China News Service, Xi’an, September 23, title: Gymnastics "Almighty King" Xiao Ruoteng: You don't need a gold medal to prove yourself
China News Agency reporter Zhang Yichen
"I don't need to use another gold medal to prove myself, I just want to use the gold medal to thank everyone for their support." Xiao Ruoteng said full of confidence.
The men's individual all-around finals of the 14th National Games of the 14th National Games were held in Xi'an on the 23rd. Olympians Xiao Ruoteng and Sun Wei competed fiercely with "post-00" teenager Zhang Boheng.
In the end, after six rounds of competition, Xiao Ruoteng, who was fighting with injuries, narrowly defeated "Supernova" Zhang Boheng with a slight advantage of 0.067 points to win the championship.
Back in the evening of July 28, 2021, Xiao Ruoteng won the silver medal with a total score of 88.065 in the men's individual all-around final of the Tokyo Olympics gymnastics.
For a time, Xiao Ruoteng's topic of "zero mistakes but missed the gold medal" boarded the hot search, and caused controversy about the referee's scoring.
Everyone left a message on Xiao Ruoteng's Weibo: You are the champion!
For his trip to Tokyo, Xiao Ruoteng said frankly, "I have regrets, but no regrets."
On September 23, at the Shaanxi National Games, Xiao Ruoteng had no regrets. He said that he had waited for the gold medal for 4 years.
At the 2017 Tianjin National Games, he fell twice and returned home.
"Looking back to the scene at the Tianjin National Games, I was very nervous before going on the horizontal bar today. Four years of ups and downs. When encountering setbacks, you should face your life happily, work hard, and have a mission on your shoulders. Struggle has me." It is this positive, optimistic, and reluctant spirit that makes Xiao Ruoteng's sports career full of resilience.
In today's final, Xiao Ruoteng swept away his previous downturn in the team competition and appeared on the free exercise field with a completely new mental outlook.
In the first three rounds, Zhang Boheng, the number one "supernova" in the preliminaries, has been suppressing Xiao Ruoteng.
However, Xiao Ruoteng, who has experienced the baptism of the Olympics, has no emotional fluctuations and continues to maintain a stable performance.
Zhang Boheng made a mistake immediately in his strong jump, Xiao Ruoteng took the opportunity to overtake, and finally won the battle between the new and the old "Almighty King".
Born in 1996, Xiao Ruoteng is not young in gymnastics. It is the dream of every athlete to stand on the podium in the competition, and this is also true for Xiao Ruoteng.
"The shoulder injury is more serious and does not affect the game, but it is very affected in normal training, which limits my development."
Looking forward to the Paris Olympics, Xiao Ruoteng said that after the National Games, the shoulder injuries should be treated and adjusted.
The Tokyo Olympics and the National Games are very tight, so I need to slow down first.
This year’s National Games, represented by Zhang Boheng’s "back wave", performed brilliantly. In this regard, Xiao Ruoteng said: "Our competition is very benign. Zhang Boheng performed very well, but he still needs to grow and accumulate his experience. It took years of tempering to get to this day."
In this game of the National Games, Xiao Ruoteng not only won his opponent but also himself, as he sang in the song "Dream as a Horse": "Whether the gold medal or the silver medal is my pride, since Do it, then do it unexpectedly.” (End)