We know Liu Guoliang was an accomplished player and he is the head coach of the Chinese national table tennis team but what's next?
Frankly speaking, I planned to write about Liu Guoliang after Marvellous 12 because to Liu Guoliang, the trials were not just a competition to select athletes to compete in Worlds but a chance to promote the sport to the public and to try out new ways to maximize the value of the team. Yet my plan came to a halt due to many reasons until the start of 2017 World Championships (follow ITTV to watch the championships which will be ended on June 5) and the interview produced by CCTV5.
It is not easy to tell the story of Liu Guoliang in one go. I did think of writing 3 posts (Liu Guoliang as an athlete, a coach and a table tennis promoter) or reviewing the innovative competitions and activities suggested by him. However, no words are more legit than the words spoken from his own mouth. Also, it would be too superficial if we just look into the number of champion that he has won and coached or how interesting the competition formats are. As mentioned in one of his interviews, other people could hardly understand the full picture of the job of the head coach of the Chinese table tennis team but we can know more about him through interviews.
The followings are 3 in-depth interviews of Liu Guoliang in 2017 when he talked about the way he manages the team and his goals other than achieving good results.
1.) 2017 CCTV5 Interview before 2017 WTTC
Brief summary:
More Pressure as the Team Wins More Champions
Liu Guoliang mentioned the pressure comes from the high expectation from the public, the repeated successes are the burden of the team. Also, the team is undergoing a transitional period, there are many uncertainties that no one knows whether the veterans will make it 4 years later and young athletes can move up the rankings. The head coach has thought of leaving but he remains as the head coach as he would like to retain the continued successes of the Chinese table tennis team.
Table Tennis Fever in China
The Chinese table tennis team has gained a lot of popularity after Rio. Liu Guoliang thinks it's a recognition from the public and the team deserves it. The support from the public gives motivation as well as pressure to the team. It is hard to strike a balance but Liu Guoliang said he would react according to the situation and maximize the value/meaning of the team.
New Coaching Team
Replacement is the norm for the team as change makes the team stronger. Liu Guoliang commented on Qin Zhijian and Xiao Zhan in the interview and the athletes seem to get along with their new coaches pretty well.
Chances and Difficulties
Liu Guoliang thinks responsibility keeps him motivated but uncertainties make him anxious. Leading the Chinese team to dominate in competitions seems to be a harm to the development of the sport. This has confused Liu Guoliang for awhile. He is certain that playing to the best of their ability is the basic responsibility of the athletes and the team and he will continue to promote the sport to the public and the world under such condition.
2.) Lu Yu A Day With VIP -- Liu Guoliang in Marvellous 12
Lu Yu is a famous TV host in China (she is also one of my favourite TV hosts as she did really good interviews). She interviewed Liu Guoliang in March and April 2017 and revealed some behind the scenes of the Marvellous 12 and Liu Guoliang as a father. I wish to sub it with English subtitles but I can't due to copyrights. So here are a few key points of the interview.
Brief Summary:
Marvellous 12
The idea of organizing the Marvellous 12 started in 2016 after the Rio Olympics. Chinese table tennis team was once in the trap of the more champion, the lesser the attention. Liu Guoliang said there are many options available for the public, such as different kinds of entertainment and sports events. Sports industry in China needs reform in order to gain popularity. With Chinese table tennis suddenly became the crowd's favourite after Rio, Liu Guoliang starts thinking of organizing some high level, well-branded commercialized events, like the Marvellous 12, to maintain the popularity of table tennis. The Marvellous 12, 2017 Chinese Trials was partnered with network media instead of traditional TV broadcast. This helps to reach the audience of a younger age group and attracting people who are not used to follow table tennis. The Marvellous 12 has another gimmick which is the cast of the commentators, who are a multiple-world champion and Olympic champion. This cannot be found in elsewhere but China.
An interesting behind the scene that Liu Guoliang told Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin that they could win in the Marvellous 12. He mentioned that he told at least 4 players that they can walk away with the titles in every international competition. This is the way he leads the team!
Promotion and Difficulties
In the past few years, Liu Guoliang has encouraged athletes to show their personality. In Liu Guoliang's time as an athlete, the team had strict management while athletes rarely revealed their emotions as they had to behave under stern discipline. Yet nowadays the public would rather see a genuine side of the team. That's why athletes like Zhang Jike and Ma Long often show distinct personality in and outside the ball court. This was also one of the dreams of Liu Guoliang when he was a player.
Liu shared a story about Zhang Jike in the interview. It happened Zhang Jike secretly made a tattoo on his back after winning the world champion. Some people reported that to Liu Guoliang but Liu acted like he does not know about it. Zhang Jike also kept it as a secret until, in a final of a competition, he took off his clothes out and reveal the tattoo. Even though he covered it up after realizing that, Liu Guoliang had a chat with Zhang Jike. The content of the chat was not a punishment, but to allow Zhang to keep the tattoo given that he promised not to go too far beyond the norm. This is an example of managing the team with flexibility and keep the personality of the athletes.
