2-7, the Chinese men's ice team once again lost to Canada in the "second game", and Chinese ice hockey also ended all the matches in this Winter Olympic Games. The women's team lost to the top 8, and the men's team played four battles and finished at the bottom. Compared with the host team and athletes who won the gold and silver, these two teams obviously do not have a strong sense of existence.
This result may be something that most people can think of; but the process may be unexpected by many people.
The Chinese women's team is ranked 20th in the world and the men's team is ranked 32nd, and both teams have been far away from the top group of the World Championships for a long time, holding an unprecedented host "wild card" to compete. There is no shortage of sarcastic and questioning voices on the pre-match network: it is better not to participate, to be beaten into a "sieve" at home, and to lose people.
Although I sincerely hope that the Chinese team will have a good performance, I am actually worried, after all, the total loss is really not good, and it will create several "tragedies" if it is not good. Male ice captain Ye Jinguang posted a long article on Weibo on the eve of the opening of the game, saying that he hoped to let more people understand ice hockey and encourage teenagers to embark on the road of ice hockey and aspire to a higher stage. After I saw it, I was still thinking: Can the performance of repeated defeats really promote ice hockey in China?
But after witnessing all eight games of Chinese men's and women's ice, I understood: losing can also be beautiful.
Women's ice inherits the spirit of the older generation, facing the world's seventh-ranked Czech team, although it was defeated, but the scene did not fall behind, against the world's sixth-ranked Japanese team to fight until the penalty to finally complete the kill. The men's ice with a larger gap in strength clashed with the American team as soon as they appeared, losing only one goal in a single quarter; in the second game, they almost forced the last runner-up Germany team in the conventional time when they were three goals behind; the third half of the quarter lost three goals and did not "collapse", and only one goal was conceded in the second and third quarters. In last night's qualifying match, the Chinese team still dared to fight, and even when the main goalkeeper was injured and replaced, the score was behind, and the performance was worthy of respect.
I saw the defeat, and I also saw two teams with strong will, tenacious struggle, no fear of strong enemies, and never give up. They stand on the Olympic stage, perhaps with mediocre strength, but the sportsmanship of interpretation is not compromised.
So I can imagine that when a teenager sees two teams playing at home, he may really be moved and inspired. The Olympic Games are a game, while sports are about shaping and educating personality.
As Ye Jinguang said: Let the world remember that we have come. I think they not only came, but also left something valuable. For Chinese ice hockey, the Beijing Winter Olympics must not be the end, but a new starting point.