(Tokyo Olympics) Interview with Chinese Taekwondo athlete Sun Hongyi: Although he has not become a "dark horse", he has made personal history

　　China News Service, Hohhot, July 28th. Title: Interview with Chinese Taekwondo athlete Sun Hongyi: Although he has not become a "dark horse", he has made personal history

　　China News Service reporter Li Aiping

　　On the morning of the 28th, Sun Hongyi, who was packing things in his room in the Tokyo Olympic Village, suddenly received a call from the reporter. He said, "I'll get to the airport now and have a chat."

　　This was the first word Sun Hongyi said to reporters on the evening of the 27th, regretting not to win the bronze medal.

　　Sun Hongyi, 28, comes from the Hulunbuir Prairie in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. As a Chinese Taekwondo athlete, he went to the Tokyo Olympics and was regarded as the "prairie people's hope."

　　On May 22 this year (Jordan local time), Sun Hongyi defeated Lebanese players in Amman, Jordan, and locked the Chinese team's Olympic qualification for the last taekwondo event.

Before going to the Tokyo Olympics, Sun Hongyi hoped that he could be a "dark horse" and create his own "Olympic time" when interviewed by reporters.

　　On the 27th, Sun Hongyi, as a Taekwondo player of 80 kg and above, started his first round at the Tokyo Olympics, scoring British veteran Mahama Cho.

　　In the quarter-finals, Sun Hongyi staged a counterattack after falling behind 1:5, reversing the Croatian player Sabina and entering the semi-finals.

　　In the semifinals, Sun Hongyi lost to the top seed, Russian Olympic Committee player Lalin, and missed the final.

　　Then entered the battle for the bronze medal. Sun Hongyi and Cuban player Rafael drew 4 to 4. In the last second of the match, Sun Hongyi was fined 1 point for going out of bounds. In the end, he lost the bronze medal 4 to 5 and ranked fifth.

The picture shows Hongyi Sun (left one) in Tokyo.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　Regarding such a result, Sun Hongyi said: "I played with the confidence of winning on the field, but the game is accidental. I didn't grasp the last second. It's a pity."

　　"Although I failed to become a'dark horse' in the end, I have created my best history and hope to show myself in the National Games in two months' time," said Hongyi Sun.

　　According to official information, the Chinese Taekwondo team will participate in the Tokyo Olympics this time. There are 6 heavyweight players including Zhao Shuai, Zheng Shuyin, Zhang Mengyu, Zhou Lijun, Wu Jingyu, and Sun Hongyi. In addition to Zhao Shuai who won a bronze medal, several other players and The medal missed.

　　The reporter combed and found that since Taekwondo became an Olympic event in 2000, the Chinese team has won gold medals in every Olympic Games, but for the first time in the Tokyo Olympics, there was the regret of no gold medals.

　　Regarding this, Sun Hongyi and his teammates expressed their unwillingness, but he also said: "We still have many shortcomings and we need to work hard to narrow the gap."

　　Sun Hongyi’s father, Sun Wensheng, said in an interview with reporters, “Although Sun Hongyi failed to win the bronze medal in the end, he can still see the limitations of his strength. He is not a seeded player, and it is not easy to make it to the semi-finals.”

　　Sun Wensheng told reporters that Sun Hongyi, who started Taekwondo at the age of 14, has not been exposed to any sports before except for his talent. “For him, being able to be on the Olympic stage is already a'dark horse'.”

　　According to the news from the Inner Mongolia Sports Bureau, Sun Hongyi won the fifth place in the Tokyo Olympic Games with a taekwondo over 80 kg. Not only was he the first person to participate in the Inner Mongolia Taekwondo event, he also refreshed the history of the Inner Mongolia Taekwondo event.

　　Although regretted not to win the bronze medal, Sun Hongyi said: "I have done my best and have shown all my strength."

　　In Sun Wensheng's view, the game is over. The most important thing now is to see his son as soon as possible. "He only spent the New Year with us at home in ten years. We miss him very much." (End)