When opponent Liam Pitchfort returned the ball to the net, Liang Jingkun won the 7-round battle.
He scored the last point and waved his hands to the audience. The Chinese fans in the stands responded by waving the five-star red flag.
When the camera turned, Liang Jingkun deeply kissed the national flag on the shirt on his chest. His face is full of pride.
On November 26, local time, Chinese table tennis player Liang Jingkun was in the game.
On the same day, in the men's singles match at the Houston World Table Tennis Championships, Liang Jingkun defeated England's Pitchford 4-3 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Guanguan
The sight returned to this fierce battle.
A few days ago, in the men's singles 1/8 finals of the World Table Tennis Championships in Houston, USA, Liang Jingkun, nicknamed "Big Fat", met England's Liam Pitchford.
The two sides of the game have been entangled since the start of the game. After Liang Jingkun scored a 3:1 lead in the general bureau, the turnovers began to increase, and Pitchford equalized the score in the general bureau.
Image source: Official Weibo of the World Table Tennis Professional League.
At this time the game entered a white-hot stage.
In the deciding game, after Liang Jingkun led 8:4, the game entered a timeout.
When Liang Jingkun communicated with Qin Zhijian, the head coach of the National Table Tennis Men's Team, unfriendly voices appeared on the scene.
The shouts of "yellow banana, yellow (yellow banana)" continued from the stands, which seemed to be racist insults to Chinese athletes.
In a venue that is not noisy, such a sound is particularly harsh.
In fact, this unfriendly voice appeared repeatedly during the competition between the two players.
Liang Jingkun accepted an interview after the game.
Image source: Screenshot of the Weibo video of the World Table Tennis Professional League.
Through the videos circulated on social media, it can be seen that several white viewers kept chanting indecent slogans while tapping the beat with their hands.
Fortunately, Liang Jingkun was not disturbed by off-site factors.
He clearly knows that,
as an athlete, in the arena, speaking with strength and fighting back with victory is the best way.
After winning the game, Liang Jingkun did not hide his excitement. He faced the direction of the audience, put the racket to his ear, and enjoyed the cheers of the fans.
At this time, the discordant voice had long since disappeared, and
Liang Jingkun used this method to give the "noise maker" a powerful counterattack.
Image source: Screenshot of Weibo comment.
His passionate kiss of the national flag on the jersey made countless netizens even more moved.
This action coincides with the five-star red flag on the auditorium, and the picture freezes. This is another classic moment of national table tennis.
In the quarter-finals that followed, Liang Jingkun met with Brazilian Hugo.
However, in the game, a small number of spectators booed Liang Jingkun to affect his performance.
This was an extremely difficult game. Liang Jingkun once fell behind his opponent by 0:3 in the overall game. When he was on the edge of the cliff, Liang Jingkun performed a good show of "let 3 chase 4".
Image source: Screenshot of Weibo comment.
After winning the deciding game, Liang Jingkun held a racket and roared to the sky.
Amid the prolonged cheers at the scene, Liang Jingkun and Qin Zhijian hugged tightly.
Under the influence of unfavorable factors off the court, under the opponent's strong offensive, such a victory was not easy to come by.
On November 26, local time, Chinese table tennis player Liang Jingkun celebrated his victory.
On the same day, in the men's singles match at the Houston World Table Tennis Championships, Liang Jingkun defeated England's Pitchford 4-3 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Guanguan
Netizens can't help but sigh with emotion: "The competition makes people cry, and the power of the nation is indestructible. Chinese athletes, use their strength to break the noise!"
The noise on the court also made many fans more aware of the difficulty of Chinese players fighting overseas.
Image source: Screenshot of Weibo comment.
On the 28th local time, the ITTF officially issued a statement strongly opposing all forms of racism.
"The table tennis family is a global community group composed of 227 member associations. Diversity keeps us together.
Image source: Screenshot of ITTF's official Weibo.
"We will never tolerate any racist remarks or behavior. We are working closely with the local organizing committee to prevent recurrence of racist incidents in our games."
Image source: Screenshot of Weibo comment.
Between the lines, it is dissatisfaction and disdain for racism on the court, and it is also the greatest support and protection for all table tennis players.
Indeed, sports competitions are full of competition and confrontation. It is also understandable to cheer for their favorite athletes.
But this does not mean that it is possible to "add bad words" to other athletes indefinitely. The appearance of racism makes the pure arena become misty.
Data map: Liang Jingkun was interviewed after the game by Ma Yuanhao
Every athlete who can step onto the arena is already a winner. After training day after day, in order to realize their dreams in the arena, this is the meaning of their hard work.
"Speak with strength" is never an empty slogan in competitive sports.
Behind this is the players' strong self-confidence and love for sports.
Don't let sports change the taste.
(Author Liu Xingchen)