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Mandy Zuo

As one of the nation’s volleyball superstars, both as a player and coach, the Chinese people’s love and respect for Lang Ping has only grown over the years – even when she coached the US team to victory against China at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
And it reached hero status in Rio today when she somehow orchestrated an improbable gold medal for a Chinese team who looked anything but Olympic champions in the pool stages.
WATCH: golden moments on Day 15 at the Rio Olympics

Lang won gold as a player at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and becomes the first person to achieve the feat as a coach.
China end 12-year wait to claim volleyball gold with win over Serbia
While her former teammates found success as businesswomen or government officials, Lang, 56, remained in the sport – as a coach – since retiring from the national team in the 1980s.
From China to Italy, the US, Turkey and back to China, the legendary coach, who also led the Chinese team to be world champions four times as a player, has made the most of what she does best while travelling the world.
At the same time, Lang – imbued with an international vision and forthright opinions – has repeatedly rebuilt confidence in Chinese volleyball, while coping with the shackles of China’s sports bureaucracy.
Before senior sports officials talked her into once more coaching the national team last spring, Lang was paid 5 million yuan (HK$5.9 million) a year as head coach of Guangdong Evergrande Women’s Volleyball Club, creating a new round of volleyball fever in China.
Xu Jiayin, boss of the club’s owner, Evergrande Group, said “the national interest” took priority and gave Lang the green light to accept the authorities’ request.
The club promised that Lang’s contract would remain in place, and her salary unchanged, while she was away from the team.
The authorities’ invitation, and Xu’s support, reflected the public’s desire for Chinese women’s volleyball to return to its former glory, after failing to reach the final at the 2008 Olympics and losing their quarter-final in London in 2012.
Apart from her success as a player, her contribution as a national team coach has included a bronze medal at the 1995 World Cup, silver medals at the 1996 Olympic Games and 1998 world championships and a gold medal at the 1998 Asian Games.
Instead of becoming an official at China’s sports bureau, Lang left to study in the US after retiring in 1985.
According to her autobiography published in 1999, that decision was motivated mainly “to learn English and broaden my horizons”.
A second reason was a need to escape her fame: “Although I had retired, I couldn’t live a free life like ordinary people. People often recognised me and made me feel like not myself. I felt restricted even when I went shopping.”
She was also tired of the politics in China, where she became a scapegoat of local officials in Chenzhou, Hunan province, over a funding dispute for a training field in the city.
After spending about 10 years on the other side of the Pacific, where she lived with her husband and daughter, Lang accepted an official invitation in 1995 to coach an underperforming Chinese national team.
When she left the position after the team won silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, it was widely speculated that China’s sports watchdog was embroiled in a power struggle, although this was never officially confirmed.
Meanwhile, Lang headed overseas for more coaching assignments.
As head coach in the Italian professional volleyball league, she won the league championship and coach of the year award several times.
In 2005, Lang went on to coach of the US national team, who faced off with China in her home country at the 2008 Olympics. The US team defeated China 3-2.


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Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Volleyball visionary: coach Lang Ping worth her weight in gold – and more

Coach Lang Ping hugs Ding Xia after China beat Serbia in the gold medal match. Photo: Reuters

2016 Rio Olympics - Volleyball - Women's Victory Ceremony - Maracanazinho - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 21/08/2016. Gold medalist China's (CHN) coach Lang Ping and her assistant Lai Yawen celebrate with the players. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

2016 Rio Olympics - Volleyball - Women's Semifinals China v Netherlands - Maracanazinho - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 18/08/2016. Coach Ping Lang (CHN) of China celebrates victory with Yan Ni (CHN) of China. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

2016 Rio Olympics - Volleyball - Women's Gold Medal Match China v Serbia - Maracanazinho - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 20/08/2016. China's (CHN) coach Lang Ping reacts. REUTERS/Yves Herman FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

China end 12 years of national pain to claim Olympic volleyball gold with win over Serbia

China’s players celebrate winning the gold medal match in the women’s volleyball competition. Photo: Reuters

China head coach Jenny Lang Ping poses for a photograph after a women's gold medal volleyball match against Serbia at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

China's Yuan Xinyue celebrates after scoring during the women's Gold Medal volleyball match between China and Serbia at Maracanazinho Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 20, 2016, at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. / AFP PHOTO / Johannes EISELE

2016 Rio Olympics - Volleyball - Women's Gold Medal Match China v Serbia - Maracanazinho - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 21/08/2016. Ding Xia (CHN) of China, Zhu Ting (CHN) of China, Yuan Xinyue (CHN) of China and Zhang Changning (CHN) of China celebrate winning the match and the gold medal. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

70 to 2: What the Rio Olympics medal tally says about China-India comparisons

The Chinese delegation for the Rio Olympic Games includes 160 men and 256 women, competing in 210 events over 26 sports. Photo: Xinhua

Japan's Yukari Mano (C) hits the ball as India's Preeti Dubey (L) and Navjot Kaur chase during the women's field hockey Japan vs India match of the Rio 2016 Olympics Games at the Olympic Hockey Centre in Rio de Janeiro on August, 7 2016. / AFP PHOTO / MANAN VATSYAYANA

Gold medallists China's Gong Jinjie and China's Zhong Tianshi bite their medals as they pose on the podium after the women's Team Sprint finals track cycling event at the Velodrome during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 12, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Eric FEFERBERG

*** This image has been licensed for one time use only. Please contact the copyright owner BEFORE reusing this image**** 24 Aug 2006, Sylet Province, Bangladesh --- Young men play an informal game of kabaddi on the shoreline of the island of Aralia. The game is popular throughout South Asia and is the national game of Bangladesh. The teams take turns sending a "raider" across to the opposite team's half, where the goal is to tag or wrestle members of the opposite team. Aralia is a shrinking island of silt which is one kilometre long by thirty metres wide and has a population of around 4,000 people. It stands a few metres above the Haor wetlands of North Eastern Bangladesh, which are submerged under water for half the year. The island has decreased to a fifth of its original size since 1970 and has on a number of occasions been completely submerged by floodwaters. It is overpopulated, is extremely poor and is threatened by climate change and the unpredictable fluctuations in water level

China's Meng Guanliang, right, and Yang Wenjun show their gold medal after winning the Canoe double 500m men's final at the Beijing 2008 Olympics Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

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Guangdong Evergrande hand over 56-year-old to Olympic team in the ‘national interest’ and continue to pay 5-million-yuan-a-year salary
