Will LYB retire after RIO?

[Justin L]

the call for him to step aside is intensifying..

http://2016.sina.com.cn/china/2016-08-21/doc-ifxvcsrm2078401.shtml

Indeed, the article is quite blunt in calling for LYB to step down, claiming the calls are growing louder, even stating that Cai Zhenhua, the head of the China table tennis and badminton center (second from left in the photo sitting beside Liu Guoliang, the table tennis head coach) is indirectly criticizing CBA and LYB for the deteriorating situation in Chinese badminton, thus hinting that it's time for LYB to go.

I'm surprised to learn that the table tennis head coach Liu Guoliang under whose leadership Chinese table tennis continues to be dominant has expressed thoughts of retirement in Rio. He became the head coach of CHN's National Men's Table Tennis Team at the young age of 27 after his retirement in 2001, at the helm for 15 years already. He is born on 10 January 1976, now aged 40.

In comparison, I guess it's difficult and awkward for the 53-year-old LYB to cling on to his post after a 23-year tenure as head coach when Chinese badminton is beset by dismal results over the last few years and culminating in the worst Olympic results at Rio, only two golds, in contrast to table tennis which succeeded with another clean sweep of the gold medals, a repeat of London 2012.

 

[pcll99]

Indeed, the article is quite blunt in calling for LYB to step down, claiming the calls are growing louder, even stating that Cai Zhenhua, the head of the China table tennis and badminton center (second from left in the photo sitting beside Liu Guoliang, the table tennis head coach) is indirectly criticizing CBA and LYB for the deteriorating situation in Chinese badminton, thus hinting that it's time for LYB to go.

I'm surprised to learn that the table tennis head coach Liu Guoliang under whose leadership Chinese table tennis continues to be dominant has expressed thoughts of retirement in Rio. He became the head coach of CHN's National Men's Table Tennis Team at the young age of 27 after his retirement in 2001, at the helm for 15 years already. He is born on 10 January 1976, now aged 40.

In comparison, I guess it's difficult and awkward for the 53-year-old LYB to cling on to his post after a 23-year tenure as head coach when Chinese badminton is beset by dismal results over the last few years and culminating in the worst Olympic results at Rio, only two golds, in contrast to table tennis which succeeded with another clean sweep of the gold medals, a repeat of London 2012.

Thanks for the translation.

Liu's hinting at retirement at the of age of 40 can only mean one thing: he will be promoted!

 

[pcll99]

The Sports Minister openly criticised the management of the badminton team.

http://www.aiyuke.com/news/2016/08/nbec8e96625e.html?1471871772.html

My prediction: LYB will be removed by force.

 

[Justin L]

Possibly the Yu Yang outburst, an embarrassment seen by millions on CCTV, may just do Li Yongbo in, apart from all the disappointing results the last few years till the Rio Olympics itself.

 

[SibugiChai]

LYB has done a great job so far, if there is suitable candidate i think he should let him/her replace him, new idea to boast the team

 

[kwun]

wow. not so arrogant these days.

"I personally think the badminton team still need me, and I also need the players."

"As long as the players need me, they think they need coach Li to continue lead the team to take on Tokoy2020 challenge, I will not hesitate to accept it."

 

[Nine Tailed Fox]

wow. not so arrogant these days.

"I personally think the badminton team still need me, and I also need the players."

"As long as the players need me, they think they need coach Li to continue lead the team to take on Tokoy2020 challenge, I will not hesitate to accept it."

We must also not forget, Lin Dan's chinese Version of 'What The Fu**' yelled at Xia 'collar up' Xuanze during the Quarter Final rising Speculations that LD doesn't trust XXZ which was not the case with LD's former Personal Guru 'The Thing'.

 

[Justin L]

I suspect Li Yongbo's fate hangs in the balance.

Chen Long's exhilarating Olympic gold performance is more a saving grace for him than for Li Yongbo, and Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan's success is a big, pleasant surprise for everyone, not necessarily owing much to LYB's credit.

