Taiwan men's volleyball team captain Zhang Yusheng wins Asian Games scoring title and calls for improvement of preparation resources

Zhang Yusheng. (File photo)

[Reporter Lu Yangxuan/Comprehensive Report] The Taiwanese men's volleyball team ended the Nagoya Asian Games in 9th place. Taiwan captain Zhang Yusheng became the scoring champion. After the game, he said that he cherished the opportunity to fight for Taiwan, but he also pointed out that there was a big gap in resources with other countries. He hoped that the team would have the opportunity to get more support and go further in the international arena.

The Taiwanese men's volleyball team lost to China and South Korea in the group stage this year and missed the top 8 stage. However, it won 4 consecutive games after losing 2 games in a row and finally settled in 9th place. Captain Zhang Yusheng, who is an important source of firepower for the team in every game, topped the men's volleyball scoring list with 118 points.

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In the new season, Zhang Yusheng will move from VOREAS Hokkaido, where he has been playing for seven years, to Yellow, a new force in the SV League and also a Hokkaido team. Stars, before the start of the new season, he reviewed this summer's national team journey in the community and said, "Although the results were not as expected, I am very happy to fight with this group of teammates and leave precious memories. Thank you everyone for your trust. Even if the process is hard, we still face every challenge together. Thank you to the fans who always support us. Being able to fight for Taiwan with everyone is always something I cherish, and it will be an unforgettable memory in the future."

As the captain of the national team, Zhang Yusheng said that being able to represent Taiwan has always been something he values ​​and is deeply honored. "In the past few years, as long as I am called up and my physical condition allows, I will come back, because I always believe that this is my responsibility and obligation. However, the more I want to do more for the team, the more I feel that the existing support is very limited."

Zhang Yusheng revealed that other countries have professional logistics and intelligence personnel who analyze the opponent's rounds, offensive habits, serve placement and blocking strategies before the game to help formulate tactics. After the game, they can also review and adjust through video and data. "But we have many aspects of intelligence search and tactical preparation." Players still need to think of their own solutions. Even the pre-game meeting is a spontaneous gathering of players to watch videos and discuss blocking configurations and response methods. We are willing to do more and prepare more, but when these require professional work and need to be borne by the players, there is ultimately a limit to what we can do.”

Zhang Yusheng said that other countries have off-site training and friendly matches during the training period to help players adapt to the rhythm and intensity of international competitions. "We mainly stay in Taiwan and prepare for competition through basic training and intra-team competition. Looking at the preparations of other teams, it is inevitable to be envious, and I deeply feel that we need more opportunities for actual combat training. These are part of the basic preparations in my understanding, but they have become difficult to achieve in the national team. In addition to various regulations and requirements, I also hope that more attention will be paid to the resources that players really need."

Zhang Yusheng emphasized, "With poor results, players must take responsibility for their own performance. We must face what needs to be reviewed and corrected, as well as the pressure and responsibility that comes with it, and we will never shirk it. However, at the same time, whether preparation resources are in place should also be reviewed together. We hope that players' needs can be heard and responded to and dealt with on a regular basis, so that problems can be improved early, and we don't have to wait until results are not as good as expected before we can go back and review what went wrong."

Zhang Yusheng said that he was very grateful to the National Training Center for providing a complete training environment, as well as the Olympic Games and Sports Department for their assistance and care during the Asian Games. "I am really happy to be able to focus on the competition with such support. It also made me feel more deeply about the support I received in different events while representing Taiwan, and There is still a big gap in the feeling of being taken seriously. I am also very grateful to the protection staff who worked late every day to help us with treatment and recovery; and the nutritionist Xiaobai who provided nutritional advice during the preparations and continued to care about our physical condition. We all feel your efforts and always keep them in our hearts."

"I hope that the players who wear the Taiwan team's jersey in the future will have better preparation conditions and environment, so that every effort can be fully utilized on the court." Zhang Yusheng finally said that he always believes that with better support, the overall strength of the men's volleyball team will definitely improve, and it will be able to go further in the international arena.