Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 20 (reporters Wang Jingyu and Wang Haoyu) met Liu Chuanxing one afternoon in late March. In the room of Zhang Beihai, general manager of Qingdao Guoxin Club, the 2.25-meter-tall center sat beside the bed and talked about his basketball career.

Liu Chuanxing (right) celebrates scoring a goal. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Huhu

Born to be a "master"

In 1997, Liu Chuanxing was born in an ordinary rural family in Puyang, Henan. His parents have nothing to do with sports, and their height is very average. His father is 1.72 meters and his mother is 1.63 meters.

However, Liu Chuanxing was born a big man, weighing more than 10 pounds when he was born. When he was in the fifth grade of elementary school, Liu Chuanxing was over 1.7 meters tall, taller than the principal. Because he stood out from the crowd, he couldn't play with his classmates, and he gradually began to think that he didn't want to go to school.

Liu Chuanxing (right) played singles in the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shadati

Liu Chuanxing was only 11 years old when he left school. His parents persuaded him to go back to school and found a way out for him. Sent to the army? Too young. After staying at home for a year, Liu Chuanxing was sent to a local sports school by his parents and embarked on the road of sports.

Not long after, Liu Chuanxing met the first noble person in his life - Coach Cai Jun. At that time, Cai Jun led the team to Henan to play a competition. After meeting Liu Chuanxing, he was very optimistic about him and measured his bone age. On Cai Jun's recommendation, 13-year-old Liu Chuanxing joined Chongqing's team preparing for the 2013 National Games. At that time, his height had reached 1.92 meters.

Development in Chongqing was not smooth. Liu Chuanxing's knee was injured, and the team later disbanded, but his height grew to 1.96 meters. After returning to his hometown for a while, Liu Chuanxing's height jumped to 2.03 meters. At the beginning of 2015, on the recommendation of Cai Jun, Liu Chuanxing went to Shenzhen Sports School and was recruited by the Guangdong Hongyuan Youth Team at the end of the year.

Liu Chuanxing (left) defends during the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ziheng

On a wall of Liu Chuanxing’s sister-in-law’s house, the trajectory of his growth was left. Except for the Spring Festival in 2013 and 2016 when he was not at home, almost every Spring Festival he would measure his height and draw a mark on the wall. From the Spring Festival of 2010 to the Spring Festival of 2011, Liu Chuanxing grew the fastest. In that year, he grew a full 11 centimeters.

Sitting and practicing shooting

Because of his extraordinary height, Liu Chuanxing’s basketball talent is visible to the naked eye, but his excessive weight and knee injuries also accompany him. Liu Chuanxing said that he has a body type that is prone to obesity and absorbs it very well. When he returned home from Chongqing to recuperate, he quickly became overweight. After joining the Qingdao team, he failed to control his ankle well when he went to Beijing for rehabilitation due to an ankle injury, and his weight once reached 310 kilograms.

After joining the Hongyuan youth team, Liu Chuanxing spent the entire 2016 recovering due to overweight and knee injuries. At first, he couldn't run at all, so he could only follow Zhang Zhenmin, director of the Guangdong Provincial Basketball Management Center, and walk around the track and field. At that time, he was 2.08 meters tall and weighed 280 pounds.

Qingdao team players helped up their injured teammate Liu Chuanxing (middle) who fell to the ground. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han

Qu Shaobin, Chen Duan and other coaches of the Hongyuan Youth Team carefully guided Liu Chuanxing. He clearly remembers that in order to avoid knee injury, Coach Chen did not let him stand for a long time during training. He found a stool for Liu Chuanxing to sit on to practice shooting and hand feeling, and also asked someone to help him pick up the ball. For about three months, Liu Chuanxing did one hour of rehabilitation training every morning and afternoon, and then sat for about 40 minutes of shooting practice. Later, as his recovery progressed, he gradually transitioned from shooting while standing to shooting in place to shooting while running.

