WorldSkills gold medalist Ma Hongda: Champions are not as simple as "scraping putty"

China Youth Daily and China Youth Net reporter Li Guijie

"At the closing ceremony, when the host called out my name and CHINA, I jumped up from my seat like a 'monkey in the sky', rushed all the way to the top podium, held high the five-star red flag, and expressed my excitement." On the afternoon of October 23, local time in France, the closing ceremony of the 2022 WorldSkills Competition (hereinafter referred to as the World Skills) Special Competition in France was held, when the host announced that Chinese player Ma Hongda won the gold medal in the plastering and partition system project, Ma Hongda and all the Chinese team members on the scene cheered, this gold medal achieved the breakthrough of the Chinese team's gold medal "zero" in this event.

Ma Hongda takes a group photo with the winners after winning the gold medal. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security

The news spread to China, and "Zhejiang post-00 guy 'scraped putty' scraped into the world champion" rushed to the hot search for a while. Ma Hongda told the China Youth Daily reporter that in fact, the plastering and partition system project is not just as simple as "scraping putty", but refers to the construction, improvement and renovation of house buildings with paint, decorative materials, etc., testing the contestants' metal frame construction and gypsum board installation technology, as well as the use of sound insulation, heat insulation, fire prevention, plastering, decorative line production and installation and artistic creativity.

"At the moment of receiving the award, I put the five-star red flag on my body, I proved 'Chinese technology' to the world, and showed the style of 'Chinese youth', I am particularly proud! I will remember that moment forever! Mahunda said.

Group photo of Chinese participants in the French leg of the 2022 WorldSkills Competition. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security

Break through Join the team and knock on the door to the World Championship

Born in 2000, Ma Hongda is a native of Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, and is currently studying at Zhejiang Construction Technician College.

In the 2017 middle school exam, his father, who was a craftsman, suggested that he learn a technique if he did not have satisfactory grades, and he could still "eat with food" when he entered the society. "I love hands-on and manual work more than theoretical studies, so I gladly accepted it and chose to study at the technician college." Mahunda said.

Because he was interested in art since he was a child and had a bit of skills, in 2017, the teacher recommended Ma Hongda to participate in the academy's World Championship echelon selection. The teacher in charge of selection at that time said something that impressed Mahonda: "If you want to participate in the selection, you must be prepared to endure hardships, which is not a shortcut to success casually." ”

The last thing there is to do in technical colleges is students who are willing to "do it". Once the "recruitment order" was issued, more than 200 students enthusiastically signed up. Because of the limited number of places, they are greeted by layers of strict assessment and selection.

"Since you have chosen this path, then do it well." Mahunda constantly encouraged himself. He listened carefully to the lectures during the day and seized every opportunity to ask the teachers around him for advice; At night, I plunged into the training room and trained over and over again to improve my skills.

The process of preparing for the selection is arduous: every day with cement, plasterboard, bricks, tiles, and half a day the training clothes are covered with putty powder and dust. Many students could not bear this pain, but the self-disciplined and persistent Ma Hongda persevered, successfully entered the academy's World Championship team, and established the direction of the plastering and partition system project.

In March 2019, at the selection competition of the 45th WorldSkills Competition held in Kazan, Russia, Mahunda made full preparations and successfully completed the competition, but unfortunately lost in the face of a high universe that was better than himself.

Regain your dreams and improve yourself in all aspects

"You are still young, there are still opportunities, there is still a long way to go" "Come on, you will definitely succeed" ... The coaches and teammates around him are encouraging him.

In September 2021, the national training of the plastering and partition system project of the 46th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai officially kicked off. This moment, Ma Hongda has been waiting for too long.

He threw himself into training, not only from books and coaches, but also from the players around him.

One of Mahonda's most important qualities is his ability to learn. In the training match, he can always finish earlier than others, and then, he takes advantage of his height of 1.8 meters, carefully observes the operation methods and tool placement habits of the players next to him, learns from each other's strengths, and further improves his operation process.

As a global competition, the technical documents of the WorldSkills Competition are expressed in English, which also puts forward the requirements for the English proficiency of the players. "Although each project is equipped with an interpreter, it is impossible to rely on an interpreter during the competition, and if you can understand it, it will definitely be more effective with half the effort."

At the end of each day's training, the project translator will collate and record 8 to 10 short sentences in English for the contestants to learn, memorize and apply. Although the English foundation is relatively weak and the high-intensity training is high-intensity training, Ma Hongda studied carefully with the translator and took careful notes. In addition, Ma Hongda will also learn some basic communication sentences by himself to enrich his vocabulary. Gradually, his English listening and reading skills have improved greatly.

"In the process of the game, in addition to the technique, the most important thing is the mentality"

In June this year, the 46th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai was cancelled due to the epidemic. On the day he learned the news, Ma Hongda cried bitterly: "Not because of tiredness, but because of unwillingness." ”

In mid-October, Mahunda finally got on a flight to Bordeaux, France, to compete in the 46th WorldSkills Special Competition France Competition.

Mahunda in the game. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

On the field, Mahunda did not expect to encounter a "mysterious material" - a 6mm plasterboard. Materials of this specification are based on European standards, which are not available in the country and cannot be procured.

In the competition, Ma Hongda used the conventional way to fix the gypsum board at the beginning, but he did not expect that there were problems such as "the surface layer of the gypsum board was broken" and "the screw holes could not be fixed", resulting in the gypsum board could not fit the lofting line, and it was not beautiful.

Ma Hongda made a quick decision, switched the process, adjusted the process, and remade the wall. Although he wasted some time, he temporarily ranked third in this link. Still, "it didn't affect my mindset. Mahunda said.

Zhang Shousheng, head of the Chinese expert group and head of the coaching staff of the plastering and partition system project of the 2022 World Championship Special Tournament in France, said: "The coaching team learned from the experience of previous World Championships and designed a lot of difficult questions in weekday training. Although Mahunda had not used the material that appeared in the competition, he had long mastered the practice of curved walls like this. ”

"In the process of the game, in addition to the technique, the most important thing is the mentality! Experts, translators, coaches were always standing by to cheer me on, conveying confidence through their eyes. Speaking of his ability to win the gold medal, Ma Hongda said, "My father is an 'old craftsman' who makes doors and windows, and he has long recognized the road of 'skills to become talents, skills to serve the country', and he also believes that I can go far and walk well on this good road with hands-on skills." ”

Source: China Youth Daily client