After helping the team win the championship of the Chinese men’s basketball professional league (CBA) in the 2022-2023 season, Zhang Zhenlin, a Liaoning team player, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency that the confidence on the court came from daily hard training, the injuries and pressures he experienced prompted him to grow faster.
When talking about the feeling of winning the second CBA championship, Zhang Zhenlin said frankly that his spirit had been tense for too long a while ago. “Nervous for a long time suddenly loose, the whole person is like ‘break. The atmosphere of the stadium is very good, and now the adrenaline is still relatively high.”
Zhang Zhenlin failed to play in the first stage of the regular season due to injuries. Since then, his competitive state has also experienced ups and downs. However, he played well in the first game of the finals through active adjustment, become the first local player to win the “three double” in the history of CBA finals.
Zhang Zhenlin believes that his adjustment ability and growth are not completed in an instant, but due to the training of the whole season.
“This season is the most difficult season for me. At the beginning, I experienced injuries and physical discomfort. Later, there were injuries and a shortage of team personnel. A series of (factors) were added together, I personally and the whole team are under great pressure.” Zhang Zhenlin said.
Zhang Zhenlin also has his own views on his injuries and the pressure he bears. “Without these injuries and pressures, I will not grow so fast. It is not only the mentality, but also the ability to temper oneself, as well as the tacit understanding and trust with the team.”
Zhang Zhenlin said that he hoped to have more responsibilities on the court. Maybe there were some ups and downs in the first few games of the playoffs, but then he gradually adjusted back.
“The team, coach and family have been encouraging me all the time, so that I don’t have too much pressure. It is a game and I believe in my ability. Later, we got better slowly. We survived the most difficult time and entered the finals.”
This season, Zhang Zhenlin’s performance on the court has become more comprehensive and mature. Regarding his role in the team’s tactical system, he said: “Everyone in this team is very strong. We don’t need personal heroism. I play different roles every day, this is essential for a successful team.”
In the semi-finals, the Liaoning team once fell behind Guangsha team by 1-2. In the key fourth game, Liaoning team fell 8 points (44-52) in half. With Zhang Zhenlin’s outstanding performance in the third quarter, Liaoning team beat the score and finally won the game.
Looking back at the key game, Zhang Zhenlin revealed that he didn’t care so much about the score and the game itself. “If we had to recover the score quickly at that time, it might put more pressure on ourselves, but it would have an impact on the outcome of the game.”
Zhang Zhenlin shared his feelings in the second stage of the regular season with injuries in the interview: “It’s too difficult! In fact, my feet have not recovered completely, even they have been swelling all the time, but I have already missed a stage of competition, and I will take part in the competition anyway.”
“At that time, my feet couldn’t work hard, and it was difficult to run and accelerate. Sometimes I would vote a lot of ‘air ball ‘, sometimes I would even vote on the timer. Even my teammates and coaches were skeptical of me, ‘Can he adapt to the competition immediately in this state? ‘”
Zhang Zhenlin told his teammates confidently: “Don’t worry, I will definitely make a difference in the game.”
Zhang Zhenlin said frankly that this confidence originated from the efforts on the field: “At that time, I really made a lot of efforts. During the preparation period of the whole team, I would spare 4 hours to train in advance every day, 4 hours a day, I will have dozens of hours more training time than others in a week, and these efforts have created my confidence now.” In the first game after the second stage of comeback, Zhang Zhenlin scored 23 points.
He told the reporter that he would take a “small” holiday for himself next, spend this time with his family, and then plan to go to the United States for training. “Because the ups and downs of this season are too big, (I want to) make up for the shortcomings of next season.”
For the men’s basketball World Cup to be held this year, Zhang Zhenlin said: “No matter what position the coach puts me in, I will do my best, try my best and enthusiasm to do every minute.”
In the finals, Zhang Zhenlin frequently staged difficult dunks with his excellent physical quality.
As for his game style, he said, in fact, this year, due to the impact of injuries, there is not much desire to dunk, and more is to keep healthy.
“Physical fatigue and injuries really affect the performance on the court, but after a year of recovery and adjustment, the status of the finals gradually recovered. At home, I wanted to show myself when I saw some vacant opportunities, I want to bring energy to my teammates and fans.”
In addition to the CBA league, Zhang Zhenlin has also participated in overseas league matches such as the American College Sports Association (NCAA) Men’s Basketball and the American League basketball (NBA) Summer League. He hopes to temper his mentality through these matches: “Each league has different rules and different ways of playing, how to find his correct position and how to play his role well, this is the most important thing. Each team has different needs for a player. It is the most important to figure out their own position and how to use their own expertise to help the team win.”
Before the start of this season, Zhang Zhenlin adjusted his shooting hand during overseas training. He introduced that the previous shooting hand type had some limits on the development limit. After consideration from all aspects, he made up his mind to change the hand type. “After the change (hand type), it will be of great help in terms of skills and tactics, space for the team and personal characteristics, but it only needs more time to adapt.”
Zhang Zhenlin under the court loves life as much as his peers, and the intermission of training often shares his personal life with his teammates.
“I think there is not only basketball in life. Knowing someone is not only about his performance on the court, but also about topics other than basketball. You can change your mood.” Zhang Zhenlin said.
(WEN/Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Bowen, Cao Yibo, Pan Xiaolong)