(Du Pengyu confirmed coaching the Hong Kong team)
At the 2019 Wiktor China Changzhou Badminton Open, a long-lost face attracted the attention of fans and the media - Du Pengyu, the former national men's singles main player and 2012 Thomas Cup champion, sat in the coaching seat behind Hong Kong's famous Player Wu Jialang.
In an exclusive interview with the public account "Shrimp Say Sports", Liu Zhiheng, head coach of the singles team of the Hong Kong badminton men's team in Hong Kong, China, said the reason behind it: "Du Pengyu has been with us for more than two weeks, assisting me to take the men's singles group together, mainly helping Wu Jialang, hoping that there will be a breakthrough in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games." ”
(At the Thailand Super500 Open last month, Wu Jialang won the men's singles silver medal)
The 31-year-old Du Pengyu, who won the title of "Desperate Sanlang" for his characteristic pulling and hanging style, has the 2012 Soup Cup champion, the 2013 Asian Championships men's singles champion and the 2013 World Championships men's singles third place, and the men's singles ranking is the highest in the world.
After retiring in August 2014, he returned to his hometown of Baoding, Hebei Province, and participated in children's training in badminton while opening a badminton supplies store; at the 2017 National Games, Du Pengyu, who "re-emerged from the jianghu", joined hands with Lin Dan and other teammates to help beijing team win the gold medal of the men's team.
(Du Pengyu at the 2017 National Games)
It is worth mentioning that in the men's team competition of the National Games, Du Pengyu, who had been retired for three years, also defeated Wu Jialang, who was ranked 9th in the world at the time and the men's singles round of 16 at the World Championships, 2-0. Two years later, the "opponent" became the "master-apprentice".
Born in 1994 and 1 meter 81 tall, Wu Jialang can be described as a representative work of "Made in Hong Kong". After winning the Men's Singles Championship in Germany in 2015, he defeated Lin Dan at the Hong Kong Open in front of his home and became famous in one battle; the following year, he continued to shine at home at the Hong Kong Open, achieving a "zero breakthrough" for Hong Kong men's singles players in the super tournament!
(Ng Ka Lang won the 2016 Hong Kong Open Men's Singles Championship)
At that time, Coach Liu Zhiheng introduced Wu Jialang to this writer and was full of confidence in the prospects of his disciples: "Jialang was cultivated by Hong Kong itself since childhood. The style belongs to the pulling attack, playing rhythm and controlling the ball. He has his own style of play, which is not mature for the time being, and his strength is not very strong. Similar words... Like Yang Yang a little more. In the 1970s and 1980s, Yang Yang, together with Zhao Jianhua, Sugiato, and Frost, was known as the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Yutan.
From this point of view, it is also reasonable to let Du Pengyu help Wu Jialang.
(Du Pengyu data map)
"Hopefully he can help our players." Today, the Hong Kong team in China has been demoted in an eclectic manner, which shows their determination and courage to achieve great results. However, coach Liu Zhiheng revealed that the Hong Kong team implements a head coach responsibility system. Why would he throw an olive branch to Du Pengyu, a former national player, "Maybe it is more appropriate for our head coach He Yiming to answer." ”
He himself only learned about it a week before Du Pengyu went to Hong Kong. Through half a month of observation, in the eyes of Coach Liu Zhiheng: "Coach Du's serious training and hard work are worth learning from our team members!" He had only been here for two weeks, and it was not easy to evaluate, but he was still relatively hard and serious. ”
(Coach Wu Jialang and Liu Zhiheng, photo/provided by interviewee)
On September 17, the men's singles Wu Jialang defeated China's youngster Zhao Junpeng 2-1, ushering in the "opening red" of the Chinese Open. This afternoon, he will compete with Indonesia's Shesha Haejin for a place in the men's singles quarterfinals, who eliminated compatriot and No. 4 seed Jonathan in the first round. (Text/He Xia)