Text: Zhao Gongzi
Editor|Zhao Gongzi
Sources: All statements in this article are based on sources believed to be reliable
Preface
In this year's Thomas Cup World Men's Badminton Team Finals, Shi Yuqi and Indonesian star Ginting presented a wonderful match.
You must know that even with the ability and skill of the world's No. 1 men's singles, Shi Yuqi's performance in the team competition has always been unsatisfactory.
But this time in the soup cup, Shi Yuqi's super strength and superb skills impressed the fans.
Even badminton stars such as Lin Dan and Taufik in the audience showed incredible expressions and were stunned.
I have to say that Shi Yuqi, who has overcome his demons, is really too strong, and it also makes people look forward to his performance in the Paris Olympics.
So, how strong is Shi Yuqi, who is now also a badminton master, and what is the demon of the world's No. 1 men's singles player?
The shock of the badminton master
In fact, when the match table for this year's Thomas Cup badminton knockout match just came out, everyone sweated for the Chinese team, because it was the Indonesian team that played against the Chinese team.
As the last Thomas Cup winner, Indonesia's strength in badminton should not be underestimated, and they have also beaten China in the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Such a strong opponent is obviously a tiger in the way for the Chinese team to win the Thomas Cup, so the pressure on the Chinese team is also very high.
In an interview, Shi Yuqi, as the captain of the men's team of this Thomas Cup, said that although he understands that the opponent is very strong, he still firmly believes that the Chinese team can win.
With the belief of fighting a hand, Shi Yuqi played as the position of the team's first order, and as the team's first battle, the pressure to face in a single was extraordinary.
As early as last year's Sudirman Cup and the Hangzhou Asian Games, Shi Yuqi has always affected his mentality because of the position of a single order, and this time the pressure has only increased.
In the 1/4 finals knockout round, Shi Yuqi encountered a dilemma, and lost the first game 15:21 in the game with Prannoy, who is known as the "King of Heaven".
You must know that as a veteran in the badminton world, Prannoy has the reputation of "never killing the unknown", which means that when you are strong, you will be stronger, and the more you fight, the more courageous you are.
In the case of falling behind in the first game, everyone was worried that Shi Yuqi's mentality would have problems, which would affect the performance of the following games.
But fortunately, Shi Yuqi also adjusted his state in time, and the results of training in Chengdu were shown at this time, and this is also the biggest change between Shi Yuqi and before.
In the end, with his excellent strength and mentality, Shi Yuqi finally turned the tables against the wind and won the qualification for the finals, which opened the first shot for the team.
The above content is referenced from the report of the General Administration of Sports of China on May 3, 2024 on "Shi Yuqi is very tenacious for the team".
In the finals, Shi Yuqi also played as a single position in the Indonesian team's Ginting, with his advantage in heavy killing, Shi Yuqi won the initiative in the game at the beginning.
After winning the game 21-17 in the opening game, Shi Yuqi took advantage of the victory to chase and did not fall behind at all in the face of Ginting's small ball.
At the beginning of the second game, there was a one-sided trend, and Shi Yuqi played a final score of 21:6, and then beat Ginting 2:0 in the next game.
It can be said that Shi Yuqi in the final has been completely reborn, and the integration of offense and defense is hearty, which is simply a enjoyment of badminton art.
And Shi Yuqi's style of play is also steady and progressive, which can be called a master-level matchup, and once stunned the famous Lin Dan who was sitting in the audience.
As the king of Chinese badminton, Lin Dan wore a suit and leather shoes at the game site, although he looked unfazed, but the light in his eyes also revealed his recognition of Shi Yuqi's performance.
Under the director's lens, the other is Taufik, who is known as the "King of Badminton" in Indonesia, and it can be seen from his stunned expression that Shi Yuqi's performance has surprised him.
After the game, Shi Yuqi said in an interview that the good performance of this game was mainly due to psychological changes.
The above content is referenced from the live broadcast bar on May 5, 2024 about "Shi Yuqi: I don't know what happened to Ginting in the second game, and a good performance comes from passing a good psychological barrier".
When it was mentioned that everyone was saying that the stone was a little different from before, Shi Yuqi himself said that every player is always in good and bad condition, and this time it's up to him.
The above content is referenced from Guangming.com's report on May 6, 2024 about "Guoyu defeated Indonesia 3-1 to win the 11th Thomas Cup crown".
In fact, if he can maintain this rhythm and mentality, Shi Yuqi is undoubtedly a strong contender for the men's singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
But it is such a "badminton man", but he always has his own demons.
The demon of the first in men's singles
For an athlete, sometimes the most important thing is not whether you can defeat the enemy, but the important thing is to be able to overcome the level in your heart and defeat yourself.
Whether it is his own conditions or his talent for badminton, Shi Yuqi has always been considered to have the potential to become a badminton superstar like Lin Dan.
Although Shi Yuqi's strength is undoubted in today's badminton men's singles event, in his career, Shi Yuqi is always lacking.
Looking at Shi Yuqi's professional events, many fans can see at a glance that Shi Yuqi needs to be tempered whether it is because of injury, suspension or psychological endurance.
At the India Open Badminton Championships held at the beginning of last year, Shi Yuqi lost to Danish star Arcelon with a score of 1:2.
But whether it is from the process or the result of the game, it is not difficult to see that Shi Yuqi is almost the same as Anceron in terms of strength, and the focus is on mental power.
The earliest meeting between the two dates back to 2017, when Shi Yuqi was still better than Anselm, and since then, Shi Yuqi has encountered Anceron 6 times, but he has never won.
As the number one national feather men's single figure after Lin Dan and Chen Long, Shi Yuqi will always be a little lacking every time he plays against world famous players.
Because of the mentality, Shi Yuqi even had a ban, and in the semifinals of the Thomas Cup in 2021, Shi Yuqi played Momota Kento.
In the first game, Shi Yuqi fell behind 20:22 and unfortunately lost, but everything was still very normal at this time.
But the problem appeared in the second game, and in the second game, Shi Yuqi had a major problem with his mentality, falling behind 5:20 significantly, and he didn't even play the last match point.
Shi Yuqi, who directly chose to abandon the game, also spoke fiercely after the game, which all reflected that he still needs to improve his mentality.
Shi Yuqi, who caused a lot of controversy at that time, also got the punishment he deserved, and was banned by the Chinese Badminton Association for one year, which can be regarded as a psychological tempering.
The above content is referred to from the report on January 19, 2023 on "Topic|Seven consecutive defeats of Ancelon, Shi Yuqi still needs to exorcise demons to practice skills".
In fact, Shi Yuqi's performance now is enough to prove that his mentality is gradually getting better, and with it, he continues to improve and his world ranking.
In 2023, Shi Yuqi will still be ranked 33rd in the world, but only a year has passed, and now Shi Yuqi has come to second place in the world.
The above content is referenced from the report of the General Administration of Sports of China on January 22, 2024 about "Shi Yuqi proves himself with his results".
It can also be seen from here that Shi Yuqi, who defeated the demons in his heart, deeply impressed the fans and seniors with the attitude of a badminton master.
epilogue
Looking at Shi Yuqi's game now, it is simply a badminton feast combining delicate techniques and violent aesthetics.
What is even more rare is that in the face of the interview, Shi Yuqi himself also realized that he has not changed substantially, and the important thing is that his mentality must be calm.
I believe that Shi Yuqi in this state will definitely be able to go further and look forward to the performance of the national feather in the Olympic Games.