Chinese-born coaches are increasingly finding success around the
world. From badminton to volleyball, they often end up being major
hindrances to China's sports dominance.
Now people are worried well-known Olympic diving coach Yu Fen
will join the list after her wish of returning to the national
diving team was rejected last weekend by the Swimming
Administrative Center (SAC), the sport's governing body.
But Yu, one of China's most successful diving coaches and
currently the coach of Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University,
dismissed the possibility of moving abroad, saying she is confident
she will be accepted by the national team again some day.
"I will not change my mind on returning to the national team. I
am sure I will stay and will not go abroad to coach another team.
If I had such kind of intention, I would have been a coach of an
overseas team 10 years ago," she said.
Yu is one of China's most influential diving coaches, having
trained four-time Olympic champion Fu Mingxia and reigning world
and Olympic champion Guo Jingjing.
But Yu left the national team after the 1996 Atlanta Games amid
rumors that she was clashing with current national team manager
Zhou Jihong.
Yu refused to accept the SAC's decision since she submitted the
application to the State General Administration of Sports, the
nation's top sports governing body.
"I am still waiting for the final decision from the State
General Administration of Sports," said Yu. "I do not know why the
Swimming Administrative Center just made the announcement on a
website rather than inform me directly.
"I believe I am still one of the best diving coaches (in China).
How come I cannot contribute to the national team for the
preparations of the Beijing Olympic Games? I will not give up. I
will keep doing my job in Tsinghua University and I believe one day
I will be back on the national team."
Yu surprisingly expressed her desire to return two weeks ago on
her blog, the first indication she wanted to return since leaving
her national team post more than a decade ago.
Her wish was widely supported and welcomed by media and fans,
but the SAC's Internet statement seemingly ruled out the
possibility.
"After the Athens Olympics, the national team developed very
well and achieved great accomplishments in big competitions," said
the SAC's statement. "Therefore, the current coaching staff is very
well structured and they are absolutely capable of leading the team
to win at the Beijing Games.
"Many good coaches from local teams have expressed their
intention to join the national team. But we should put the national
team's demands into top consideration."
But Yu doubted the statement's credibility, suggesting the
national team is short of good coaches.
"As far as I know, the national team has a coach older than 60.
He can't even pull the protection belt but he still has the job to
coach four important divers," Yu said. "Actually, the coach has
never developed an athlete into the national team all by himself.
How can they say the coaching team is well structured?"
Stellar career
Yu has a stellar coaching record to back up her confidence.
She coached Li Qing to a springboard silver medal at the 1988
Seoul Olympics, following it up by leading 13-year-old Fu to a
platform gold at Barcelona 1992 to turn Fu into China's best-ever
diver with doubles titles at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Two years after leaving the national team in 1996, Yu
single-handedly established a renowned diving club at Tsinghua
University.
Yu continued her success at the college level. She helped
then-retired Fu rediscover her form and sent her back to the
national team to win another Olympic gold at the Sydney Games in
2000. Yu also helped turn a group of student divers into some of
the nation's best. They, too, returned to the national team.
Current Olympic hopefuls He Zi, Lin Yue, Zhou Luxin, Wang Xin
and Yang Liguang, all highly fancied candidates for Beijing's final
lineup, are the quality products of Tsinghua's training system.
"All of them developed from nowhere to top-level world athletes
under my coaching. And another two members Guo Jinging and Lao
Lishi (both world and Olympic champions) were also my former
students. All the facts prove I have the ability to boost the
team's chance to sweep goal medals in the Beijing Games," Yu
said.
China's university training system has been a topic of hot
discussion since it is different from the national team's full-time
professional training system, which is frequently blamed for a lack
of education among young athletes.
Yu's student divers are not allowed to take part in any major
tournaments or Olympic trials because they are not part of the
state sports structure, so the best teen divers have to leave
school before being admitted to the national team.
But Yu, who once threatened to take her students abroad if the
national team continued to exclude them, said the university system
is not going against state structure and should be recognized as an
important part in developing the sport.
"Sometimes the national team will also meet difficulties. It is
of great help to have as many high-level diving teams like Tsinghua
University as possible. I hope we will get more supports because it
will help keep the sport's long-term development."
(China Daily January 30, 2008)