Managing the Best Table Tennis Team
The hosts questioned whether there are conflicts in the team. Liu Guoliang answered confidently that he never encounters such problem despite some netizens often spread rumours of conflicts within the team. He thinks the team members (retired and current players/coaches) have very good relationships and communication with each other. Therefore team members are able to get along with each other harmoniously. Liu Guoliang believes understanding the thoughts of the team members (he knows how athletes think very well as he was an athlete before) helps to manage the team. Some may ask whether everyone follows Liu Guoliang's leadership and the answer is yes. Liu Guoliang said leading the team to win champion would prove his capability of managing and leading the team. And the continued successes secured his spot as the head coach and make his words more influential. That's why Olympic champion and World champion helped to commentate the Marvellous 12 after Liu Guoliang's invitation.
An interesting behind the scene that Liu Guoliang told Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin that they could win in the Marvellous 12. He mentioned that he told at least 4 players that they can walk away with the titles in every international competition. This is the way he leads the team!
Promotion and Difficulties
In the past few years, Liu Guoliang has encouraged athletes to show their personality. In Liu Guoliang's time as an athlete, the team had strict management while athletes rarely revealed their emotions as they had to behave under stern discipline. Yet nowadays the public would rather see a genuine side of the team. That's why athletes like Zhang Jike and Ma Long often show distinct personality in and outside the ball court. This was also one of the dreams of Liu Guoliang when he was a player.
Liu shared a story about Zhang Jike in the interview. It happened Zhang Jike secretly made a tattoo on his back after winning the world champion. Some people reported that to Liu Guoliang but Liu acted like he does not know about it. Zhang Jike also kept it as a secret until, in a final of a competition, he took off his clothes out and reveal the tattoo. Even though he covered it up after realizing that, Liu Guoliang had a chat with Zhang Jike. The content of the chat was not a punishment, but to allow Zhang to keep the tattoo given that he promised not to go too far beyond the norm. This is an example of managing the team with flexibility and keep the personality of the athletes.
Managing the Best Table Tennis Team
The hosts questioned whether there are conflicts in the team. Liu Guoliang answered confidently that he never encounters such problem despite some netizens often spread rumours of conflicts within the team. He thinks the team members (retired and current players/coaches) have very good relationships and communication with each other. Therefore team members are able to get along with each other harmoniously. Liu Guoliang believes understanding the thoughts of the team members (he knows how athletes think very well as he was an athlete before) helps to manage the team. Some may ask whether everyone follows Liu Guoliang's leadership and the answer is yes. Liu Guoliang said leading the team to win champion would prove his capability of managing and leading the team. And the continued successes secured his spot as the head coach and make his words more influential. That's why Olympic champion and World champion helped to commentate the Marvellous 12 after Liu Guoliang's invitation.
Papa Liu Guoliang
At the end of the interview featured Liu Guoliang and his twin daughters. He admitted it's an irony that he coached many world champion but he seldom accompanies his daughters, one of them plays table tennis, while the other plays golf.
At the end of the interview featured Liu Guoliang and his twin daughters. He admitted it's an irony that he coached many world champion but he seldom accompanies his daughters, one of them plays table tennis, while the other plays golf.
Back in time -- 1996
The host asked what if Liu Guoliang could travel back in time, which year would he want to be? Liu Guoliang answered 1996 when he reached his career height winning 2 Olympic gold medals. He said only an idiot would like to go back to the bad times and attempt to change history.
3.) Tecent Sport: Post-Marvellous 12 Interview with Liu Guoliang
Tencent Sport features an insightful interview with coach Liu Guoliang. Although the interview is in Chinese, I strongly recommended you to read it with Google Translate or whatever translation software you can access to. I understand it would be better if there is a proper translation of the interview and it would be perfect if the translation is provided on this site. However, the article was not allowed to be reproduced on any other platform. So I am not translating every word here. Check the interview!
Brief Summary:
3 Goals
Be a great athlete, be an outstanding coach and establish his own era. Liu Guoliang has achieved the first two goals years ago. While he starts thinking his third goal in 2013 when Alex Ferguson retired from football management. Almost every news summarized Ferguson's career with the number of champion and matches. But Liu Guoliang does not want to leave just numbers to the public but a legacy in the sport.
Managing the Team from 2003 to 2017
A flexible but fair and reasonable management will gain the respect of others. Liu Guoliang talked about punishing Ma Lin and Kong Linghui, his buddy when he became the chief coach of the men's team in 2003.
Maintain Popularity
The sport needs reform. Liu Guoliang learnt from some tennis competition and basketball tournament and think of new ways to package and promote table tennis competitions. He hopes that table tennis competition can be as influential, commercialized and internationalized as tennis tournaments. He also tries new technology and collaborates with a new media platform to make table tennis more interesting. Promote the sport to the public and reform the sports industry would be the future direction of sports in China.
Other than Table Tennis
Liu Guoliang has shown up in some talk shows and entertainment TV shows after Rio. But his aim was not making quick money. He would like to search for a platform that can promote table tennis in a way that suits the market but not altering the essence of the sport.
There is always an easier path but some choose to challenge themselves by trying the path that is full of changes, uncertainties and difficulties, even when they have already reached the peak. Perhaps the toughest path leaves the best experience? I hope this post provides you with some insights of the Chinese team and the head coach. Comment below and let me know what you think! I may not be updating that frequent in the following week as it's 2017 World Championships (29 May to 5 June) but make sure you follow the championships and the blog for more updates.
Excellent summary. Well done & thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you. It's such an odd feeling reading this post again after the step down of Liu Guoliang. Yet Liu Guoliang is still involve in table tennis in a different way. He will be commentating the 2018 Team World Cup! I hope he will be involved in the sport and contribute to the development of table tennis.
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