The director of the National Sports General Administration Volleyball Management Center, Li Quanqiang, has been investigated by the sports bureau for serious violations of discipline and law. Li Quanqiang's investigation two years after his retirement has also raised doubts among the public about Lai Yawen.
After all, in the volleyball management center, Lai Yawen was once the second-in-command, and within nine years, two consecutive directors of the department were investigated and removed from office, which has made the volleyball management center itself a controversial place.
After two "leaders" were investigated and dealt with, Lai Yawen, as the top leader, instead joined the coaching team to serve as an assistant coach to Cai Bin, which is indeed confusing. After all, Lai Yawen is Cai Bin's superior, and now helping out is not without suspicion.
It must be said that whether it is Pan Zhichen, who is not a professional sports person but a private teacher, or Li Quanqiang, a sports person, they have both received widespread recognition from society. The former once served as the deputy director of the General Administration's Competitive Sports Department, while Li Quanqiang held office for 10 years.
It can be seen that both sides belong to the intertwined corrupt forces. Now that both sides have been investigated and dealt with one after another, it is inevitable to make people suspicious. When Pan Zhichen was in charge, he was very resistant to media interviews. The external reason was that he was not a professional and it was difficult to describe clearly.
Li Quanqiang, on the other hand, appeared in the media many times and was expected by many as a "reformer," but these two people violated the bottom line and principles and joined the ranks of corruption. As the top leader, it is impossible to act alone.
This is consistent with the opinion put forward by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, that is, "pulling out the radish and bringing out the mud, only by deeply advancing anti-corruption can the integrated coordination mechanism be implemented." Corruption in the sports world is a big problem and an area that the people are very concerned about, and additional measures cannot be taken.
After all, Pan Zhichen and Li Quanqiang participated in corrupt activities for two consecutive terms, and successor Lai Yawen needs to show determination and willpower to prove her innocence. Out of caution from previous betrayals, the public naturally suspects the former second-in-command.
Not to mention that Lai Yawen actually returned to the coaching team and became an assistant coach to her subordinates with the position of director. However, Lai Yawen's replacement of positions with Cai Bin can be traced. Cai Bin has been floating in the volleyball world for decades and has his own coaching philosophy.
Along the way, he has also been questioned. After the Chinese women's volleyball team encountered a cold spell at the Tokyo Olympics, Cai Bin could be said to have taken on the task at a time of defeat. Many media called the women's volleyball team a hot potato. With declining results and two directors of the center being corrupt, problems frequently occurred, which indeed made people talk about it with fear.
Who would have thought that the once glorious women's volleyball team would have so many dark sides? After Cai Bin took over as head coach, he did indeed bring about some changes in the women's volleyball team. The main reason is that Cai Bin came up with new strategies, focusing on team volleyball rather than individual volleyball, and not engaging in special treatment.
This allowed the women's volleyball team to achieve good results, finishing second in the 2022 World Women's Volleyball League. Compared with previous coaching, Lang Ping set a high standard, while the women's volleyball team at the Tokyo Olympics set the worst record and even failed to qualify, which is indeed disappointing and questionable.
Cai Bin took over under such circumstances, which can be considered as taking on the heavy burden of the women's volleyball team. However, chronic problems require strong medicine for treatment. In the Olympic qualifying tournament, the Chinese women's volleyball team failed to obtain direct qualification at the first opportunity, and in the 2024 World League, the Chinese women's volleyball team had a record of 5 wins and 3 losses.
Such results are worlds apart from the glorious moments of the women's volleyball team in the past, and it is natural for Cai Bin to be questioned. Although sports events need time to change the situation, under the current environment, investment in sports IPs is very popular, but the volleyball league is facing doubts.
Under the attention of all parties, the women's volleyball team's results have not been quickly reversed, and the mental pressure on Cai Bin has increased. It is understandable that some urgent emotions have emerged. For this reason, the women's volleyball coaching team invited Lai Yawen to join as a coach.
After all, Lai Yawen herself also served as an assistant coach to Chen Zhonghe and Lang Ping after retiring, ensuring professionalism, and with rich experience in competitions, it is obvious that the Chinese women's volleyball team intends to make some changes to regain trust.
However, the actual result is that when Lai Yawen joined the coaching team to prepare for the Olympics at the Hong Kong station, she failed to achieve results. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Chinese women's volleyball team did not even enter the top four. For a women's volleyball team that once had glorious moments, this is undoubtedly a moment of silence.
The aging lineup and single tactics have made the Chinese women's volleyball team obviously lagging behind. Fans believe that Cai Bin and others have many problems in personnel deployment. The few opportunities for substitutions did not change the situation, and Cai Bin lacks Olympic experience.
Even with the occurrence of two mistaken judgments by the referee, sports events have always been like this. Only by demonstrating strength can one avoid doubts; otherwise, it is difficult to convince the public. For Cai Bin, this is also an irreversible situation, and even turned strategy innovation into absurd operations.
Results are something that must be delivered in competitions; otherwise, the public finds it hard to recognize the corresponding coaching team. After all, the women's volleyball team used to have achievements. After changing coaches and not achieving results, it is natural to look for reasons outside the players, and Cai Bin has become the target of criticism.
Similarly, Lai Yawen serving as an assistant coach with the position of director, the original intention was to demonstrate the determination and will of the women's volleyball team's reform, but she was also widely questioned due to failing to reach the top four. Looking back now, it is also a sigh that it really corresponds to the saying "a hot potato."
The current women's volleyball team needs results to save face. Once they fail, it will further increase public pressure, and at the node where they receive more attention in the sports world, their disadvantages are magnified. This is a situation that many fans cannot accept, and they also hope to change the situation.
But as we said earlier, the innovation of sports events requires time, and major competition experience is not achieved overnight. We cannot always rely on veterans to carry the flag, but should cultivate new forces. Sports events themselves are competitive activities that alternate.
As a stage for the strong, everyone needs to keep moving forward. Therefore, we need to give more tolerance and expectations, and not amplify the pressure from outside the field, which will affect the state adjustment of the women's volleyball team. This is a very critical point.
Currently, the women's volleyball team is carefully preparing for the Olympics in Los Angeles, USA. For the next cycle of battle strategies, the women's volleyball team has also started research, and it is believed that they can bring us a new viewing experience. We also hope that the women's volleyball team can break through the doubts and return to the peak with this.
However, no matter what, the anti-corruption work related to the women's volleyball events must be strictly grasped and severely cracked down on to prevent the situation where the events fail due to external reasons. Otherwise, even if the women's volleyball team and the coaching team make real efforts, it will be difficult to achieve good results.