Beijing, March 12 (China Youth Daily, China Youth Daily reporter Ci Xin/ Wen Li Junhui / Photo) A match that should have been equally matched was played by the Chinese wheelchair curling team into a suspenseful contest. Six days ago, when the Chinese team lost to Sweden in the second round of the wheelchair curling round robin tournament of the Winter Paralympic Games by a score of 1:5, who could have imagined that today's final would become a big victory for China against Sweden (8:3. forced Sweden to give up the last set and concede early). However, looking back at the entire schedule of the Chinese wheelchair curling team at this Winter Paralympic Games, it will be found that this is a team that can always surprise people, and today's victory only gives this treasure team the best reward.
In today's final, the Chinese and Swedish teams played very cautiously in the first half, and both sides tried to spoil each other's scoring opportunities as much as possible. In the first four innings, China scored only 1 point and Sweden scored 2 points. After the start of the fifth game, the Chinese team took the initiative to change its tactics, no longer destroying the opponent's scoring opportunities, but instead making each of its own pots stand as high as possible. If it succeeds, the Chinese team has a chance to get a high score, and if it is not successful, it may let the opponent steal the high score. In the view of Yue Qingshuang, the coach of the Chinese team, the change of the Chinese team is "more not tactics, but the psychology of fighting." She believes that the Chinese players are more stable and patient in this game.
The Penultimate pot of the Chinese team in the fifth inning was thrown by captain Wang Haitao. At this time, there were two pots of the Swedish team and three pots of the Chinese team in the base camp, and the positions of the five pots were staggered together, and the closest to the center of the circle was a pot of the Swedish team. Wang Haitao's shot, if he can fly the Swedish team closest to the center of the circle of a pot is considered successful, but Wang Haitao's idea is more bold, he hopes to play a double fly, directly hit the Swedish team in the base camp of the two pots out. Watching the pot thrown by Wang Haitao slide out of an arc, bypassing a defensive pot laid out by the Swedish team in front of the base camp, and directly hitting the center of the base camp circle, the audience held their breath. The stadium echoed the shouts of the four Chinese players. Only to see Wang Haitao's pot as if with navigation, accurately hit the Swedish team near the center of the pot, and then, the pot that was knocked off crashed into another pot of the Swedish team. Wang Haitao's pot stayed firmly in the base camp.
Perfect double fly, the scene boiled over.
This was the turning point of the whole game, this round, the Chinese team scored 4 points, the big score changed from 1:2 to 5:2. After this round, the Chinese team completely relaxed its mentality, while the passive Swedish team fought and shrank until it lost the game. Wang Haitao's throw in the fifth set can be said to be a one-shot decision. The 32-year-old veteran and captain of the Chinese wheelchair curling team is worthy of the "key sir".
At this Winter Paralympic Games, Wang Haitao's performance at key moments has always been calm, and netizens called him the "key gentleman" and "dinghai god needle" of the Chinese team. After winning the championship today, Wang Haitao modestly said that in fact, he had played badly before and lost many games, but the more he lost, the more he had to find problems in losing, prompting himself to continuously improve and progress.
As the captain, Wang Haitao has experienced countless competitions and knows the tension and pressure that the competition brings to the team members. In this Winter Paralympic Games, the Chinese team's first base Yan Zhuo and second baseman Zhang Mingming are participating in the Olympic Games for the first time. In the round robin stage, because of the tension and mental pressure of the players, the Chinese team lost two consecutive games against Canada and Sweden. In order to reduce the pressure on his teammates, Wang Haitao told Yan Zhuo and Zhang Mingming, "Don't be afraid, feel free to shoot, you have made mistakes and there are third base runs (Chen Jianxin), and Jianxin has made mistakes and me." ”
The teammates were also very emotional, because the pressure of the team was finally concentrated on the captain Wang Haitao, but the captain always had the ability to turn the tide.
In Wang Haitao's view, although the pressure is the greatest as fourth base, the teammates also play well, transferring as little pressure as possible to him. Perhaps as Yan Zhuo said, curling is a collective project, relying on the strength of the team, and everyone must strive to do better to reduce the pressure on their teammates.
Yue Qingshuang said that today, although Yan Zhuo, Zhang Mingliang, Chen Jianxin, Wang Haitao, the four main players and the substitute team member Sun Yulong stood on the podium, the Chinese team had as many as 12 players in the preparation process, and today's championship was won by these 12 team members.
This team spirit is regarded by Yue Qingshuang as a kind of inheritance of the Chinese wheelchair curling team, and it is also from her heritage as a member of the Chinese curling team. When the players shouted each pot thrown for themselves and their teammates with loud voices on the field, as spectators, it was impossible to distinguish whether it was wheelchair curling or curling. Netizens jokingly called the iconic shout of the Chinese wheelchair curling team "sonic ice sweeping", but in Yan Zhuo's view, this is a way to "relieve pressure for yourself and boost the morale of your teammates".
In an interview after today's game, Wang Haitao found that his voice had become dumb, which made it impossible for him to sing with his coaches and teammates tonight. In the Chinese wheelchair curling team, the song during the competition is a reserved program for the whole team, especially the coach Yue Qing's singing, which has the most effect of mediating the atmosphere in the team and alleviating the pressure of the team members. Although she is the wheat bully of the whole team, the players are willing to listen to her singing. Before yesterday's semi-finals, Yue Qingshuang sang "Horse Pole Set" to the team members, and she hoped that her team members would be like the song singing, "The man who sets the horse is mighty and majestic." Before today's final, Yue Qingshuang sang a song "Flame" for the team members, and she hoped that the team members would burn out their enthusiasm like fire and "burn my pride".
However, when Yue Qingshuang rejoiced that the team members realized their Olympic dream of winning the Olympics, she was full of guilt for her family. After four years of preparation, the opportunities for family reunion are few. As a mother, Yue Qingshuang gathered so little with her young son that the child almost forgot about her. Speaking of this, Yue Qingshuang couldn't help but burst into tears.
But she quickly held back her tears, after all, today was a happy day for the Chinese wheelchair curling team.
After yesterday's semi-finals, there was an interesting scene on the field - Yue Qingshuang and Li Jianrui, another coach of the Chinese wheelchair curling team, each raised a shoe, which is said to be the lucky thing for the Chinese wheelchair curling team, but lifting it in the key part of the competition can bring good luck to the team. It seems that after the Chinese wheelchair curling team won the championship today, the magical color of this pair of shoes has been added to another layer. And it will also become one of the many touching stories of the Chinese wheelchair curling team to continue to pass on.
Source: China Youth Daily client