I feel the two enlivening golds in MS and MD may not fully made up for the fiasco in WD and XD, aside from the WS where LXR's jangled nerves and WYH's unpredictability and inconsistency aren't totally unexpected.

I mean when the monumentally successful table tennis men's head coach, 40-year-old Liu Guoliang, is hinting at early retirement, how's Li Yongbo going to stay on after all the cumulative discontentment with Chinese badminton these few years ending in the huge letdown at the Olympics?

True, for all of LYB's past outstanding contributions and magnificent results, he deserves another chance but he's been at the helm for 23 long years already, so I won't be surprised if top management might seriously consider asking him, at age 53, to step down and make way for someone else to take over the business of instituting sweeping changes or revamping the system if required other than just simply taking remedial actions for what went wrong. After all, he can afford to retire comfortably.

 

[pcll99]

More signs and signals that LYB's era is over:

1. It seems the Sports Minister did not in fact mention the badminton team at all in his speech!

http://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2016-08-25/doc-ifxvixeq0445038.shtml

2. Perhaps it was the Deputy Sports Minister, Cai Zhenhua, who is critical of LYB.

http://sports.qq.com/a/20160825/021873.htm

3. Cai Yun is applying to be a coach.

http://www.aiyuke.com/news/2016/08/n2c8720aa14b.html?1472083643.html

4. Zhang Jun is leading the delegation to Hong Kong instead of LYB himself which is unusual.

http://www.aiyuke.com/news/2016/08/n30f1d37db5d.html?1472085109.html

 

[renbo]

We must also not forget, Lin Dan's chinese Version of 'What The Fu**' yelled at Xia 'collar up' Xuanze during the Quarter Final rising Speculations that LD doesn't trust XXZ which was not the case with LD's former Personal Guru 'The Thing'.

I did not notice that. I thought they were doing fine

 

[gelopisan]

More signs and signals that LYB's era is over:

1. It seems the Sports Minister did not in fact mention the badminton team at all in his speech!

http://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2016-08-25/doc-ifxvixeq0445038.shtml

2. Perhaps it was the Deputy Sports Minister, Cai Zhenhua, who is critical of LYB.

http://sports.qq.com/a/20160825/021873.htm

3. Cai Yun is applying to be a coach.

http://www.aiyuke.com/news/2016/08/n2c8720aa14b.html?1472083643.html

4. Zhang Jun is leading the delegation to Hong Kong instead of LYB himself which is unusual.

http://www.aiyuke.com/news/2016/08/n30f1d37db5d.html?1472085109.html

English please? thanks.

 

[lululali]

LYB has been doing a great job over the last 2 decades leading Chinese badminton team, but after so many years in the same position with so many gold medals, he may be a bit arrogant and did make some mistakes. Maybe Chinese team could use a new leader to get ready for next Olympic in japan!

 

[Accordaz]

I did not notice that. I thought they were doing fine

Didn't watch the QF replay yet, but if I think about it, it makes sense that LD doesn't trust XXZ that much, because I've never seen LD listening really that carefully to him or showing him much respect.

Why did LD yell at XXZ in the QF btw?

 

[Justin L]

I mean 23 years is such a long time. How many organizations have leaders at the same job for so long without taking a break ? Maybe he should just step away for sometime, let the new replacement do his/her job, if he/she is not up to it, then recall LYB who can come back with his head held high.

To be frank, the Head Coach position for CBA is never an easy one. Some people would like to think, LYB can act like a dictator, simply bark his orders, be a stern disciplinarian, and all his coaches and players would be too scared not to perform to his expectations, after all CHN is a badminton powerhouse and have so much depth of talents, what's so difficult? If only it is so simple, anybody can do the job, you can even place a retired army officer who is at most a recreational badminton player and avid fan, and it'll fine.

