By sportswriters Cao Yibo and Xia Liang

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Jogging out of the player tunnel at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gym, Luo Xinyu naturally received much louder cheers on her third WCBA All-Star trip compared to the previous two. Having played for China's national team in three major tournaments in the last 12 months, Luo was well-remembered by the fans. Her name, which is hard to type on keyboards, now has auto-fill options on search engines, an indication of her growing fame.

NEVER GIVING UP

Luo's name, which implies strong vitality, was given by her grandfather. The child Luo, born into a basketball family, probably didn't know that her name could be a hint for survival on a professional road full of ups and downs. At the age of 11, Luo was sent to a basketball school in her hometown Wuxi by her parents, who were both former basketball players at Nanjing Military Force. With basketball genes, Luo had a sweet time on the city team, but going down the road further was not the same.

"I was not among the most favored players on the provincial team," Luo recalled in an exclusive interview with Xinhua, "If you weren't selected for the talent pool for U-teams at around 13 to 14 years old, the gate would likely be closed for you."

Born in 2001, Luo was stuck between two age groups. It was harsh for her to compete with the older and wasteful to join the younger one. "I didn't sense hope; everyone gave up on me. I thought maybe I was not born for this," Luo said.

Following two years of struggle, Luo was once lucky enough to participate in a tryout for the youth national team, but she was told to leave just a day before the team departed for the FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship held in India.

"Other rejects were informed weeks ahead of the final roster, while I had already packed my luggage for India. The team and I left the camp on the same bus. They were heading to the airport, and I was dropped off halfway at the train station to go home," Luo recounted.

The stubborn girl chose not to give up on her professional dream. She met the Jiangsu youth team's coach, Shi Tianbing, who scouted her talent and sent her to the national youth team coached by China Basketball Hall-of-Famer Cong Xuedi. It would have been hard to catch up if she had fallen behind.

"I was sitting on the bench for most of the time, but I was always ready, taking off my training clothes to wait for my name to be called," Luo said, adding, "I didn't want to be looked down upon again."

Cong perceived Luo's strong desire to succeed and gave her a chance.

"My three-pointers were developed with her help, and whenever I felt like slacking off a bit, Coach Cong would immediately come to remind me. Her words could really hit my sensitive spot, and hearing them sparked my motivation."

AN UNYIELDING MENTALITY

With two of the national team regulars - Li Yueru and Huang Sijing injured, head coach Zheng Wei called up Luo for her squad for last year's FIBA Asia Cup in Australia. Averaging 4.8 points in four games, the national team debutant's numbers were not eye-catching, but her tough style impressed the audiences.

In FIBA's "Five Raising Stars to Watch in Asia Cup," Luo was commented on as "watch out for her hard work, energy, and hustle. Sometimes the biggest impact is made not by what a player puts on the stat sheet but by the things the stat sheet doesn't see."

In China's whitewash over Mongolia at the Hangzhou Asian Games, two plays summarized Luo's "unyielding" mentality. After missing a putback layup, Luo showed no dismay or hesitation, swiftly turning around to snatch the ball from the opponent who had just grabbed the rebound. Minutes later, the 1.88m tall Luo once again wrestled with the opposing guard, winning possession once more.

"I'm actually nervous off the court and during substitutions, but after a couple of runs, I will stop thinking about everything, including who the opponent is," Luo said.

Following the Asia Cup and Asian Games, Luo gradually gained her place on Team China and raised her stats to six points and 3.5 rebounds at the 2024 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.

SHOOTING FOR STRENGTH

Returning to the WCBA league, Luo averaged 18.1 points and 7.1 rebounds, ranking second among domestic players in both categories to lead Jiangsu to a fourth-place finish in the regular season. However, tragedy struck on February 22, just before the match against Shaanxi, when Luo's beloved coach, Ding Tie, passed away unexpectedly. The loss deeply affected Luo, who considered Ding a nurturing father figure, prompting tears to flow freely on the sidelines during the game.

"It was unprofessional to cry, but I felt my world collapsed at that moment. He took care of everything for me and absorbed my childish temper, so I only needed to focus on basketball," Luo said, "A moment that keeps flashing back in my head is when he told me to 'grow up' on my 18th birthday."

Perhaps, after that game, Luo had "grown up," promising to shoulder more responsibility for the team and control her emotions on the court under the guidance of their new coach Chen Shengping.

Yao Ming, president of the Chinese Basketball Association, believes that the Chinese women's team owes its recent success partially to the present crop of exceptional players but has stressed the need to foster the younger talents.

Luo, one of the few post-2000s players on the national team, is touted as Li Meng's successor and the backbone of the national team in the post-Paris Olympics era. However, the 22-year-old acknowledged the gap between herself and Li Meng, saying she needs to improve her ball-handling, off-ball movement, and mid-range shooting.

"I want to become stronger as soon as possible," she said. Enditem

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