Chinese women s basketball team s Asian Cup failure: growth is seen in the loss, and future is hoped for in the controversy

The Chinese women's basketball team lost to the Japanese team in the Asian Cup semi-finals and finally won the third place, setting the worst record in recent years. This unexpected defeat not only made fans regretful, but also caused head coach Gong Luming's ability to deploy troops and adjust on the spot to controversy. But in the face of such a result, perhaps we need to objectively and calmly examine the current situation of the team and fairly evaluate the efforts of this meritorious coach and the girls. You must know that Gong Luming is the only coach among the active coaches in my country who led the team to the top eight of the World Championships and the Olympics. He has outstanding merits and high-profile respects, and this resume itself is trustworthy.

To be fair, the performance of this women's basketball team is indeed not as good as its peak period, and the core reason is the gap in its own strength. The team has been using the old team in the past two years and has not undergone large-scale updates. As the old players grow older, problems such as accumulated injuries and physical fitness have gradually emerged - especially the absence of main center Li Yueru, which directly weakens the competitiveness of the inside. After taking over, coach Gong Luming started to make adjustments and recruited young center Zhang Ziyu in an extraordinary manner. However, due to the same period of the U19 Women's Basketball Championship, the team failed to complete a thorough lineup innovation. Basketball is a collective event, and the outcome is never determined by a single player. Just like in the NBA finals, the Pacers did not have big stars, but they reached the finals with team collaboration. The dilemma of the women's basketball team requires the whole team to be united rather than relying on individual heroism.

In fact, this women's basketball team has also made obvious progress in a short period of time after its establishment. The coaching team is "tailored" based on the current situation of the team, and the training plan and game deployment are generally reasonable. However, when the semi-finals were against Japan, the inside advantage was not fully utilized, the outside defense was frequently missed, the rotation was controversial, and the response was insufficient during critical periods, which eventually led to a defeat. Among these issues, the responsibilities of the coach and the coaching staff are also closely related to the players' offensive and defensive balance and mental adjustment on the field. It is obviously unfair and not honest enough to blame Gong Luming for the loss, and even called for a change of coaches like "putting aside the insult". After all, no coach can guarantee that he will reach the finals in the future World Championships and Olympics. The famous Serbian coach Joeljevic hired by the Chinese men's basketball team is an example of "famous coaches may not have immediate results." In the turmoil, the team's resilience is still shining. The old player Han Xu persisted with injuries, Yang Liwei and Wang Siyu remained motivated, and young players Zhang Ziyu and Yang Shuyu also accelerated their growth in actual combat. Especially the 18-year-old Zhang Ziyu, the "female version of Yao Ming" discovered by Gong Luming, spoke out late at night to support the coach: "This Asian Cup has taught me a lot. Thank you to the training of the coach Gong and the coaching team, and also thank Sister Xu and other teammates for the support. Although the results are not ideal, the road to Chinese basketball is still long." In just a few words, it not only shows gratitude to the teacher, but also reveals the responsibility of the younger generation. This maturity is far beyond age. Her dominance under the basket during her limited substitute time also allows fans to see the hope of rebuilding glory in the women's basketball team in the future.

This loss is more like a mirror, reflecting the team's shortcomings that need to be improved urgently: the key rebound protection is poor when playing against Japan, the outside defense is disconnected, and the main physical fitness distribution is imbalanced... But what is more worthy of attention than the loss is that in the dilemma of Han Xu's injury, Li Yueru's overseas, and Li Meng and other veterans absent, young players represented by Zhang Ziyu showed room for improvement and plasticity.

basketball legend Zhang Weiping once said: "Ten consecutive victories can easily cover up the problem, and a failure may make people sober. Just like when we lost 30 points to Japan in the 1998 Asian Games, we reached the quarterfinals two years later." History has long proved that the temporary trough is not scary, the key is whether the team can unite. As Zhang Ziyu said, the Chinese women's basketball team has a long way to go. Preparation for the Paris Olympic cycle has just begun. If you want to realize your medal dream in the Los Angeles Olympics three years later, you need less criticism and more support, so that the team can be united and move forward step by step.