Warning in Advance by Li Furong when Athens Olympics is Approaching

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, July 11, 2003

Warning in Advance by Li Furong when Athens Olympics is Approaching

Deputy director-general of the Chinese State General Administration of Sports Li Furong made a speech on Tuesday, warning some responsible personages with administration center of sports items as well as provincial and municipal sports administration director-generals not to lose vigilance against potential difficulty in 2004 Athens Olympics Games.

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Grouping discussion of the national sports administration director-general conference was held in Beijing on Tuesday. Deputy director-general of the Chinese State General Administration of Sports Li Furong made a speech, warning some responsible personages with administration center of sports items as well as provincial and municipal sports administration director-generals not to lose vigilance against potential difficulty in 2004 Athens Olympics Games, only 13 months ahead.

Li Furong reckoned that since Sydney 2000 the development of China's athletics is rather dissatisfying. Although the last two years have witnessed success and progress in somewhat way, yet he cannot put his mind at rest. Undeniably there's fortuity in game victory or defeat. However, it is more necessary to face up to the existing gap, the manifestation of which is embodied in the insufficiency in developing advantageous sports items, few young shoots of athletes with competitiveness and a still distinction in some backward items.

With regard to training problems, Li Furong, who was once an athlete and a coach for years, particularly aired his own opinion: Coaches bear the brunt of the important task of raising the training level. "If teaches are undereducated, how can students be well instructed? Coaches should be aware of the urgency of scientific training. They shouldn't waver diffidently in basic sports items for any longer."

Li Furong said that the practice of the system in which a head coach is held responsible for the team should have been a good thing, and that a team leader must be good at ideological work of his athletes.

As regards the quality and consciousness of athletes, Li Furong clearly voiced his favor with the measure of setting a ceiling on the pay of table tennis players. "Athletes may well have a higher pay. But we should never ignore the current situation of our country. Enterprises also cannot afford sky-high pay. Some football players only keep league matches in mind, thinking they fall far short of the international level. If only they got a pay of one or two million of yuan a year, they felt quite satisfied. If players are in such a state of mind, how can the undertaking of Chinese football be furthered to the international level?"

Though his remarks sound very stern they are actually very sincere and earnest. "for an athlete to grow from a little child to a world champion, it all depends on years of hard tempering and strict requirements on him/herself. At present general training makes up a majority of the whole. Many athletes just have a low cultural level. Even if they boast of certain skills, they have vague tactic awareness when participating in a contest. So training centers must proceed from actual competition and attach importance to the quality and effectiveness. No intensive training, no effects. In competitive sports you are competing with rivals. Perhaps you do achieve some progress, but if your rival makes more progress, then you actually fall back."

Analyzing the situation of Athens 2004, Li Furong pointed out that among the 20-odd major items, the Chinese players haven't made rapid progress in most of them. Items of which Chinese players will win gold medals remain the same as before. Besides, groups striving for gold medals have not yet taken shape. He sincerely hoped that the national team and local teams should put their minds together so as to make a breakthrough in sports training and accomplish new glory in athletic events.

By PD Online Staff Zhu Lizhen

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