[Ismu]

Liu Guoliang is among the five nominees named by China to run for the second edition of the IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Eligible coaches must have attended at least one edition of the Olympic Games, and made outstanding achievements and contributions to encouraging athletes in summer or winter Olympic sports in line with the Olympic values.
Liu Guoliang as a former Grand Slam champion, had guided the Chinese table tennis team in four Olympic Games. Under his reign, China won 15 out of 16 golds awarded in the sport since the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

The IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Awards were launched last year. It is an initiative of the IOC Athletes' Entourage Commission to raise awareness about the athletes' entourage and recognise the important role coaches play in supporting athletes on the road to their sporting dreams. The awards are presented annually.

Nominations can be made by Olympians, International Federations, National Olympic Committees, members of the IOC Athletes' and Athletes' Entourage Commissions and IOC Members.

The winner of the first edition were retired American swimming coach Jon Urbanchek and Japanese synchronized swimming coach Kaneko Masako.

The General Administration of Sports in China is recommending these five coaches: Liu Guoliang, Lang Ping, Zhou Jihong, Sun Haiping and Zhang Jun:

Liu Guoliang (1976) is a legendary table tennis player, and former head coach of the Chinese men's national table tennis team. He led Team China to win the team gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, along with the victories of single male players. His most famous apprentices are Ma Lin, Wang Hao and Wang Liqin.

Lang Ping (1960) is nicknamed the "Iron Hammer" and is a Chinese legend in volleyball. She is the current coach of the Chinese women’s volleyball team and has guided China to the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Zhou Jihong (1965) is the first diving gold medalist for China, and has been the coach of the Chinese diving team since 1998, having trained 24 Olympic champions so far.

Sun Haiping (1955) is the coach of retired 110m hurdler Liu Xiang, who was the first Chinese male athlete to have won an Olympic gold medal in athletics in 2004.

Zhang Jun (1977) is a former Chinese badminton player who bagged the gold in mixed doubles at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. He is now the coach of China's national singles and doubles teams.