Six consecutive championships, thirty consecutive wins, return to the world number one...
National mixed doubles aces Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong began their second career climbing journey in the spring of 2022.
In the past year, the Tokyo Olympics have unfortunately lost gold, the World Championships round trip, facing the demolition and reorganization, and what is more difficult than breaking through the obstacles is the courage to choose to start again.
The previous defeats were bitter, and they did the process well, but did not wait for the desired result. The two experienced struggles and wanderings, and even thought about leaving at one point.
Only by crossing the trough can we reach the peak. The short separation allowed them to find a better self in the unknown variables, and they were more determined to accompany each other again and spend a long cycle.
Return to the world number one
Zhongxin Sports: Congratulations on the return of the two to the world number one, in summary, what is the reason for finding the top form and playing such a brilliant record in the recent period?
Zheng Siwei: We have become more important to every game and will be very well prepared. In the past two years, we missed many competition opportunities due to the epidemic, and now we cherish every opportunity. Through this series of competitions, we have grown a lot, and our mentality and technology have become more stable.
Huang Yaqiong: Last year we didn't have many matches, from the initial European race this year to now. I think last year's training played a crucial role in providing us with good support both physically and technically in the race.
Sino-Singapore Sports: "World First" and "World First" are not the same, what is the difference between the mood of the two partners who climbed to the world number one for the first time and this time they returned? What does this return to world number one mean for you?
Zheng Siwei: Returning to the world number one is quite bland for me, and more importantly, winning every game. This has helped us a lot, and our confidence has been greatly enhanced. As for the points, we don't care if we return to the world number one.
Huang Yaqiong: I also feel that the points ranking does not mean much for the two of us, and returning to the world number one proves that the results we have achieved in our usual competitions can be verified.
Sino-Singapore Sports: Playing together in the world again, from the first win to the current 30th consecutive win, what changes have you felt from the other side?
Zheng Siwei: Ya Qiong's improvement in this period of time is very obvious, and I will be particularly at ease with her on the field. Many times I feel helpless when I encounter difficulties, and she can stand up and encourage me every time, which helps me a lot.
My state this year is also Slowly lifted up by Ya qiong. I actually didn't play so well, but she would encourage me and help me a lot every time. Now when we play the game, our mentality is still relatively stable, and we don't think too much about whether the ball must be won, but we all want to show our best state.
Huang Yaqiong: Indeed, as the thinking said, when we were paired separately at the beginning of the year, he was not in a particularly good state, and he obviously felt that he would not be confident on the field. Now that he's slowly cooperating, I think he's more mature and stable on the pitch than in previous years.
This kind of stability is more in the mentality. Because before he didn't allow himself to make mistakes on the field, or there was some radicalism or more rush. Now the whole state on the pitch will slowly move forward and we play point by point.
China News Service reporter Du Yang photographed ">
In the tokyo Olympic badminton mixed doubles event, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong took the podium together. Photo by Du Yang, a reporter from China News Service
Breaking through the Tokyo "barrier"
Sino-Singapore Sports: After the Tokyo Olympic Games, the two experienced a long period of competitive status and psychological adjustment, how did they face it positively? Is there a lot of pressure inside?
Zheng Siwei: When we match with other partners, we can better examine our own shortcomings or deficiencies, because these can be significantly magnified. During our cooperation (with Huang Yaqiong), there are actually many problems that we can't see in it, and after jumping out, we will find that there are some big problems in each other, and we will understand each other better and complement each other better by cooperating again.
Huang Yaqiong: With other partners, I can clearly understand my problems on the field. Working with different partners, there are a lot of different ways of playing, and I do different things on the court, which is what I gain after separation, which is better than the feeling of the two of them being together all the time.
China-Singapore Sports: One step forward has a step forward harvest, the Tokyo Olympic Games have ended for nearly a year, after this period of precipitation and experience, what kind of gains have they gained?
