Short-Track Speed Skating: It’s shameful how the Hungarian professionals are spit in the face – Ákos Bánhidi

"When asked about how much money the Liu brothers put in the pockets of their peers, my answer is: a lot. But I have other thoughts, too.

To begin with, I have an excellent relationship with the brothers and Zhang Jing Lina; our love and respect for each other are unbroken. As one of the (former) coaches of the boys, I can tell you that they are the kind of athletes everyone wants when they enter this noble profession, not only for the "tsunami of results" that the boys have showered on us, but for the love and appreciation I have received from them.

We have been through a very difficult and painful period, during which I did everything I could to keep us together, but unfortunately, this did not happen: the path that led to the current situation is the result of decisions that I could not influence enough.

Lina is a fantastic coach and colleague, an extraordinarily hard worker, and an incredibly charismatic person. I feel lucky and proud to have worked with her for so many years. She is, without a doubt, one of the highest-rated coaches in the short track world. My relationship with her is still excellent to this day: we have a mutual respect for each other's skills, knowledge and all the fantastic memories we have shared.

Our professional workshop was further strengthened by the arrival of South Korean coach, Jae Joo Sun, who is also a coach of immense knowledge. The joint efforts of the three of us and the quality of the professional work of the entire Hungarian professional staff resulted in our ability to turn world-star candidates into world stars. In any case, too little is said about Jae Joo Sun, especially when it comes to the value he adds to the results.

But let me point out that Lina did not come to Namibia to coach skating, but to Hungary. By then, our little country already had Olympic point-earning finishes and a lot of European Championship medals. The results until then were the fruit of twenty to twenty-five years of hard work by dedicated competitors, coaches, managers, and parents. Before Lina's arrival, we had been working with renowned and excellent Canadian coaches for almost ten years, and this added a lot to our knowledge.

I am convinced that during her stay here, Lina has learned as much from the Central European training methodologies as we have learned from what she has brought from Asia.

It's shameful and regretful how the excellent Hungarian professionals are spit in the face. Believe it or not, Lina would have taken some of the staff with her far away if she could. It is also true that there were some who disagreed with us at home and turned their backs on us but only time can remedy that now.

There are those who hold Hungarian coaches to account for suddenly achieving results with skaters who have been second or even third in line, which we could not achieve with Lina either.

We are coaches, not magicians, who work from the material we have brought in.

Not everyone is born a champion, as much as we would like...

But we believe in these skaters, and we believe in getting the best out of them. We believe that we know a lot – and little at the same time, and we can certainly learn a lot more.

We also believe that we can still find talents and turn them into champions. Perhaps never as great as the brothers, but we have mostly experienced success with and alongside them.

Many, many years ago, we realized that it was worth sitting in a classroom and humbly embracing the knowledge and experience of the coaches of the great skating powers – learning should last until death.

We are still joined by three excellent colleagues from abroad: the British Nicholas Gooch, the South Korean Erik Lee Chul Won and Chun Jae Su, who have not completely broken off our professional relationship. This may be a comfort to many. I would like to add, however, that these gentlemen have the utmost respect for the professionalism of Hungarian coaches.

It was revealed that the Liu brothers often vomited after Lina's training sessions.

A few days ago, I had lunch with Shaoang and Shaolin, and we were asking each other who could be spreading such nonsense.

Anyone can get so exhausted during a training session that they vomit because of reduced blood supply to the digestive system - it's happened to boys, as well as to others, at least twice in the last fifteen years.

Poor Lina would be surprised to hear that someone would consider her skills outstanding because the two world stars vomited regularly as a direct consequence of her hundreds of hard training sessions, and the rest of us watched it frightened.

And one last thought: it is with the deepest respect that I feel the Liu brothers' attachment to Lina. Of the three of us, she is the most important for the boys, and I have no bad feelings about that. I'd go through fire for the boys – and they might as well for me. And as much as the boys need Lina, she needs them too because the best coach in the world must have the best skaters in the world.

Meanwhile, the Hungarian men and women finished ahead of the Chinese in the second World Cup in Almaty. Of course, all this does not mean that Lina is not one of the best coaches, nor does it necessarily mean that the Hungarians are the least qualified professionals. The appearance of the brothers in the Chinese team is expected to push their performance indicators. I wish them all the best, but as a Hungarian coach, I represent my country in all cases, so I'm sure I'll have some "interesting" moments ahead..."