“He is indeed a model worker and deserves it.” This is the evaluation made by fans after they learned that Yi Jianlian, a professional player of Guangdong Southern Tigers basketball club Co., Ltd., won the national Labor Day Medal in 2023.
As the only athlete among 53 national Labor Day medal winners in Guangdong, what was Yi Jianlian’s mood after being honored? How does he understand the relationship between model worker spirit and sports spirit? On the afternoon of May 10, Yi Jianlian, who was in the off-season period, went to Yi Jianlian basketball training center in Futian district, Shenzhen for rehabilitation treatment. The reporter interviewed him.
Tuyuan from Yangcheng Evening News reporter Zhong Zhenbin
Talk about feelings: recognition is a great incentive for I am
Although he is the top player in Chinese basketball field, Yi Jianlian is still modest to win the national Labor Day Medal.
“The national Labor Day Medal is a commendation for outstanding employees in all walks of life. For me, this is a great incentive.” Yi Jianlian said that he was very excited when he learned that he had won the honor. “It is the recognition of my career to get such a high honor.”
There is a huge picture of Yi Jianlian hanging on the wall of Yi Jianlian basketball training center. Next to the picture, it reads: pursuing excellence, striving for the first place bravely; Uniting and cooperating, fighting tenaciously. This is not only Yi Jianlian’s refinement of sports spirit, but also reflects his understanding of model worker spirit.
Tuyuan from Yangcheng Evening News reporter Zhong Zhenbin
“As a professional basketball player, I always put training and competition in the most important position. I will also give full play to my usual training results on the field, hoping to gain the recognition of the majority of fans through my own efforts.” Yi Jianlian said that for him, the spirit of model workers and sports is not in a certain game, but throughout every day’s training and every game.
“For me, getting the national Labor Day medal is not an end, but a new beginning. I also hope to use this commendation to urge myself to work harder and be more responsible in the future.” Yi Jianlian said.
Talk about setbacks: you must have the mentality and determination to go forward.
No matter in any profession, there will be gains and achievements in the process of growth, and of course there will be setbacks and gains or losses. This is especially true for professional athletes.
How can Yi Jianlian adjust his mentality when facing the troubles of winning or losing and injury? “The mentality of athletes will fluctuate with time and competition. They have experienced hundreds of games, and those experiences of losing and winning will gradually precipitate.” Yi Jianlian said that failure is a blow to athletes and an incentive. “We won a lot of games, but we actually lost a lot of games behind those highlights.” Yi Jianlian said that failure can make you more eager for success and victory.
Yi Jianlian is more accustomed to injuries. “For athletes, not only me, but also many competitions are played with injuries. Especially in the back, it is impossible for a game to be played in full health.” He believes that athletes must learn how to coexist with injuries. “Failure and injury are the greatest charm of competitive sports. When you work hard, your opponent works harder. In the end, the real effort is who pays more.”
“I think if we want to succeed, injuries and setbacks must be faced. They also make themselves stronger.” Yi Jianlian said frankly that his attitude towards setbacks was also related to family education. What impressed him most was that when he decided to play basketball, his father said to him: if you choose to go to the road of basketball players, don’t look back. It can’t be said that after two days of training in sports school, I was tired and went home with tears. You must have a mentality and determination that you can only move forward.
Talking about the future: continue to share the happiness brought by basketball with teenagers
As the spiritual leader in the hearts of basketball fans, Yi Jianlian said that he would continue to do a good job in youth basketball training in the future.
“Ten years ago, I began to participate in youth basketball training.” Yi Jianlian said that basketball has achieved him now, so he also hopes to share the happiness brought by basketball with teenagers who love basketball, and also hopes to bring help to teenagers in terms of technology and mentality.
The youth basketball training program mentioned by Yi Jianlian was carried out by relying on Yi Jianlian basketball training center. In 2012, Futian district of Shenzhen introduced Yi Jianlian into Futian District through the introduction plan of sports celebrities.
“Through the development of more than ten years, under the influence of Yi Jianlian and his various competitions, many teenagers have been driven to participate in basketball projects.” Wu Zhiwei, the chief of sports department of Futian District Sports Bureau, introduced that the “Yi Jianlian Cup” national three-person basketball game expanded from the original Futian one stop to ten cities across the country, this game also gave birth to a lot of basketball “good seedlings”, including the well-known Guangdong Southern Tigers team member Hu Mingxuan and so on.
Through Yi Jianlian’s celebrity charm, it also promoted the high-quality development of the entire basketball project in Futian district, including some public welfare activities. “Yi Jianlian is very active in public welfare activities. He will take the initiative to promote basketball programs in schools and communities during the off-season.” Wu Zhiwei said that at the same time, he was also enthusiastic about participating in public welfare activities in Shenzhen, including the establishment of civilized cities and the promotion of garbage classification public welfare.
(Text/Yangcheng Evening News reporter Hou Mengfei)
