In recent years, Chinese sports seem to have entered the darkest moment of 10,000 horses, the stars are dim and lackluster, making people miss those glorious years of bright stars and climax, let us take stock of the highlights of Chinese sports after the new millennium.
1. Chinese men's football team - rushing out of Asia and going to the world
In 2001, I heard the news of China's men's World Cup qualification on the radio, and I remember the announcer excitedly saying: 44 years of waiting finally rushed out of Asia and to the world, with the shouts of mountains and tsunamis in the background, and people crying silently, which was very infectious, and made me fall in love with football ever since. Although the World Cup did not win, we all believed that it was just the beginning, and we did not think that it was the only one. After the World Cup, there was a wave of overseas football in China, and the performance of overseas players made fans relish, and they all drew the best team in their minds on paper. The 2004 Asian Cup was also almost won on home soil, but then it gradually declined, and now there is a trend of tearing down and rebuilding.
The first group stage of the Chinese team in the 2002 World Cup
2. Yao Ming – the greatest athlete in Chinese sports
At that time, the college cafeteria, whenever there was a Rockets game, the TV was always surrounded by water, so that it had to turn off the TV to eat normally, even the most self-disciplined student, as long as he liked basketball, had the experience of skipping class to watch the Rockets game. Yao's teammates have also become family-like, Chinese fans have given each of them cute nicknames, and they have made a lot of money in the Chinese market. Under the leadership of Yao Ming, Wang Shipeng defeated Slovenia at the 2006 World Championships, and Spain and Germany in the 2008 Olympic Games are all classics that make people talk about.
Yao Shark Showdown
3. Liu Xiang - a genius ruined by injury
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Liu Xiang was born and won the men's 110m hurdles championship with a time of 12.91 seconds, which surprised the world. In 2006, he broke the 13-year-old world record with a time of 12.88 seconds. Liu Xiang is sunny and confident, has a flamboyant personality and is full of charm, and has almost become a national idol. Unfortunately, injuries not only ruined his form, but also ruined his reputation. But I have always felt that people underestimate his contribution to Chinese sports.
The debut is the peak, Liu Xiang won the gold in the Athens Olympic Games
4. Li Na – Two-time Grand Slam winner
She never pleases anyone, and even coldly scolds you, but not only do we not hate her, but we like her true nature. She is the pride of not only China, but also Asia. At the 2011 French Open, she won her first Grand Slam singles trophy and the first Grand Slam trophy in Asia. In 2014, she dreamed of the Australian Open. Li Na's power style of play is very ornamental, and the post-match interview is also humorous. I thought that she would lead Chinese tennis to a strong rise, but with her retirement, Chinese tennis also returned to the trough.
Li Na won the cup at the French Open
5. Lin Dan - domineering badminton overlord
Being a fan of "Super Dan" is happy, because not only can he always win, but he wins every time, you just need to shout "kill" along, and the military salute after winning is also quite handsome. Of course, if you are a fan of Li Zongwei, you will sigh: both Shengyu and He Shengliang, if the game is not played, Li Zongwei's momentum will be half short. Unfortunately, if there is no later story, the love story of Lin Dan and Xie Xingfang is also a good story.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Lin Dan won the men's singles championship
6. Chinese women's volleyball team - through ups and downs, rebuilding glory
The Chinese women's volleyball team is a special existence in the hearts of Chinese people, even if you are not a volleyball fan, you will have a women's volleyball complex. In a special era, the spirit of women's volleyball has inspired generations Chinese struggle. In the women's volleyball final of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the Chinese team defeated the Russian team 3:2 after losing two games in a desperate situation, and once again interpreted the spirit of the women's volleyball team with an epic reversal. After a period of dormancy, the Chinese women's volleyball team won the 2015 World Cup, the 2016 Olympic Games, and the 2019 World Cup. Now they are in a small trough, and I believe they will return.
In the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the Chinese women's volleyball team won the championship
7. Ding Junhui - single-handedly saved a movement
At the 2005 World Snooker China Open, Ding Junhui, who was only 18 years old, made a splash and won the championship by passing the hurdle with a wild card. I remember the media was very excited and saw this as another big breakthrough in Chinese sports. However, many people were not familiar with the sport of snooker at the time. It does not matter! Ding Junhui quickly introduced snooker to Chinese audiences with excellent performances one after another. Snooker is really popular in China, there are more professional golfers, more amateurs, and the market is broader. At that time, the snooker movement was gradually declining in the West, and with the large market of China, it was quickly revived. In this sense, it was Ding Junhui who saved the snooker movement. It is a pity that China, which was originally regarded as the future of snooker, was banned from so many people last year, fortunately, Director Ding was not among them.
Ding Junhui won the first ranking tournament
8. National table tennis - defend the glory of the national ball
I watched the men's singles table tennis final at the Sydney 2000 Olympics in the school commissary, not knowing the ball, but hoping to increase the number of gold medals. "Prince of Ping-Pong" Kong Linghui fought with injuries and withstood great pressure to overcome his opponent, and the images of him shouting and kissing the national flag on his chest are still vividly remembered. Liu Guoliang, Kong Linghui, Ma Lin, Wang Liqin, Wang Hao, Wang Nan, Zhang Yining, Guo Yue... At that time, the national table tennis stars, all with distinctive characteristics, brave and good fighting, can always give fans stable happiness, even if Athens lost the men's singles championship, fans still believe that it was just an accident. But now, we no longer have absolute strength and lack a leader.
Kong Linghui won the men's singles table tennis championship at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
9. Wang Wei - ignite the passion of ice and snow
At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Wang won the women's 500m short track speed skating title. Four years later, at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, she won three gold medals in the women's 500m, women's 1000m and women's 3000m relay in short track speed skating! Perhaps most Chinese have not even seen the ice rink, but they all cheer for Wang Meng's wonderful performance, because she represents the Chinese team! Especially in the traditional advantage projects of Koreans, it is indeed very refreshing and enjoyable to stun opponents with absolute strength. The stars of winter snow projects represented by Wang Wei have completely ignited the passion of Chinese people for ice and snow, and made China's ice and snow projects develop by leaps and bounds.
Wang celebrates victory
10. Sun Yang - the last leading figure in Chinese sports
Despite its high ranking in the Olympic gold medal table, many people still believe that China is not a sports powerhouse, in part because it is not competitive in traditional sports such as athletics and swimming. Sun Yang is the warrior who challenged his opponents in traditional Western projects. Just how important Sun Yang is to Chinese swimming, there is a statistic that speaks for itself: Chinese men's swimming won a total of 19 gold medals at the World Championships, 14 of which were won by Sun Yang. At the 2012 London Olympics, Sun Yang broke the Olympic record in the men's 400m freestyle final and won the championship, becoming China's first men's swimming Olympic champion. In the men's 1500m freestyle, Sun Yang broke the world record to win gold. In addition, he received one silver and one bronze. Popov, the world's swimming master, said of him: Sun Yang's achievements so far are meaningful not only to China, but also to the whole world. The media once said of him: Sun Yang is the only athlete in China's sports history to reach the realm of solitude and defeat in international mainstream events. Unfortunately, all this came to an abrupt end because of a ban.
Sun Yang shows the gold medal