Zheng Siwei: That period of time was more difficult, my competitive state was not particularly good, and my injuries did not fully recover. So I stuck to the belief that I would continue to do the right thing and train, heal, and improve my skills every day. It is also because of the accumulation at that time, there is no self-abandonment, and I have always kept doing the right thing, so now the results are very good.
Huang Yaqiong: At the beginning, it was very difficult for me, the mentality was not particularly stable, and we were always in a relatively low state, but we chose to continue to fight. Thinking told me that there would be many difficulties to face. At that time, I didn't quite appreciate the meaning of this sentence, until after some problems, I didn't know that I hadn't fully come out.
Until the first round of the World Championships, I thought a lot during the quarantine period after returning home, and I repeatedly asked myself in my heart whether I wanted to continue or retire, but after thinking about it through the 21-day quarantine period, I came out on my own.
Sino-Singapore Sports: Are the two in a hot state now more determined to join hands with each other to impact the Paris Olympics? The injury recovery of the two players in the past period of time has also touched the hearts of fans, how are the two currently in physical condition?
Zheng Siwei: I think all athletes will actually set it as the ultimate goal, and we are certainly no exception. As for the physical condition, I am getting better and better now, and the whole competitive state, including the physical state, is OK.
Huang Yaqiong: The ultimate goal of every athlete is definitely the Olympic Games, and the main thing now is that the two of us have no injuries in the process, and I haven't had too many injuries before, and I think I'm still well protected at this point.
Hand in hand with the Paris cycle
Sino-Singapore Sports: How is today's IELTS combination different from the Tokyo Olympic cycle?
Zheng Siwei: My mentality in the new cycle has changed a lot, before I will want to take the championship to prove myself, in the new cycle I think this is not the most important. Regardless of the final result, we do our best, and if we really don't reach that height, I can accept it.
Huang Yaqiong: In the last cycle, we valued the results more than the process, and we also needed the results to maintain confidence, which I think is necessary. But many times victories tend to make us ignore the process, and only after losing will we pay attention to the process.
It's very important to improve ourselves in the new cycle, we don't care so much about whether we win or not, what we have to do is to make ourselves more comprehensive, and try to resolve it as much as possible when we encounter any problems on the field.
China News Service reporter Jiang Qiming photographed ">
Infographic: Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong in the game. Photo by China News Service reporter Jiang Qiming
Sino-Singapore Sports: The challenge of competitive sports is dynamic, although the IELTS combination has achieved a nearly crushing victory in the mixed doubles field in the first half of the year, but the opponent is changing, their own state is changing, the field environment is also changing, after entering the Paris Olympic cycle, what kind of challenges do you feel in the mixed doubles field?
Zheng Siwei: The situation in the mixed doubles arena is different from before, and now as long as you relax a little in a certain link, you may lose to any opponent. Unlike in the last cycle, we are relatively stable and feel that a game has a high probability of winning. Now the gap in strength is not so obvious, so it needs to be done more rigorously.
Huang Yaqiong: Now some young players are also trying to keep up with the world-class level, so they need to be treated more rigorously. If we hadn't been so organized, we would have played the game very hard and won't have been so easy.
Sino-Singapore Sports: From the unprecedented five-year preparation of the Tokyo Olympic cycle to the fast-paced three-year period today, how has the change in the preparation cycle affected the two, and what kind of preparation plan will be there next?
Zheng Siwei: In the first two years, there were too few competitions, and we can participate in all the competitions we can participate in at present. And we are getting older, and the preparation cycle is one year less than before, which I think is very good, and I hope to be able to participate in the Olympic Games as soon as possible.
Before the Tokyo Olympics were postponed for a year, I found it difficult to survive, and my mentality and all aspects of the state had to be adjusted. By contrast to three years, I like the fast pace. Every moment is a sprint, because only by playing well in the present can we accumulate enough self-confidence and get better and better.
Huang Yaqiong: Every game I feel is more critical, there are different changes in different opponents, if we can win the game with every game of the ball changing, this is very important.
Source: China-Singapore Sports WeChat public account