Leap (夺冠)

Hello, everyone, this is the 2008 Beijing Olympics'

Women's volleyball match between China and USA.

The holders are one of the favourite teams among the locals

with a home advantage today.

This match is predicted to have 300 million viewers.

This match is in the spotlight

for another reason.

That's correct.

Team USA's head coach

Lang Ping.

Nicknamed the Iron Hammer.

Achieving a legendary feat of 5 world championships in a row with her team.

Lang Ping, in the navy blue uniform

directs the players from the USA bench in English.

Ping's opponent today is her friend of many years.

You know

when China plays the USA

it's never simple.

Welcome, new comrade.

Hello, I'm the team manager.

Let me show you around.

This is the assistant coach leading the spiking practice.

Her here

is No. 5, our outside hitter.

1.8m tall, from Bayi Volleyball team.

From a civil servant family, works extremely hard.

Great basic techniques.

Can both attack and defence well.

The girl in blue

also an outside hitter.

She's probably the shortest hitter in the world.

She might not be tall

but she's got her own techniques

to spike anything set to her.

This is backup setter, No. 8.

No. 12, No. 9 and No. 2

are our middle blockers.

Here.

Our setter.

The captain.

Excellent rhythm and touch on sets, but

temperamental, and at times unwilling to take orders.

This is No. 4.

She sets and blocks extremely well.

Most people can do around 20 before collapsing

but she does 200 squats every day.

That middle blocker

like you, is from Fujian.

Her spikes and blocks are beautiful

but she's jittery and softly spoken.

That's No. 1, our last captain

who's willing to risk her life to save a ball.

Injuries all over her body.

Her knee caps are all worn down.

That's Lang Ping, doing squats with weights

is from Beijing.

Called into the national team at 18.

Before coming here

she couldn't even lift 30 kilos.

Coach has ordered

unless she can lift 100 kilos, she's not to practise with a ball.

This is how Coach trains her.

Her teammates are also helping her.

Let me help you.

Get up!

Sitting there makes you feel more tired.

People are naturally lazy.

Get up!

Our coach needs no introduction.

Come on, up!

When you girls were rolling on the floor

you stayed 2 seconds too long.

Remember!

2 seconds is long enough for victory on court.

Everyone, 10 more spikes!

You!

Don't cry!

China women's volleyball shed blood but not tears.

I can't do it! I quit!

You!

You think you can start and stop whenever you like?

No!

If you stop training now

we'll continue with you tomorrow morning.

Come on!

Again!

If this China team is to win the World Cup

they must be as strong as western teams

and become a well-rounded team.

Coach

I've never worked in women's volleyball.

I don't know anything about it.

I don't get why you asked me to be...

We want a man as their hitting partner.

Coach

the party didn't tell me...

We need a hitting partner who can

copy the playing techniques of our main competitors.

Coach

the order I have is to stay here for 45 days.

No one mentioned being a hitting partner.

Plus

I don't think I'm qualified enough.

Comrade

this is a very important position.

Welcome to China women's national volleyball team training.

Come this way, Officer Wang.

You must be very tired after 2 days of train ride.

Don't mention it.

Coach

let me introduce him to you.

He's technical officer Wang from Administration of Sport

coming straight from Beijing.

Nice to meet you, Coach.

One, Two.

One, Two.

One, Two.

What is computer technology exactly?

It's an electronic brain.

That's equal to a thousand human brains.

It can perform complex operations.

A player's strengths

usual way of playing and tactics can all be analysed.

According to the latest report

US head coach Selinger has begun using computer technology

to enhance the training and match performance of his team.

Which means

all our athletes

are being calculated.

Including you.

Can we get this computer thing?

There is only one at the Academy of Sciences

but I've heard it couldn't even fit into a truck.

Very few people know how to use it.

I don't think they'd let us use it for volleyball.

One more thing.

Selinger has also mentioned

technology will be the future of sports, not humans.

Whoever has the technologies, wins.

Thank you.

Raise the net by 15cm.

Carry on!

Jump!

Higher!

You call those spikes?

If you let them off easy now

they'll lose points during the match.

Harder!

Don't dodge! Harder!

Go towards the ball!

That's not enough power and curve!

Catch the ball.

The Americans will not show you mercy!

The Japanese will not show you mercy!

Come on!

Come on!

Do you think my method of training

can be calculated by a computer?

Keep going.

Come on!

Everyone's gone.

Rome was not built in a day.

Screw it.

I'm leaving.

You can't lift 100 kilos anyway.

I'll tell the Coach tomorrow that you've done it.

I'm going for dinner.

Hey, what are you doing?

Okay! I've seen it. Put it down!

You wanna kill yourself!?

I was called up to the national team at 18.

Everyone tells me I'm lucky

without knowing how hard I've worked.

I didn't know

I couldn't even touch a ball here.

The experienced players are technically better.

All I can do is work harder.

But the thing is

everyone here works hard, so I can't even win with that.

There are no other choices for me.

I can't go to university.

I can only keep my head down and practise.

10 thousand years are too long

seize the day, seize the hour.

Fight if you can win, run if you will lose.

Some people live in a dream world.

Some people live in reality.

And some make one into the other.

What is that? I don't get that.

Do you know

from the bottom of the flag to the floor is 3.32m.

That's the spiking height of Flo Hyman (USA's outside hitter).

I will jump higher one day.

You're just a backup

talk when you're a starter.

I've already lifted 100 kilos.

I'll be practising with a ball tomorrow.

Hurry up, Lang Ping.

Count faster!

This is the national team.