What is Li Meng like?
No matter whether she is upwind or downwind on the court, she never hesitates to shoot; life brings all kinds of tempering off the court, and her smile has never disappeared.
The strong, the lovely, the beautiful, and the tough are all Li Meng.
The dazzling performance in the Women's Basketball World Cup has made people more curious about Li Meng.
The game ended and the smoke cleared. At this time, she finally had time to sit down and chat with China-Singapore Sports about what she saw and felt about the World Cup trip.
arena
Women's Basketball World Cup quarter-finals, the Chinese team against France.
As one of the world-class teams, the French team is not a good opponent to deal with, and in this game, their luck seems to be particularly good.
The first knockout match met such a start, which is undoubtedly a big challenge for this Chinese women's basketball team.
At last year's Tokyo Olympics, the Chinese women's basketball team, which also performed well in the group stage, lost to Serbia in the quarter-finals and missed the semi-finals.
In the last World Cup, the Chinese girls also failed to break into the semi-finals.
At the critical moment, Li Meng stood up.
She scored consecutively in the second half of the first quarter, helping the Chinese team to turn the situation around.
Then, in the face of the opponent's counterattack, she and her teammates did not hesitate, and finally held the victory in their hands.
In this game, Li Meng scored 23 points.
Li Meng is in the game.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
Judging from his performance on the field, Li Meng seems to have infinite energy.
But later people learned that in that game, she was almost entirely supported by perseverance.
For Li Meng, this was her most memorable match in the entire World Cup.
In addition to helping the team achieve breakthroughs, but also because of the poor physical condition at the time.
After continuous high-intensity competitions, Li Meng began to have a fever, and the temperature even exceeded 39°C in the worst case.
"The physical discomfort really made it difficult for me to focus on the court, but I still held the belief of winning and did it." Li Meng said that such a painful experience impressed her deeply.
Li Meng is in the game.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
Whether it was two serious injuries, or the tormented moment of playing with such an illness, Li Meng gritted his teeth and stood up.
She smiles brightly, not because she has never experienced pain, but because she can overcome it.
team
After defeating France, the Chinese women's basketball team will face host Australia in the semifinals.
However, Li Meng's high fever has not subsided.
She had dreamed of countless opportunities in front of her eyes, but in order to protect Li Meng, the team decided not to let her participate in the following games.
This is a big blow to Li Meng and the entire team.
Li Meng said that it was undoubtedly a pity not to be able to participate in the competition, but her teammates made her feel very warm.
"Before we set off against Australia, some teammates came to me and asked me to give them energy. They said to me, 'You can rest assured, leave the rest to us, trust us.' It made me feel the warmth of the collective. The end of the game Afterwards, they all came to my room and said to me, 'We won'. Everyone was very excited." Looking back now, Li Meng still smiles happily.
On the evening of September 30, Beijing time, in the semi-finals of the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup, the Chinese women's basketball team defeated the Australian women's basketball team 61:59, standing on the final stage of the Women's Basketball World Cup again after 28 years.
Pictured is the match.
Image source: ICphoto
In the unfavorable situation of Li Meng's absence, the Chinese women's basketball team finally narrowly defeated the opponent by two points and entered the World Cup final.
The last time the Chinese women's basketball team entered the finals of the World Series dates back to 28 years ago.
At that time, many players in the current women's basketball team had not yet been born. It was a glorious history that they had never experienced, but there is always something that has survived across history.
"Fearless, I think this word is a reflection of the spirit of the Chinese women's basketball team. No matter what the situation is, the women's basketball team has always had a fearless spirit, not afraid of any difficulties, not afraid of failure, and we are not afraid of strong enemies." This is Li Meng's view of China The look of women's basketball.
In the end, the Chinese women's basketball team lost to the US team in the final and won the World Cup runner-up.
After the final, Li Meng put on a white T-shirt with the names of all teammates participating in the training camp.
Li Meng said that the last 12 players stood on the podium, but everyone in the women's basketball team made their own contributions during the preparations.
"Although they can't stand on the podium in person in the end, I also want to make them feel the strength of the collective in this way."
On October 1st, Beijing time, the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup ushered in the final battle.
After four fierce battles, the stronger American women's basketball team won the game 83:61, and the Chinese women's basketball team won the runner-up.
Image source: IC photo
future
After the World Cup journey, Li Meng got enough rest and her body has basically recovered. She is still the Li Meng who always put a smile on her face.
When chatting, she is cheerful, lively, sincere and frank.
With beautiful manicures and pink clothes, she is no different from any other girl.
The difference is that Li Meng and her teammates shoulder the expectations of Chinese fans.
Breaking into the finals of the World Series again gave fans more room to imagine the future of the Chinese women's basketball team.
And Li Meng also believes that the Chinese women's basketball team has the hope to achieve better results.
"Because our age structure and technical tactics have reached a very mature time now, and we are also close to the world's top teams, we will try our best to create our own history."
Li Meng.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
And when it comes to the American women's basketball team, which is a mountain that needs to be overcome, Li Meng is also eloquent. Obviously, the girls have studied this formidable opponent a lot.
"Through these two games against the US women's basketball team, we can feel the gap with the world's top teams, not only in physical confrontation, but also in the fight for the ball. The US women's basketball team has a strong personal ability, and the strength of personnel in various positions. It is relatively balanced and has a strong bench depth, so we have a gap with them in terms of technical and tactical literacy.”
Li Meng's outstanding performance in the World Cup has made many fans look forward to her landing in high-level leagues in the future.
It is also Li Meng's dream to be able to fight against powerful opponents.
But at the moment, she chose to be down-to-earth and slowly walk into the distance.
"After the World Cup, I found a lot of areas that I need to strengthen, and I will carry out personal ability training for these problems. I think, I still have to be myself first."
(Author Wang Hao)