Kick the Criticism: Chinese Olympic Committee Vice Chairman Defends National Football Team Amidst Limited Player Pool
Yu Zaiqing on China’s Performance in the Paris Olympics
On September 18, Beijing time, Yu Zaiqing, member of the International Olympic Committee and vice chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee, shared his insights on China’s performance in the Paris Olympics.
Yu Zaiqing attributed the poor performance of China’s three major ball sports in the Paris Olympics to their unique characteristics. “Basketball and volleyball value height, but a player’s height is not equivalent to excellent other qualities. If the number of basketball and volleyball players is insufficient, it will be more difficult to select good players. Therefore, this requires further popularization of the sports.”
Regarding football, Yu Zaiqing emphasized its unique challenges. “Football is even more different, it is very difficult. I think we should not always criticize the Chinese football team. First, compared with the national population, the number of Chinese football players is extremely small, and the results of selecting one in ten thousand and one in a million are definitely different. Secondly, due to the insufficient number of football players overall and the lack of a competitive environment, Chinese players are far behind European players in terms of technology. Therefore, it would be difficult for Chinese football to have high requirements for results.”
Yu Zaiqing also addressed the recent loss of the Chinese national football team to the Japanese team in the World Cup qualifiers. “Recently, the Chinese national football team lost 0-7 to the Japanese team in the World Cup qualifiers, which was a bit too much, and the fans have opinions on this. But for now, our level is indeed inferior to others.”