From the end of 2015 to September 2018, Liu Chuanxing stayed in the Hongyuan Youth Team for nearly three years. The style of the Hongyuan Youth Team is to use competition as a substitute for training. He participates in dozens of various competitions every year. Xu Jie and Du Runwang, who have now gained a place in the Hongyuan Team, are his fighting partners. At the National U19 Youth League in 2018, Zhang Beihai met Liu Chuanxing, who was not yet working at the Qingdao Club at that time. A few months later, under the leadership of Zhang Beihai, Qingdao and Guangdong completed a multi-player trade, and Liu Chuanxing joined Qingdao from the Hongyuan Youth Team.

"Liu Chuanxing was a prerequisite for that transaction. Only with his participation could the transaction be completed," Zhang Beihai said. "At that time, the Qingdao team was preparing to rebuild. After Su Wei left, we needed a big man. His arrival was very helpful to the team's construction."

Fledgling

Just heard about the plan Liu Chuanxing was a little surprised by the news of going to Qingdao. "I was really surprised when I received the notice, because I heard three versions within a week. First it was about a loan, then it was about a transfer, and then it was about a rental and then a transfer," Liu Chuanxing said.

Liu Chuanxing (left) celebrates with teammate Wang Qingming. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han

After arriving in Qingdao, Liu Chuanxing was both a key training target and a key protection target for the club. His first priority was to recover from his injuries. During the 2018-2019 season, Liu Chuanxing spent most of his time recovering, and the club helped him contact various rehabilitation institutions. Towards the end of the season, Liu Chuanxing participated in 4 games. He still remembers the first game against Shandong. “I just knew I made a mid-range shot and it was gone,” he said.

In the 2019-2020 season, Serbian Dimi, who has dual licenses as a physical trainer and a rehabilitation practitioner, joined the Qingdao Men’s Basketball Team, and Liu Chuanxing became his focus. Through core strength training, diet control and other methods, Liu Chuanxing's weight has been reduced from 320 kilograms to 260 kilograms. The pressure on his knee joints has been relieved, and his condition is getting better and better.

After successfully losing weight, under the guidance of Qingdao team coach Wu Qinglong and assistant coach Zhang Bin, Liu Chuanxing began to emerge in the CBA arena. Before the COVID-19 epidemic, Liu Chuanxing's average playing time was about 15 minutes per game. After the league resumed, the Qingdao team adopted the "all-China class" lineup. His playing time averaged about 25 minutes per game, and he was suddenly pushed to the main position. Throughout the season, Liu Chuanxing averaged 7.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, helping the Qingdao team reach the quarterfinals.

Three battles against Haddadi

The 2020-2021 season is the third season of Liu Chuanxing’s CBA career. In the regular season that ended not long ago, Liu Chuanxing averaged 22 minutes per game, contributing 9.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 1.1 blocks. All statistics set a career high.

Liu Chuanxing (right) shoots under Haddadi's defense. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han

In Zhang Beihai's view, Liu Chuanxing's transformation can be seen from his two confrontations with Sichuan team's foreign aid Haddadi in the regular season this season. On February 3, Liu Chuanxing met Haddadi for the first time and only scored two points and 6 rebounds. On March 8, Qingdao played against Sichuan again. Liu Chuanxing contributed 16 points and 4 rebounds. Looking back on the match in February, Liu Chuanxing said that he was a little confused and confused at the time, but it was much better the second time.

On April 17, the Qingdao team faced the Sichuan team again in a decisive playoff game. Liu Chuanxing scored 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks, becoming the Qingdao team to eliminate Sichuan. The biggest contributor to the team. After the game, some media used the term "beating" Haddadi to describe Liu Chuanxing's performance, and he modestly said that he fought against the famous Iranian player with a learning attitude.

Trying to prove that he is worthy of being an All-Star

However, Liu Chuanxing has a clear understanding of himself. When talking about being selected for the All-Star lineup, he said: "This All-Star Game was held in Qingdao. All parties gave me this opportunity. It does not mean that my true strength has been achieved. I will still use more efforts to prove that I can be worthy." Let’s do this.”

