Olympic Interview | Chen: Collective honor is always greater than individual honor.
At the just-concluded Tokyo Olympic Games, the 23-year-old Chen Yiyi gold medal announced the rise of China women's singles to the world badminton world.
As the first seed of this tournament, Chen directly entered the quarter-finals after defeating Hani and Yigit in the group stage. In the final of 1/4, Chen played against South Korean talented girl An Xiying. She was more patient and stable on the court, defeated her opponent in straight sets and joined forces with He Bingjiao smoothly.
In this semi-final "civil war", both Chen and He Bingjiao tried their best, and their fierce struggle showed the results of women's singles preparation in the past year, and also showed the tenacious will of badminton players who went abroad. In the end, Chen won by 2- 1 and advanced to the final.
In the battle for the championship, Chen faced a formidable rival from Taipei, China. She showed her composure and tenacity as always on the court, forcing the other side to make mistakes with patient "prevention" and "control". After three games, Chen Weiguo won the second gold medal in this Olympic Games, which is the second time that China women's singles reached the top of the Olympic Games after nine years.
After the Rio Olympic Games, with the retirement of "Big Sister", young Chen grew up rapidly and shouldered the banner of women's singles in China. Resist the pressure, survive the criticism, humble all the way, and finally get a bright future. This gold medal is Chen's self-certification, and it is also the self-certification of China women's singles.
China badminton team
# Olympic Interview: Chen ~ Collective honor is always greater than personal honor @ Wechat Creator @ Wechat Moment
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Q: Why did you want to play this sport when you were a child?
Yu Fei: Because I was lively and naughty when I was a child, my father also liked sports. It happened that my first coach was recruiting students. I tried it at that time, but I didn't expect to be selected.
Q: What was your childhood dream?
Yu Fei: When I was a child, my dream was to be a policeman and a doctor or something. I remember I should be the same. But after playing badminton, the dream must be a world champion and an Olympic champion. At that time, I was still young, probably naive. I thought that if I did this sport, I would get the highest honor, and I wouldn't think about how hard the process would be.
Q: How did you feel when you first learned that you could enter the national team?
Yu Fei: You are more excited. I remember when I played the game, I really didn't have much expectation. At first, I met some difficulties and lost the first game. In fact, I felt that I had no chance that time, but I didn't expect to score in the end, so I was actually very excited and felt incredible.
Q: Will joining the national team be stressful because of the sense of mission?
Yu Fei: There must be pressure. Because when I first joined the national team, I trained with some big-name players like Sister Shirley, and their training atmosphere, including the whole training atmosphere of the national team, is different from that of the provincial team, so there will still be some pressure. They will be more rigorous, more compact and more serious, so they actually had a transition period. Actually, my training will be almost worse. In the past, my training would be sloppy and it was easy to lose my concentration. I'll look around and look at this. I have gradually changed since I joined the national team, and because of this atmosphere, I will be more focused.
Q: What was the most impressive game in your career?
Sue cup final. Because it was the most important final for me to become a world champion. In fact, in my heart, the team is more important. I think it is very meaningful to win the championship for this team and make myself a world champion. Indeed, you may think that a world champion will carry more weight. Although it only belongs to you, without this group, there would be no you personally. It is with this China badminton team that there will be Chen. Without the China Badminton Team, you are nothing. So in our hearts, the team will be more important.
Q: When was the lowest and most frustrating time in your career?
Yu Fei: I think it should be 17. That was when I lost in the excellent cup singles. Because it was my first time to play this role and take on this responsibility, and then I lost, and I lost all three points in the women's singles. At that time, I felt it was a great setback for me, both externally and internally. When I lost the game and returned to Beijing for training, the whole atmosphere was dignified. Everyone didn't want to lose, but we still lost this cup, which was a great difficulty at that time. Later, I also gradually enriched myself through training, and then slowly came out. I also have some friends, coaches and some help from my teammates.
Q: Is injury a big problem in your career?
Yu Fei: I will have some injuries, but they are not particularly serious. Such as sprain and acute strain. It's just that my waist will be more serious, but not to the point where I can't train or compete, and I have to have surgery for half a year. When it is serious, just take a few days off and adjust, and the impact will not be particularly great, which is good for me. It's normal to get blisters during the game, nothing. There will be more dawdling during the game, and I wonder if there is any bleeding. We have that kind of blister patch, which will be better, but it will slip off easily when running. I wouldn't feel so much in the game. Actually, it doesn't hurt
Q: Is the past honor more stressful or more motivating for you?
