That's the most amazing thing about competitive sports! When the game ends, you never know what will happen until the whistle ends!
The 2023 Sudirman Cup China-Japan semifinals, which ended in the early hours of this morning, made everyone's blood boil - the two sides fought 5 games, from 5 p.m. to more than 12 a.m., 7 hours, the national Yuzhong will fall behind twice, draw twice, and finally leave the victory in Suzhou.
Such a game, a roller coaster-like experience, not only made fans excited, but even media reporters who have been running badminton on the scene for many years sighed, "It's really the first time I've seen it like this." ”
One night later, we look back on these moments and still feel like we're in the air.
After losing in the mixed doubles, Shi Yuqi lost first and then won, defeating Japan's brother Naraoka Kōdai, ensuring that Kuniwa would not fall behind by a large score of 0-2;
Liu Yuchen/Ou Weiyi in the men's doubles became heroes - trailing 13-19 and 16-20 in the tiebreaker, anyone who has played badminton knows what kind of score it is. The audience left the venue, and the staff at the scene were ready to clear the scene, but the Chinese men's doubles "New Twin Towers" were put to death and forcibly renewed the life of Guoyu on this magical night. At 16-20, they scored six straight points and finally won the battle they couldn't afford to lose. When they threw their rackets high and roared loudly with their teammates, weren't you a little moved when Liu Yuchen rushed all over the field? Netizens said that this victory is comparable to the Jedi counterattack of Liu Guozheng of National Pingping.
The final understated victory of the Mortal Dust Group gave this Jedi counterattack an optimal finish, raised high and gently dropped.
You know, if Kuniwa loses to Japan on this night, they will set a series of embarrassing records.
For the first time in 30 years since 1993, they will miss the Su Cup final; They will lose to Japan in the Su Cup for the first time, having only lost to South Korea and Indonesia before... Combined with the arrangement of mixed doubles in this match, the coaching staff of Guoyu and even the players who lost the match will definitely be criticized.
However, all this did not appear in the end. Kuniwa defeated Japan 3-2 to advance to the final of the 15th consecutive Sudirman Cup, where they will compete with South Korea for the final title.
After the game, the whole team and the audience sang the national anthem and "I love you, China", which made people burst into tears. We can accept losing, but we appreciate a team that fights to the end. As fans, we don't ask much, you can not win, but you have to fight and we will be with us.
Admittedly, this is not the era when Guoya is the strongest - with the retirement of Lin Dan and Chen Long, we have been questioning who can be their qualified successor. Shi Yuqi is a brother, but we always feel that he is still a little worse than his predecessors. After the men's doubles team left, they couldn't find a combination that could stand at the top level in the world for many years. Even if we have always been proud of the female feathers, we now lack the dominance of the past.
But we cannot deny that the history and fine tradition of Guoyu for many years have long engraved the DNA of the champion into the bones of every latecomer. If we don't have the strength, we will fight, we can still turn the tide and help the building fall; We can still change our lives against the heavens and end up in the end. And this past night is the best proof of this. You can always trust the Chinese badminton team, and they will definitely surprise you.
When Chen Qingchen finally cried bitterly, I believe how many people were so excited in the middle of the night that they even shed tears of happiness. That's the power of sport, that's the charm of athletics.
The hurdle is difficult to pass, and the road ahead is also long. Today, Guoya has another important task - to defend his title at his doorstep. Then we look forward to the team that has just completed a desperate turnaround and continues to surprise us.