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Phila Siu

China’s young women’s volleyball team ended 12 years of national pain by beating Serbia for the gold medal at the Rio Olympics on Saturday.
Coached by former Olympic champion Lang Ping, the team rediscovered their mojo at the right moment to win 19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-23.
It was China’s third Olympic gold medal in the sport, the first coming in Los Angeles in 1984, when Lang was a player, and then again at Athens in 2004.
Volleyball visionary: coach Lang Ping worth her weight in gold – and more
Lang, 55, also became the first person to win volleyball gold as a coach and player, but she deflected the praise to her players.

“In the past four years, we have been designing and executing our training every single day,” she said.
“We took one step at a time and we finally got here today. The gold medals are the result of all the players’ contribution and I thank them for that.
WATCH: golden moments on Day 14 at the Rio Olympics


“Before the tournament I never thought that we could win the gold. I was thinking, ‘if we we’re lucky we could win a medal’.
“With a young team, you never know. One day is great, the next is not,” said Lang, stressing she was not out to make history.
“It’s not important to me to make history. I’m so happy for the young girls.”
Luck also played a part as China lost three of their pool games and just squeezed into the quarter-finals, where they shocked Brazil.

Serbia had also beaten China in the preliminary round and started the gold-medal match where they had left off, winning the first set 25-19.
But China quickly turned their frustration into motivation in the second set, taking it 25-17 and then grabbed the advantage by edging a close third set 25-22.
With the noise level turned up in a packed Maracanazinho stadium, China defended well and then overpowered the Serbians with powerful spikes, winning the fourth 25-23.
The magnificent Zhu Ting, a towering 1.95 metres tall, led the way with 25 points, while captain Hui Ruoqi scored 13 points.
The Chinese players said they were inspired by the fan support in the stadium, making them feel as if they had home advantage.

Lang said she would wait for the dust to settle before deciding whether to carry on to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“I have spent very little time with my parents. That’s my regret. I thank them for their support. Now I just want to go home and be with them,” she said.
Hui said her team showed great resilience to bounce back after losing the first set to the Serbians, who were competing for the first time for an Olympic medal.
“We were determined and believed in each other and slowly caught up,” she said. “My dreams have now come true.”
Serbia’s Brankica Mihajlovic, who was instrumental in their victory over No 1-ranked USA in the semi-finals, said she was proud of how far the team had come.
“It was a tough final. We lost but we shouldn’t be too sad. They were better than us. Congratulations to them, they were very good,” she said.





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Rio 2016 Olympic Games

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.

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.

Is it Chen Long’s turn to rule? Gold medallist draws inspiration from Lin Dan-Lee Chong Wei rivalry

China’s Chen Long celebrates after defeating Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei in the men’s singles badminton gold medal match at the Rio Olympics on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Chen Long throws his shirt into the crowd. Photo: AP

It’s the end of an era as Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei announces this will be his last Olympics. Photo: AP

Business as usual: Chen Aisen wins men’s 10-metre platform to seal China’s seventh diving gold

China’s Chen Aisen celebrates winning gold in the men’s 10-metre platform diving final. Photo: AP

epa05503393 Winner Aisen Chen of China competes during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Men's 10m Platform Diving Final at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20 August 2016. EPA/PATRICK B. KRAEMER

TOPSHOT - China's Chen Aisen competes in the Men's 10m Platform final during the diving event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 20, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Martin BUREAU

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)

Sport

China

Lang Ping becomes the first person to win volleyball gold as a coach and player


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

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Lang Ping becomes the first person to win volleyball gold as a coach and player

Lang Ping becomes the first person to win volleyball gold as a coach and player