CGTN专访中国女排主教练郎平：专注做好自己的事

中国女排刚刚结束了为期四个月的高强度训练。由于2020年东京奥运会的延迟，女排教练郎平带领女排稍作休息，让女排在下周回归赛季之前进行调整。

当被问及休息的原因时，郎平说女排必须尽快调整心态，让球员有足够的休息时间，也是为了帮助他们适应长时间的训练。

郎教练解释说：“因为没有比赛，几个月来每天的训练都非常辛苦。通常，训练一段时间，参加比赛，就能看到发生了什么，可以为下次训练做一些调整。但现在看来，让运动员时刻保持在最佳竞技状态的训练可能会很长。”

“奥运会的延迟，运动员的竞技积极性会下降，本来你计数，有一百三十天，突然又有四百三十天，甚至更多。”

对于中国女排来说，这是一个艰难的处境，但对她们来说幸运的是，她们有郎平作为主教练，她比任何人都知道如何在艰难的情况下努力训练，并保持毅力和耐心。

The Chinese women's national volleyball team just finished their four-month intensive training. With the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games pushed back for a year, the team's coach, Lang Ping, arranged a short break to allow the ladies to adjust before coming back for the next season next week.

Asked about the rationale behind taking a break, Lang Ping said changes had to made as soon as possible, not just to give the players some time to rest but also to help them mentally adjust to the long training period.

"Because there is no competitions, training is very hard to go on every day for months," Lang explained. "Normally, you train for a while and then join the competition. Then you can see what is going on there. You can make adjustments for your next training. But right now, it seems that this training can be really long."

China defeated Serbia 3-1 in the final at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, pocketing its first Olympic gold medal after a 12-year dry spell. The team had been training hard to hit that goal again at the Tokyo 2020, only to be told the Games were pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lang Ping reacts on the sidelines of the court during the 2016 Rio Olympics Women's Volleyball gold medal match between China and Serbia in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 20, 2016. /VCG

"The motivation goes down. You were counting; there were a hundred and thirty days, and suddenly, it was 430 days, or even more. So you just go, hey, wait a minute, what's going on here," Lang said.

It is a difficult situation for the Chinese women's national volleyball team, but luckily for them, they have Lang as head coach, and she knows better than anyone how to train hard and be persistent and patient in harsh situations.

"When I was young, we've been training in this way. Of course, it was like 30 years ago," said Lang, who was the ace spiker with the Chinese women's volleyball team during the 1980s. The team had an incredible winning streak in the '80s, earning several top awards, including the gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games and two World Championships in 1982 and 1986.

"As the coach, you have to get the right rhythm. (It is important to know) what you can talk to the players, what they may think," Lang said.

According to the latest International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB) ranking, the Chinese women's volleyball team topped the list, leading other women's volleyball powerhouses like the United States and Brazil. However, according to Lang, China's ranking is not that important.

"It is very important how you arrive for every tournament," she said. "We are looking for, hopefully, for the Olympic Games, we can still have a chance to go to the medal round."

"We don't like to say much about what just happened. You don't want to see history. You want to look forward. Just concentrate going your own way," she said.

Lang Ping hugs Chinese women's volleyball player Ding Xia after winning the 2016 Rio Olympics Women's Volleyball Gold Medal Match between China and Serbia in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 20, 2016. /VCG

Lang will be 60 by the time the postponed Tokyo Olympics finishes. She has already confirmed that she will retire after the Games next year and said she plans to travel and spend time with her family.

"I hope I am still healthy. I have more years to travel, to have a life with my daughter or her family. A lot of thinking, a lot of the future. I want to plan to enjoy life," she said.

When asked if there is any possibility that she would change her mind and continue coaching upon completion of the Games, Lang laughed it off at first, saying, "I don't think so. It is going to be a very hard decision to continue."

But she later left a little bit of leeway and said half-jokingly, "Okay, I will keep a little door open."

Lang attributes her success to two things. "One, I love volleyball. It's my life. I have been through so many moments. Of course, I collect a lot of experience," she said. 

"The second is I have those experiences to give to the team. Also, I was an athlete; it is a very important experience. So, you can put your experience through their position to think about what they might achieve. You better see their future and have very strong confidence in them to push them to achieve their goal."

"I always want to do my best, and I look forward to the players doing their best every day," Lang said.

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