(Tokyo Olympics) Why is the national feather mixed doubles so strong?
China News Agency, Tokyo, July 30th, title: Why is the national feather mixed doubles so strong?
China News Agency reporter Xing Chong
After an 18-month absence from the international arena, another battle will be the Olympics, but the two mixed doubles combination of Guoyu won the gold and silver medals in the Tokyo Olympics on the 30th.
"There were four Chinese players in the final. The four of us contributed to a wonderful match, which fully demonstrated the strength of the Chinese badminton mixed doubles." Wang Yilu, who won the championship, said after the match.
On July 30, in the mixed doubles event of the Tokyo Olympics badminton, the Chinese combination Wang Yilu/Huang Dongping defeated teammates Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong 2:1 and won the gold medal.
This is the first gold medal of the Chinese badminton team in this Olympics and the 18th gold medal of the Chinese delegation in this Olympics.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Du Yang
"But why are you so strong?" At the press conference after the game, many Japanese media raised such questions.
Since badminton mixed doubles became an official Olympic event in 1996, the Chinese team has won three Olympic championships in 2000, 2004 and 2012. Zhang Jun/Gao Wei completed two consecutive championships in Sydney and Athens. Zhang Nan/ Zhao Yunlei and Xu Chen/Ma Jin met in the final in London. The National Badminton Mixed Doubles created an unprecedented brilliant record and became the most stable individual event in the Olympics.
In fact, in the Rio Olympics cycle, the national badminton mixed doubles also occupies a world-class position, and is also considered to be the single event with the highest probability of winning gold.
For various reasons, Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei and Xu Chen/Ma Jin both stopped in the semi-finals at the Rio Olympics, resulting in Guoyu's failure to achieve the fourth consecutive Olympic mixed doubles championship.
During the Tokyo Olympic cycle, young mixed doubles groups quickly emerged. The strong rise of Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong and Wang Yilu/Huang Dongping have long occupied the top two seats in the world.
Since Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong were paired at the end of 2017, they have won 21 international championships including two World Championships, one Asian Games and one final. Double is the most stable "double insurance" in the international arena.
When answering questions from the Japanese media, the two Chinese pairs both talked about "cooperating."
"We two have been partners all the way to the present. Zheng Siwei has helped me a lot. When I retreat on the court, he often encourages me. We are also very complementary in character and tolerant of each other. I told him not to worry, he told me Increase confidence." Huang Yaqiong replied.
Huang Dongping revealed that the partnership with Wang Yilu didn't go well at first.
"In fact, we two had more conflicts at first, but we got better and better afterwards, and we have been encouraging each other until now."
From a technical point of view, badminton mixed doubles really pay more attention to "cooperation."
Different from singles' emphasis on physical and technical comprehensiveness, doubles pays more attention to cooperation and on-court observation. It can be said that singles and doubles have huge differences in court awareness and play styles.
In addition, the importance of female players in the mixed doubles is particularly prominent. For example, Zheng Siwei’s changeable style of play, strong backcourt smashing power, Huang Yaqiong’s exquisite skills in front of the net and rapid movement can make up for the continuity after Zheng Siwei’s heavy smashing and play more The power of the backcourt attack; and Huang Dongping's sharp blocking and flexible running, combined with Wang Yilu's effective offense, often left opponents without the power to counterattack.
The four also revealed that although Guoyu did not participate in international competitions for more than a year affected by the epidemic, it has been in systematic training. The training intensity and logistical support are the same as before the epidemic. This is the reason why they can maintain their competitiveness. Where.
Wang Yilu and Zheng Siwei also thanked their partners in particular.
Wang Yilu said frankly that in mixed doubles, the complementarity of the two is the most important, which is reflected in technology and personality. When one is in a downturn, the other helps more and can perform better on the court.
Zheng Siwei, who won the silver medal, shouted Huang Yaqiong, "This is not the end."
"We have been very smooth in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Last year we have experienced ups and downs but we have not doubted each other. We are very determined to participate in the Olympics. In the end, although we got the silver medal, we are very grateful for each other’s company. This is not our end. We will go forward hand in hand."
Focusing on the future, all four expressed their belief that China's badminton mixed doubles will develop better and better.
Huang Yaqiong said that the best promotion for the development of mixed doubles by athletes is to score every point on the court.
"I believe that those who watched our final today will like mixed doubles. Through the Olympics, more people will learn about mixed doubles and fall in love with mixed doubles." (End)