Nandu News Reporter Wang Yayun's fourth place in the women's vault competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games is certainly not a brilliant record in the sports career of Uzbekistan gymnast Oksana Chusovykina. But when you see her proudly on the field, still full of fighting spirit and energy in the 48-year-old's eyes, it's hard not to marvel at how the famous gold medalist who won gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics was able to break through the shackles of age and become a legend in the entire sports world.
And the story of Chusovikina choosing to return to the competition more than 20 years ago in order to raise money for her leukemia treatment has touched many Chinese fans, and she is affectionately called "Qiu Ma". This time in Hangzhou, "Qiu Ma" has also become the favorite foreign athlete of all local audiences, attracting a large number of fans wherever he goes.
On September 25, in the women's qualification and team final of competitive gymnastics at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Uzbekistan's Chusovykina thanked the audience after the competition. Photo by Nandu, N video reporter Xu Jie
In an exclusive interview with Nandu and N Video, Chusovykina said that although she did not finish on the podium at the Hangzhou Asian Games this time, she gained too much love here, and she will continue to move forward with these heavy loves to attack next year's Paris Olympics - if successful, it will be her ninth participation in the Summer Olympics.
Q: You are probably one of the most familiar foreign athletes to Chinese fans at this Asian Games, and you have also come to China many times, including the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games You came as a coach, so now that you are here again, what is your impression of Hangzhou?
The city is very beautiful, it is a modern city, I am amazed at the cleanliness and greenery of Hangzhou, I think I will remember what happened here for a long time, of course, the most memorable impression is that the audience here loves me so much, after all, people will gain a lot of things in life, and the most precious of them is the love from others, I am grateful to receive so much love here.
Q: Many fans got to know you through the story of you and your son Alyosha, and they also want to know how Alyosha is doing now, can you tell us about it?
Of course, Alyosha will turn 24 in November and is currently attending university trying to become a junior teacher of mathematics, German and physical education. In addition, he trains some children to play basketball every day, from 6 to 12 years old, and he really enjoys working with children, he really likes the work he is doing. I know a lot of people wonder if he should have achieved something in professional sports, but not everyone needs to be a professional athlete. As a mother, I am very happy that he chose the direction he is now, in short, I always accept and support his choice.
Chusovykina said in an exclusive interview with Nandu and N Video that she will continue to strive to participate in the Paris Olympics, and if it does, it will be her ninth participation in the Summer Olympics. Photo by Nandu, N video reporter Wei Xiongfeng
Q: You once said that the reason why you can still insist on gymnastics at the age of 48 is because of your heartfelt love for the sport, so where does this love come from? How long are you going to hold out?
First of all, I would like to say that I am very grateful to my parents, who gave me good sports genes, even though they are not sports workers. When I first came into contact with gymnastics, I had no idea that there were so many great gymnasts in the world, and I never thought that I could be compared to them and become such a great athlete. I just love the sport and vault, and training in vault gives me energy and fun. Even in tough times, I find motivation in the sport.
Now gymnastics is an inseparable part of my life, and regardless of my age, I really love gymnastics. In daily life, I have always been an optimistic person, living in the moment, I just need to enjoy every moment of life. As for retirement, it's not on my agenda at the moment, and I'm curious to see how far I can go.
Chusovykina finished fourth in the women's vault competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Photo by Nandu, N video reporter Xu Jie
Q: Now that your teammates and opponents are probably much younger than you, what was it like when you got along with these little girls? Will you do anything interesting together?
I can say that I am very good friends with many girls, they like to chat with me, in addition to gymnastics, we talk about many topics that girls like. For example, when they see my nail art today, they will come to me and ask me where to do nail art in the Asian Games village, and where to do beauty SPA, etc., you know, those things that girls are passionate about. In fact, we athletes outside the arena are the same as ordinary girls, and the hobbies of those girls you can imagine are also liked by our group of gymnasts.
Q: Over the years, you have competed with many Chinese gymnasts, many of whom are now retired, so what is your impression of the new generation of Chinese women's teams?
Indeed, many of the Chinese gymnasts I know are no longer on this stage, and there are many very good people. To be honest, I don't know much about the girls on the Chinese team now, but for sure, the Chinese gymnastics team has always been one of the leaders in the world gymnastics. Over the years, the Chinese team has a rich talent pool, and sometimes when I play on the field, I can notice that the Chinese team has more than one substitute team sitting on the sidelines, sometimes even two or three, so the Chinese gymnastics team is really one of the strongest teams in the world. In fact, this time at the Asian Games I also met a Chinese athlete (the reporter later verified that the retired balance beam Olympic gold medalist Deng Linlin), we participated in the 2002 Asian Games together, she came to the Asian Games to do other work, we talked for a while, really a very cute girl. And if I want to say that the greatest Chinese gymnast in my eyes, it is Li Ning, who is also the greatest gymnast in my mind.
Chusovikina said she has no plans to retire and will continue to pursue her passion for gymnastics. Photo by Nandu, N video reporter Xu Jie
Q: What are your next personal plans?
I will return to Uzbekistan on the 5th and then train again after two days of rest, and yes, the competition is so fierce now, in fact I am already doing some recovery exercises now. I'm going to work hard to qualify for next year's Paris Olympics and hopefully I'll be on the Olympic stage again, which is my biggest goal in the near future.