China News Service, Tokyo, July 23 (Reporter Yue Chuan) Standing outside the New National Arena, it really felt that the Tokyo Olympics were no longer far away.

The opening ceremony held here put an end to the five-year wait.

Several teams of the Chinese sports delegation arrived in Tokyo on the 19th local time, and reporters were interviewing on the spot.

Photo by Han Haidan

  In the few days before the opening of the Olympic Games, picking up the airport and visiting the museum were the focus of my work.

In the exchanges with various national teams, the ones I heard most were "expectation" and "ready".

From this, I can feel their desire for the Olympics.

  While queuing at the airport for a nucleic acid test, I met with Xiao Ruoteng, the world champion of gymnastics.

I asked how it feels now. He said that although the waiting time is a bit long, he is still very happy to finally come to Tokyo and embark on the Olympic Games.

  Due to injury, Xiao Ruoteng missed the Rio Olympics 5 years ago, so his trip to Tokyo was the first time he experienced the Olympic atmosphere at the age of 25.

  Some people always say that 25 years old is the best time in life; but for gymnasts, 25 years old may mean the last chance.

  So I better understand the meaning of "finally" in Xiao Ruoteng's words.

I also believe that thousands of athletes, like Xiao Ruoteng, cherish this hard-won journey.

Because there were still many people, they could not catch the flight to Tokyo.

  After the announcement of the Chinese sports delegation's entry list, I need to make a manuscript about the famous players not making the Tokyo Olympics.

For some reason, compared to those names that regretted passing the Olympics at the last moment, the first thing in my mind was Lin Dan, who had announced his retirement from the national team last year.

Perhaps this is because, if the Olympics were not postponed, Lin Dan should be struggling for the number of entries.

  There is also the Malaysian star Li Zongwei, whose disease has deprived him of the opportunity to compete for the Olympic qualifications.

The two future Badminton Hall of Fame members who have been in the game for more than ten years, they both regarded the Tokyo Olympics as the last stop of their careers and gave their best to it, but due to different reasons, they finally missed it.

  For athletes, the postponement of the Olympics is not simply the same as persisting for another year.

Only after going through a difficult choice and putting in more sweat can it be possible to exchange a ticket for the Tokyo Olympics.

  The 19th was the most intensive day for the Chinese sports delegation. A total of 14 teams arrived in Tokyo.

Due to the need for epidemic prevention, the time taken to exit the customs has been greatly increased. Many teams "wandered" for a whole day, and it was past midnight when they arrived at the Olympic Village.

  Although they were tired from the journey, they still couldn't hide their excitement.

Even the Chinese women's volleyball coach Lang Ping, who is used to seeing strong winds and waves, said that he is very excited to come to Tokyo because it has been 5 years for the Olympic Games.

  From Narita Airport, whether the destination is the Olympic Village or the Media Center, it is a long journey.

In the car that picked up and returned from the airport that day, I suddenly felt a feeling that this day seemed to be the epitome of the year—it was a long one, but after all, it did not become an unreachable shore.

  However, this year, the Tokyo Olympics, which was postponed once, still stumbled.

Around it, there are always disagreeing parties pulling each other.

How to describe the Tokyo Olympics?

When I looked up and saw the huge "TOKYO2020" logo outside the New National Stadium, the problem ensues.

  This seems to be a simple and complicated thing.

The simple point is that you can easily find many places that can be described as "most", "more", and "first" for this event. For example, since 1896, the Summer Olympics have been cancelled three times by war, but There has never been a precedent for postponement.

What's more complicated is that when these words that rewrite history are intertwined, the Tokyo Olympics is destined not to be completely outlined in a few words.

  Thinking of this, a natural pushback made me take back my thoughts and walked into the New National Arena with my colleagues.

There are too many starting points, which are about to unfold from the moment under our feet.

(Finish)