The Chinese pair Wang Xinyu/Zhang Zhizhen lost to the Czech pair in the mixed doubles final of the Paris Olympics and won a silver medal. This achievement still created the history of Chinese tennis.
"Despite some regrets, I enjoyed the past week. The silver medal needs to be tasted, which may be a pity now, but after a few days or weeks, when you look back, you will still feel that it is very 'fragrant'. "Just one step away from the top podium, Zhang Zhizhen did not hide his inner regrets, but also showed the same open-mindedness and relaxation as always." Keep the regrets and see if you can save them for the next session to make up for them. Of course, life is not perfect, and even Federer has regrets. ”
Lucky to answer the phone first
Until the silver medal was hung on her chest, Wang Xinyu still felt incredible, and she got the opportunity to play in mixed doubles at the last moment. "It was a last-minute decision." She said that if it were not for the high cost of the ticket, she would have left Paris and returned to Roland · Garros.
According to the original plan, Zhang Zhizhen's mixed doubles partner is Zheng Qinwen who also competes in women's singles. Considering that Zheng Qinwen's schedule is too dense and the continuous hard fighting is too expensive, the Chinese team decided to temporarily adjust the personnel after being approved by the organizing committee of the event.
"Actually, I found out yesterday that the chances of us repairing are even lower than I thought." Wang Xinyu revealed that she was not the first choice for this pairing, in the case of Wang Xiyu's schedule conflict, the national team's phone called Yuan Yue first, "She had no way to rush back, so she called me and Zhang Shuai at the same time, I answered the phone first, and I was lucky to seize this opportunity." ”
After confirming the opportunity to play, Wang Xinyu rushed to the court as fast as possible and was ready to play in just a few dozen minutes. "I thought the clay season was over, so I threw away my clay shoes. I only had the shoes of hard court play at hand, so I had to wear them on the field. There was no time to adjust the equipment and no time to communicate more with their partners, so Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen stood side by side in the Olympic Games.
It was this chance that made Wang Xinyu cherish the opportunity to return to the Olympics, "Every victory is an extra surprise, not to mention that we brought home a silver medal." Zhang Zhizhen, who has experienced an emotional roller coaster, regards this episode as the most impressive mark of the entire Olympic journey. "It was unbelievable that we didn't know we were going to change partners less than an hour before the game." He sighed after the final, "Don't say any tactics at that time, it would be nice to be able to go up and compare." The situation is urgent, the choice is limited, and when I hear that I can have a partner to continue to compare, I am already very relieved. ”
An opportunity to promote tennis
This temporary "shaken" silver medal created a new history of Chinese tennis. Such outstanding results in the mixed doubles event are also a testimony to the continuous improvement of the overall strength of Chinese tennis in recent years.
"Chinese tennis is getting better and better. We've been very good at women, and now we're starting to see some of the top 100 men, including myself. We are building a strong Chinese tennis team to get more people to pay attention to tennis. Zhang Zhizhen said that during the Olympic Games, he saw many people on social platforms who did not know the rules of tennis and were also paying attention to tennis events, which shows the importance of the Olympic Games to the popularization of the project.
"Although this is a silver medal in mixed doubles, it is a medal for us to contribute to our country at the Olympic Games, and it can inspire our generation and the next generation of players to work harder to achieve higher goals." Zhang Zhizhen hopes that through his efforts and other tennis players' efforts to achieve good results, more people will be able to understand and enjoy tennis, "I am very willing to popularize tennis to a wider audience. ”
Wang Xinyu also said that the continuous breakthroughs and achievements in tennis are beneficial to the promotion of the project and the accumulation of culture. Unlike professional tennis events, the Olympic Games is a comprehensive event platform that is an excellent opportunity to further expand the popularity of tennis. "The tour focuses on people who already love tennis. The Olympics will allow more people who don't otherwise follow tennis to learn about the sport through competitions like tonight's. "It is a very meaningful journey to be able to contribute to the country and promote tennis at the same time." ”
Text: Special correspondent of this newspaper / Gu Miao
Photo: Visual China
Editor: Chen Haixiang