Yu Fei: A little more motivation, actually there is not much pressure. Maybe my personality is optimistic, and the pressure will be more transformed into motivation for me, and I won't keep pressing myself.
Q: Will the mentality change after winning many honors, and will you be more unwilling to lose?
Yu Fei: That's for sure. Even if you don't reach a certain height, you won't want to lose. Nobody wants to lose. But if you don't want to lose, you can't say that you can't lose. If you want to win, you must be more careful in preparation and training before the game, and then build up confidence.
Q: In everyone's opinion, your grades are very stable. Do you think technical or psychological advantages can keep you stable?
Yu Fei: Technology is definitely not enough. There are many reasons. One is that the mentality is relatively stable, there is no ups and downs, that is, the normal heart. Another is that my playing style is relatively stable, and I tend to pull and hang defense, because if I attack, the ball is more threatening and there are more mistakes, so I will be more stable.
Q: What is your biggest change or growth in your sports career for so many years?
Yu Fei: It's mainly about mentality and ideas. Because I used to be the kind of person who didn't want to win, not because I didn't want to win, but because I went with the flow, so I could only follow others flatly. But after you get good grades in the competition, you will also have some sense of responsibility. Before, I was more afraid of taking responsibility and getting ahead, but now I have no choice but to adapt myself to accept it. Q: When did you start to feel that you need to take on the responsibility of being a "sister"? Yu Fei: I have never felt like a sister. When the media asked me before, I would also say that I was Sister Guoyu or something. My answer has always been "let's make progress together." People will say this only because my grades were better during that time, but in fact, in training, everyone helped each other and made progress together. I began to take responsibility because of my good grades, that is, I wanted to win the championship for the team, not because I was a sister.
Q: When do you want to thank yourself most after standing on the Olympic stage?
Yu Fei: Thank you for every moment. From choosing badminton as a child to every step behind, these are the foundations. Step by step, I can have myself now.
Q: What is the goal for the next stage?
Yu Fei: The goal is the Olympic champion. Since I can participate, my goal must be the highest. I hope to do my best in this process.
Q: When did you first watch the Olympic Games?
Yu Fei: In 2008. The final was played between Zhang Ning and Xie.
Q: Which Olympic Games impressed you the most?
Yu Fei: In the semi-final between Dānlín and Li Zongwei on 16, I was deeply impressed by the excitement and excitement when I finally won because Li Zongwei was under great pressure.
Q: What do you think of the one-year postponement of the Olympic Games?
Yu Fei: I think there are advantages and disadvantages. On the bright side, it gave me a year to prepare. The disadvantage is that there are few epidemic games, and the rhythm and state of the game will be unfamiliar.
Q: Do you think it is good or bad not to go out to play?
Yu Fei: Personally, I think it's best to go out and play. Because just watching it is actually very different from playing live. Because you are a bystander when watching, you think about how to play, and you can see other people's weaknesses, but in fact, playing on the court has some psychological effects and some difficulties are still very different, so you still have to experience them yourself.
Q: Who do you think is the biggest opponent of the Olympic Games?
Yu Fei: I think my biggest opponent is myself. Because the women's singles competition is fierce, everyone's level is very close. Especially the Olympic Games, is a great test of mentality and competition experience. Even if you are at a high level, you may be abnormal under pressure. Therefore, I think it is the most important thing to overcome yourself, have a good attitude and not be afraid of any opponent.
Q: If you don't participate in the competition and your ranking drops, will you be anxious?
Yu Fei: Not very anxious. I never pay much attention to points and world rankings. People used to say that I ranked high or something, but I don't think I'm invincible without ranking first. Ranking is just a proof of your achievements. Even if the ranking drops, you will meet the same opponent. There may be an advantage in drawing lots, but it's only a matter of time before you meet all the same opponents. Let's play one game at a time. Just be yourself.
Q: What do you want to do most after entering the Olympic Village?
Yu Fei: Eat, sleep and train as usual. I have nothing in particular to do.
Q: What do you say to yourself after the Olympic Games?
Yu Fei: Don't be proud, Do not forget your initiative mind. Keep your feet on the ground and take every step.
Interview/Yan Jie
Text/cocoa
Video/Xu Feng, Ai Xin
Photo/AFP
Editor/Coco, Yan Jie