A Rising Star Stands for the Future of Chinese Women’s Volleyball

Li Yingying， a young female athlete in the spotlight in the volleyball field， was born as a gifted player． At the age of 10， she was selected as a junior player and began training in north China’s Tianjin．  

In 2010， Wang Baoquan，head coach of the Tianjin volleyball team，discovered the talented girl in northeastern China and brought her to Tianjin for training．Rigorous training andhomesickness sometimes prevented Li from adjusting properly to the new environment，but shehas always been dedicated to the sport．

Over the past dozen years， Li，now22， has overcome various difficulties and emerged asaleadplayerinChinese women’s volleyball team．

Her efforts paid off． In Chinese Women’s Volleyball League 2017－2018， shebrokethe previous recordby scoring 45 points inasingle game．

“I was very confident at the beginning of my volleyball career， not afraid of anyone． I was very bold and had a strong desire to win，” said Li．

In this video， Li’s experience was recounted through her own narrative． Shejoined the national volleyball team as an ambitious young player but encountered a major setback in 2018 when she foundher performancewas holding the team back．

With encouragement from Lang Ping， the head coachof the national women’s volleyball team， she regained confidence and perked up．

“I think it’s normal to experience wins and losses in competitive sports，” she said．“The fighting spirit of the women’s volleyball team has to go on．”