The will and determination shown by "Little Stone" Shi Yuqi in the finals gives people reason to look forward to his performance in the future.
The 2023 BWF World Tour Finals have come to an end in Hangzhou. National feather men's singles player Shi Yuqi lost 0:2 to the world's No. 1 Danish star Viktor Axelsen and won the silver medal in men's singles.
Although Shi Yuqi failed to end this year's competition with a victory, the audience still gave him a round of applause. When the players left the field, some spectators shouted "Shi Yuqi come on" and "Little Stone come on", and Shi Yuqi raised his clap to greet the audience.
In the talented Chinese badminton world, this national feather men's singles flag bearer is not the "seedling" with the best physical condition. But with delicate control and flexible hitting ideas, the young Shi Yuqi still made a splash early, and achieved the "triple jump" of the Sports Academy, the national youth team, and the national team in two years, and won the Asian Youth Championships and Youth Olympic Games at the age of 18, and entered the top ten in the world in only two years after entering the senior arena, and won the 2018 All England Championships and the Badminton Federation Finals.
Men's Singles Final
BWF World Finals 2023
Axelsen
VS
Shi Yuqi
Perhaps it was because he became famous at a young age and had many trials of wind and waves, and Shi Yuqi's upward momentum came to an abrupt end due to a serious injury. In 2019, Shi Yuqi suffered a ruptured ligament in his left ankle at the Indonesia Open. Despite his stubborn return to the field after surgery and months of recuperation, injuries have been around ever since.
As a strong player who has been ranked No. 1 in the men's singles world rankings for more than 100 consecutive weeks, Axelsen has maintained a good level of competition during the Paris Olympic cycle, maintaining a whopping 86% win rate throughout the year. Judging from the record of the fight, Shi Yuqi is at a disadvantage with 2 wins and 8 losses. Although Shi Yuqi defeated Axelsen in the first round of the group stage, the Danish star was still on the line in this tournament, and after quickly adjusting, he went all the way to the final.
In the final, Shi Yuqi failed to replicate the "dragon slaying" feat in the group stage. After the two sides were entangled to 10 draws in the first game, Shi Yuqi made more mistakes, and Axelsen played a wave of scoring climaxes and won the first game 21:11. In the second game, the two sides were entangled in the first half, and after 8 draws, Axelsen was once again full of firepower and ended the game 21:12.
After the game, Shi Yuqi was not too frustrated, but carefully analyzed the technical characteristics and the gains and losses of the game to reporters. "It started to cool down yesterday, so the ball was a lot slower today, so I think the advantage will be a bit more obvious for Viktor Axelsen. Regarding the outside world's praise for his patience and physical improvement compared to before, Shi Yuqi calmly analyzed that he still needs to work the distribution of physical strength.
A silver medal has drawn an imperfect end to Shi Yuqi's 2023. But the stone can be broken, but it cannot be taken away. The will and determination shown by "Little Stone" Shi Yuqi in the finals gives people reason to look forward to his performance in the future.