Of course, not, no way. Remember, when LYB first took over the helm in 1993, CHN badminton was at its lowest ebb, no credible results to show for, and he couldn't even get the funds he requested to replace the wooden window sills of the living quarters to keep out the wintry cold.

To add, I've said this several times before, during his first year when he led the team to the Asian Games 1994 and came back with 7 bronzes (5 individuals, 2 team events), he was derided in the news media for bringing home a heap of scrap metal. Since then he vowed that nothing less than gold will do. And the rest, as they say, is history.

 

[Justin L]

I recall at the All England, Lin Dan at the post-match court-side interview saying something to the effect, the coaches are sitting over there at the spectator stands (as it's an All-CHN affair in the final, LD vs Tian HW, so coaches on court-side), I, Lin Dan, may be 33 years old already but I can still do it, I've proven myself winning this title.

I had suspected then that the CHN coaches, including LYB perhaps, could've expressed doubts about Lin Dan's ability to perform at the top. Even LYB, at the WC'15 when Lin Dan in the QFs was humbled by JOJ, hinted with a veiled threat that if Lin Dan's world ranking continued to fall below his teammates, he might not go to Rio.

True, Lin Dan's AE triumph was his saving grace. Frankly, apart from Chen Long, who else but Lin Dan in the CHN camp have a fighting chance at Rio'16 ? Tian Houwei, Wang Zhengming ?

 

[renbo]

Didn't watch the QF replay yet, but if I think about it, it makes sense that LD doesn't trust XXZ that much, because I've never seen LD listening really that carefully to him or showing him much respect.

Why did LD yell at XXZ in the QF btw?

I've just watch the 'incident' with X 'collar up' XZ, and they are in agreement. XXZ mention something that he finds upsetting in the match and LD agrees emphatically.
I think they go along well, and if XXZ got this position, it was probably because LD wanted it. It is hard to imagine, some years ago, LD not having a big say on that matter.

 

[syntaxerror]

If anyone replaces LYB, maybe they should consider Zhang Ning. WS was great under her coaching, now with Chen Jin there its a mess. No idea why she was shafted in the first place.

 

[renbo]

If anyone replaces LYB, maybe they should consider Zhang Ning. WS was great under her coaching, now with Chen Jin there its a mess. No idea why she was shafted in the first place.

I used to like Zhang Ning as a coach but after the last match of Wang Lin not anymore. Wang did ruptured her knee ligament in a very severe way and she was hardly being able to stand up, but Zhang insisted that she continue the match. She tried, two times, but it naturally only got worse.
After that she was not WS head coach. Was it a coincidence or was it because she was then so irresponsible? It is probably a coincidence but the incident showed Zhang Ning is not able to communicate with the players.

 

[pcll99]

I used to like Zhang Ning as a coach but after the last match of Wang Lin not anymore. Wang did ruptured her knee ligament in a very severe way and she was hardly being able to stand up, but Zhang insisted that she continue the match. She tried, two times, but it naturally only got worse.
After that she was not WS head coach. Was it a coincidence or was it because she was then so irresponsible? It is probably a coincidence but the incident showed Zhang Ning is not able to communicate with the players.

Did you mean Wang Xin during the London Olympics?

If yes, I think it was planned many months before the London Olympics that Zhang Ning would have her maternity leave after the Olympics.

As for Chen Jin replacing Zhang Ning in Jan 2014, maybe LYB thought since he can only send two girls instead of three to Rio, there is no need to trouble Zhing Ning anymore since she had to take care of a baby full time. Chen Jin maybe good enough or so LYB thought. Just speculating.

The bigger question for me is this: why are both WS and WD in China in decline for the past 4 years?

Don't tell them the ROW caught up and China just stuck in the past. I don't buy that.

 

[renbo]

No, I mean Wang Lin. Zhang Ning was reappearing as a coach then, I think it was at the Singapore Open 2011 (but it might have been for her last injury in 2012). It was broadcasted as I saw it on tv.