HONG KONG, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) — At the workplace of the China Sportsman (Hong Kong) Union, founder Chen Yaqiong spoke with calm dedication as she mirrored on her journey from the volleyball court docket to changing into a key determine in Hong Kong’s sports activities alternate.
Chen was a core member of the Chinese girls’s volleyball crew that received its first world titles and helped to usher within the crew’s golden period within the Eighties. After retiring, she settled in Hong Kong, the place she has lived for over 40 years, persistently selling sports activities alternate between the mainland and Hong Kong, and interesting in youth improvement and neighborhood actions.
In a current interview with Xinhua, Chen shared how her story, which started with glory within the Eighties, grew to become intently tied to Hong Kong’s sports activities improvement.
“The 1981 World Cup match between China and Japan was the most unforgettable memory of my life,” Chen mentioned. Despite an injured elbow, she quietly wrapped it to keep away from alarming her teammates and stayed within the recreation. During a block, the ball slammed into the wound, however she gritted her tooth and performed on via the ache.
Chen’s enjoying fashion was powerful and her bodily power stood out. “My teammates used to say I looked skinny, but inside I was as solid as steel. That’s how they came up with my nickname ‘Iron General’,” she mentioned.
The news of the Chinese girls’s volleyball crew profitable the World Cup in 1981 deeply impressed compatriots in Hong Kong and abroad Chinese communities.
After serving to China win the 1982 World Championships, Chen retired. She got here to Hong Kong to go to household and determined to remain. At the age of 26, she started working within the native sports activities sector and helped to advertise alternate between Hong Kong and the mainland.
Chen performed a key position in bringing the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix (renamed the FIVB Volleyball Nations League in 2018) to Hong Kong, and helped arrange visits by mainland Olympic champions.
On match days, the environment within the stadium was electrical, with followers waving flags and cheering for the Chinese girls’s crew. “Every figure and every cheer reflects Hong Kong fans’ love for volleyball, and even more, their deep affection for the Chinese women’s team,” she mentioned.
The former volleyball star additionally organized alternate packages for Hong Kong college students and elite athletes to go to the mainland. These actions continued for years, leaving a long-lasting impression on many college students and serving to them to construct curiosity and confidence in sports activities.
In 2005, Chen helped set up the China Sportsman (Hong Kong) Union, which now has round 600 to 700 members, together with former famend athletes like Li Ning and Fu Mingxia. She additionally promoted the founding of the Hong Kong Health Qigong Association, which has over 1,000 members. This yr, the Hong Kong delegation for the National Games’ Qigong efficiency was chosen from this group.
Chen believed that the spirit of the ladies’s volleyball crew facilities on perseverance, unity, and resilience. She hoped younger folks can study values and life attitudes via sports activities and apply them of their day by day lives.
“Sports training isn’t just about skills, it’s also about building character. The life lessons you learn through sports can benefit you for a lifetime,” she mentioned.