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 Back
in the days when Lang Ping had led China
into the international scene by winning the 1981 World Cup and the 1984 Olympics, Zhang Rongfang was China's other
outside hitter, a much shorter player than Lang Ping, but almost as
effective in her attacks. Zhang Rongfang had a cheery disposition on the
court, very playful, almost child-like. A friend from China told me that
her personality is characteristic of people from the province of Szechuan
(though I'm not sure of this... I'm assuming he's right),
from where teammate Liang Yan is also
from (ditto). Zhang's jumps and spikes seemed so easily done that they infused the
team with a vital confidence in its skills. Though Zhang Rongfang played in the shadow of the great Lang Ping, she also deserves merit for
co-coaching the Chinese team with Lang Ping at the 1986 World
Championships in Czechoslovakia. Together with Lang Ping, she took China
to the final and to a 3-1 victory over Cuba. Even when coaching, it seemed
like Zhang Rongfang was having a grand time, giggling innocently at the
Cuban mistakes or at China's miraculous plays which were not short of
brilliant. During time-outs, Zhang was actually the one to go talk to her
players, while Lang Ping seemed to be more of the thinking type. (That or
she was still learning how to be a coach, which apparently worked really
well in the latter half of the '90s!)
 One observation from the
1981 World Cup final against Japan: maybe it was the long-time rivalry
China has with Japan, or the fact that China was playing on Japanese home
court, or the fact that China was playing for its first major
international tournament title, but Zhang Rongfang and her teammates
seemed to really take the match seriously. The Japanese played with their
usual good-spirited, everything's-alright type of attitude, whereas the
Chinese played with hard fought competitiveness and a touch of malice,
like they were going for the kill. In the end (and this can be said of
many other matches as well), that extra malice was decisive for the 3-2
victory against Japan. It was a thrilling match, one that I will always
remember, with both teams trading well-placed hits, sweeping digs, and at
times turning it into a battle of "Japan versus Lang Ping and Zhang
Rongfang". At times, every ball Sun Jingfang set went to the
outside hitters because they were so effective, but by the fifth set all
of the Japanese players had learned how to dig up every single ball that
Zhang and Lang were hitting! Yuko
Mitsuya was unstoppable in the middle and so was rookie Kayoko
Sugiyama. But China won in the end by 17-15, I believe, and when they
blocked one of the Japanese outside hitters on championship point, one of
the Chinese players slammed the ball down towards the defeated Japanese
with rage. Oh, and what was up with the last minute hairdos that most of
the Chinese players were sporting? Both Zhang and Lang had bundled their
hair in what looked like messy emergency pony tails!
 Considering
the years she entered the scene, it seems amazing how the sport of
volleyball could produce two such different players at the same time:
Zhang Rongfang and Mireya Luis. Whereas
the former was shorter than the latter, and with Mireya physically able to
jump a whole lot more, Zhang Rongfang's greatness seems all the more
astounding. Her incredible sense of court space allowed her to convert a
set into an easy kill with her little two-footed hop and quick arm swing.
She fits into my category of those physically smaller players who helped
push their teams with their energy and enthusiasm. In Peru we call these
sorts of players "the little hearts of their teams". Lang Ping always kept
her cool in between frissons after every point. Zhang Rongfang always
celebrated wildly, even pouting and laughing at her own mistakes. But in
the end she always regained her confidence and played like a true
champion.
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