During the 2021 CBA All-Star Game, Southern Stars coach Du Feng (front left) communicates with Northern Stars player Liu Chuanxing (front right) after the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ziheng

Liu Chuanxing said frankly that he encountered many ups and downs on the road to basketball, met many noble people, and also encountered some doubts. When faced with doubts, he thought about retreating, and he also had doubts about whether he could succeed, but then he thought about it and couldn't retreat so easily.

When things go wrong, Liu Chuanxing rarely tells his parents. "They live in rural areas and don't understand the outside situation. They don't quite understand it if I tell them. They will only worry more, so they try to digest it by themselves or tell their friends. After all, sometimes it feels better to talk about it. However, they have It can be seen even when the time comes.”

Liu Chuanxing told reporters that income in rural areas is very low.

When his family sent him to Chongqing and Shenzhen to play basketball, they basically "spended all the efforts of the whole family" and even borrowed a little money. Now his development in the CBA league is relatively stable, and his family's financial situation is better than before. Liu Chuanxing has a sister who is seven or eight years older than him and works in his hometown. He occasionally talks about his basketball issues with his sister, who gives him a lot of support and encouragement.

Watch "Yao Shark" and become more domineering

Liu Chuanxing's current height reaches 2.25 meters, and he is one of the players in the CBA league who is closest to the height of Yao Ming, chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association. Liu Chuanxing said that he once watched the "Yao Shark Showdown" between Yao Ming and O'Neal, and it was indeed like "Mars hitting the Earth".

In the game video of that year, there was a scene that left a deep impression on Liu Chuanxing. "The chairman got up and was blocked by O'Neal when he was playing in the low post, and the second ball went in. Sometimes it's easy to get blocked with a hook, so I just hit you on the head. It's not a foul, it's me. To score a goal and to be willing to risk it all, you need that kind of domineering spirit."

During the 2019 Men's Basketball World Cup, Liu Chuanxing watched the TV broadcast. He felt a little surprised and regretful that the Chinese men's basketball team failed to qualify for the Olympics. He said that if he has the opportunity to serve the country in the future, he will definitely give his best.

Data map: On March 21, Northern Stars player Liu Chuanxing (left) celebrates scoring with his teammates during the CBA All-Star Game. Published by Xinhua News Agency (photo by Li Ziheng)

Looking to the future? Step by step

In 2018, when Liu Chuanxing first arrived in Qingdao, he would be recognized by some fans when he went out. Now, more fans know him, and people often ask him for autographs and photos.

Talking about his talent, Liu Chuanxing said: "God only gives you a height, and you have to work harder for other things."

Sometimes people on the Internet praise themselves or If he sprays himself, Liu Chuanxing will also go and take a look. "I don't just watch praise or criticize, I only listen to things that are useful to me, and I can think about it myself."

Liu Chuanxing (left) celebrates scoring with his teammates. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ziheng

In Liu Chuanxing’s view, his good performance on the court depends on the opportunities given by the team. If he does not perform well, he will look for reasons from himself. It is normal to have ups and downs. "I think more openly, and I am basically happy every day."

When the new crown epidemic broke out last year, the Qingdao team was training in Serbia. In a warm-up match, Liu Chuanxing met a big man whose height, weight and age were similar to himself. I heard from the other team's coach that he is also a player capable of playing in the Champions League, but for some reason he has not played in official games for a long time. It was this big man who easily scored more than 30 points in the warm-up match against the Qingdao team.

"After playing against him, I felt that the gap between myself was quite big. At that time, I thought, let's go back and keep working hard," Liu Chuanxing said.

In the quarter-finals of the CBA playoffs on the evening of the 19th, the Qingdao team lost to the Zhejiang team 98:111. Liu Chuanxing ended the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds. journey. He said: "I will go back in the summer and continue to work hard, hoping to perform better next season."

Proofreading: Wu Bowen

Issuing: Peng Dong

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