Chen Zhaodi

Chen Zhaodi (; 15 April 1955 – 1 April 2013) was a Chinese volleyball player, coach, and military general. She was a key member of the Chinese national team that won the 1981 FIVB World Cup and the 1982 FIVB World Championship. After retiring as a player in 1983, she served as assistant coach and later team manager for the national team, and as head coach for the national women's junior team. She later became Director of the Culture and Sports Bureau of the People's Liberation Army General Political Department and was awarded the rank of major general, making her the only Chinese sportsperson to become a military general. Chen suffered from cancer and died in 2013 at the age of 57.

Early life Chen was born on 15 April 1955 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. She studied at Hangzhou No. 10 High School.

Career Volleyball In 1973, Chen was selected into the People's Liberation Army's Bayi Volleyball Team. In 1981, the team won the FIVB World Cup for the first time, and Chen played a key role in that victory, The team won three more world titles in the next four years and its members were hailed as national heroes in China.

In 1986, Chen became the head coach of China's national junior team, which won the bronze medal at the 1987 Women's Junior Volleyball World Championships. However, she was diagnosed with cancer in 1988 and had to leave the post.

Chen's story was written into middle-school textbooks in China.