Beijing, 13 Feb (Xinhua) -- Recently, a US television commentator commented on a program that Gu Ailing used offensive and even insulting language of "ungratefulness," "betrayal," and "shamefulness" when he won the championship on behalf of China at the Beijing Winter Olympics, which not only exposed the degeneration of professional ethics of some US media personnel, but also highlighted their anger when they watched the united States' strong position falter.
On February 8, In the final of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Freestyle Ski Women's Big Jump at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, China's Gu Ailing won the championship. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ding Xu
We have no intention of intimidating each other, but only want to talk about facts and logic.
If south Korea, the host of the previous Winter Olympics, and Italy, the host of the next Winter Olympics, brought in a foreign athlete of national ancestry to play for their country, what would be the problem if the United States naturalized a non-national athlete to play at the Los Angeles Olympics six years later? No problem! The whole world will accept it. Sport is an open and inclusive field, and the mobility of top athletes, including the movement of changing nationalities, is a common phenomenon, which is the progress of the times and the blessing of sports. But when China hosted the Winter Olympics and introduced Gu Ailing, who has Chinese ancestry and Chinese speaks more fluently than many Chinese, it has attracted a small number of Americans to use the most harsh words to blame.
Sampras serves during the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Cheng Min
When I started working as a sports journalist, American players dominated the tennis scene. In the 1980s and 1990s, with the exception of a handful of top European tennis players such as Graf, Becker, and Ederberg, most of the rest of the tennis stars were Americans, to be precise. Most of these top American tennis stars were of foreign descent — Agasi was of Iranian descent, Sampras was of Greek descent, and Navratinova and Selez were from what was then Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, respectively. How come we didn't hear American television commentators accuse Navratinova and Seles of "betraying" their homeland and serving the United States?
Americans should remember that The sports stars Lang Ping and Li Yan, who have been trained by China, have participated in the Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games as coaches of the American team, and have achieved impressive results, which are respected and praised by the American public. The vast majority of Chinese believe that this is a normal result of international exchanges in sports, which is conducive to mutual learning among civilizations, and will not use "ungratefulness" and "betrayal" to splash dirty water.
The United States can gather global talents for my use, but China's introduction of a player with a distinct Chinese mark has become a "great rebellion", is this not a typical double standard and robber logic?!
On July 27, 2021, Japan's Naomi Osaka competed in the women's singles competition at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Dai Tianfang
In the era of the global village, the comprehensive consideration of top athletes for development prospects, training guarantees, cultural language, family wishes, and commercial interests determines the final choice of who they fight for. Athletes choose which country to play for in the Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games is their basic human right and deserves to be respected by the whole world, including the United States. Some Americans who always talk about human rights have interfered and accused Gu Ailing of making reasonable choices, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they "violate human rights." On the other hand, Naomi Osaka chose Japan, Gu Ailing chose China, should the United States also reflect on why it can't retain talent?
Gu Ailing is only 18 years old, and her life path is still very long, and there are many options in life. No matter how she develops in the future, she deserves our respect and blessings. After all, the emergence of such a top star with good Chinese and English, high level of competition, outstanding image, lively personality and decent conversation on the international arena is still "a bridge for Sino-US exchanges" in Gu Ailing's own words, which is good for global sports and for Both China and the United States. As a big country, the United States should have such insight and cultivation.
On February 8, In the final of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Freestyle Ski Women's Big Jump at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, China's Gu Ailing won the championship. IOC President Bach (left) congratulates Gu Ailing. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ding Xu
The vulgar words of American television commentators have more or less exposed their mentality - can't afford to lose! As CNN said in an article on the 10th: "A lot of criticism of Gu Ailing seems to stem from the frustration of the United States about China's rise." ”
It is necessary to win, but also to be able to lose, which is the connotation of sports, the realm of being a person, and the arrogance of a big country. Zweig's "When the Stars Shine" tells us a story of how to "afford to lose" - the Battle for Antarctica, which is admirable. Scott, an Englishman, led an expedition to Antarctica to seize the glory of "the first man to reach Antarctica". Just as they arrived at the South Pole, they found that a Norwegian flag was already flying at the South Pole, and the Norwegian Amundsen team had arrived at the South Pole a month ahead of them. Zweig writes: "Amundsen, as a conqueror, left a letter asking the second group of strangers to arrive to bring the letter to King Haakon VII of Norway to prove his immortal exploits. Scott endured his grief and faithfully took on this ruthless, painful task, testifying before the world for the honor of others, which he dreamed of and passionately pursued. On the way back, Scott's team froze to death. Scott lost, not only did not win the honor of "the first person to reach the Antarctic", but also took the lives of himself and his companions; Scott won, and has since become one of the stars of humanity and immortal!
Abide by the rules of the game and testify to the honor of others! To win is to win, to lose is to lose decently! I would like to encourage some Americans with the "Antarctic Scramble"!
Editors: Liu Yang, Huang Xuguo, Zhou Xin, Zhang Yongqi (Intern)