Chinese teenage footballer driven mad
By Yu Nan (chinadaily.com.cn)Updated: 2006-12-28 09:43
It's not just Wu Xiaoqiang's (alias) mental condition that needs treatment, so does the Chinese soccer world. There's one more scandal to add to the list that has marred the image of the Chinese soccer field that includes match-fixing, violence, and gambling.
 Wu Xiaoqiang,central,in black jersey.[sina.com] |
The incident was made public 24 days after it occurred on December 2, as Wu's family strongly requested it be kept quiet.
It seems that the 19-year-old became mad after his sudden elimination from the 32-member team squad for the upcoming India Soccer Tournament. Another source claimed he was cut by the new coach Zhang Jun.
Wu suddenly began screaming in the hallway, shouting nonsense and even bursting into teammates' rooms and continuously kowtowing in the morning of December 2nd morning. The team doctor was called as soon as observers realized Wu's behavior was not a joke.
The Shenzhen football club immediately decided to send Wu home for better treatment. On the way to Wuhan, however, Wu began shouting and screaming in the sleeping booth again and wouldn't calm down until his arms and legs were tied.
The Wuhan-born teenager was eager to join the Shenzhen soccer team Level I, the high-level one compared with team Level II he now has belonged to. Meanwhile, his family pressured him to go pro, according to Wu's teammate.
Wu's mental breakdown is likely the result of his elimination from the India soccer tournament. Wu had originally been picked to play. He was excited and called his parents to tell them the good news. But because Wu lacked a temporary resident's certificate, the Shenzhen administration couldn't apply for his visa, which kept Wu from being part of the team.
 Shenzhen soccer club head coach Zhang Jun.[sohu.com] |
Li Fei, Wu's teammate said Wu was normal, but drank sometimes and had depressive tendencies. Another rumor suggests that Wu was subjected to harsh and irregular training, dormitory of poor conditions and was sitting the bench in more and more games in Shenzhen, which made the boy depressed.
Other claims that the Shenzhen soccer club team II coaching group was bribing the teenager. That rumor has been denied by insiders because of the boy's family's struggle against poverty. The last said that Wu's breakdown stemmed from a long-term drug addiction.
Coach Zhang said that the club is operating as normal in spite of the sudden tragedy. "Xiaoqiang is the boy that I myself previously selected from Wuhan. I feel deeply sad about his situation. "
"His family and I keep close contact, "Zhang said. "He is permitted to return to training on the condition that he has recovered."
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Zhang Lan, Huaxi Hospital psychiatric department vice deputy said she "seldom sees such tragedy falling on an athlete, especially a young person. "Judging from the symptoms, Wu was in a bad way."
"It could be said that psychological factors played a part in Wu's breakdown," Zhang said. "His reported elimination from the team is by all means relevant to his actions."
"I suggested that he'd better undergo psychiatric evaluation before his treatment to have a better idea of what he is dealing with," she said.
Zhang also emphasized the importance of athlete's psychological health. "They live under pressure, facing selections and competitions."
Players must compete against their peers, and so need to be prepared for this mentally, but at the same time, coaches need to pay more attention to player's health, or Wu won't be the only case of a player having a mental breakdown, she added.
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