the surface. This feeling was particularly strong after the Olympic roster was announced, as it did not seem to be the optimal choice.
Not long ago, Gou Zhongwen, the former top official of the General Administration of Sport, was investigated, followed by issues in basketball and football, which made us vaguely sense that the volleyball circle might also need to undergo some testing. On January 10th, a significant announcement was made: Li Quanqiang, the former head of the Volleyball Management Center, was under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law. Li Quanqiang became the director of the Volleyball Management Center after our victory at the Rio Olympics in 2017 and retired from his position in August 2022. At that time, Lai Yawen was the deputy director, and after Li Quanqiang's retirement, Lai Yawen officially succeeded him as the director and party secretary of the Volleyball Management Center.
During Li Quanqiang's tenure, our women's volleyball team's ninth-place finish at the Olympics was also the worst result in history. Now it seems that this was not just an issue with the players and coaches. Li Quanqiang rose from being the leader of the women's volleyball team to becoming the director, and his most memorable move was banning players from entering the entertainment industry. It must be said that the investigation of this big corruption in Li Quanqiang is truly gratifying, and we believe that his crimes will soon be revealed, allowing us to understand the extent of his negative impact on the women's volleyball team. When Li Quanqiang was the director, Lai Yawen was the deputy director, and whether Lai Yawen could remain unscathed is still a question mark. However, after the opening match of the排超联赛 (Volleyball Super League), Lai Yawen has not been seen again.
Even at such an exciting event as the Women's Volleyball Club World Championship, we did not see Lai Yawen. Both Li Quanqiang and Lai Yawen are from Liaoning, so we do not know if there is any connection behind this. We hope that they have clearly drawn the line. Lai Yawen was a leading figure in the Chinese women's volleyball team in the 1990s. After retiring, she has remained with the national team. Under Lang Ping's leadership of the women's volleyball team, Lai Yawen became Lang Ping's assistant coach, mostly appearing in a behind-the-scenes role. In fact, she did not have any outstanding achievements as a player; she only won an Olympic gold medal following Lang Ping. Now that she holds a high position, it may also attract some controversy. Let's wait for further reports for more details.
