At 5 o'clock in the morning, Zhang Weihua stayed up late to watch his son Zhang Zhizhen's mixed doubles final and didn't sleep for a long time. He said: "It's a pity, it's a pity to lack such a breath, everyone has the opportunity, just the last little bit." But it's good to win a silver medal, and the opponent is still very strong. ”
Zhang Zhizhen, who is 1.93 meters tall, has excellent physical fitness and athletic talent, largely because he was born in a "sports family". His father Zhang Weihua was a famous central defender in Shanghai football in the eighties and nineties of the last century, and was selected for the national second team coached by Xu Genbao together with Cheng Yaodong, and he was very self-disciplined, and his career lasted until he retired at the age of 36. His mother, Qin Wei, is an excellent shooting athlete. No wonder many friends joke that Zhang Zhizhen's tall figure comes from his father, and his good psychological quality depends on his mother's "natural genes".
Zhang Zhizhen and his partner went all the way to the mixed doubles final of the Paris Olympics, and Zhang Weihua also bluntly said "I didn't expect it". "Because it's the first time for the two of them to be together, I remember playing a friendly match in Macau at the end of last year, and I haven't worked well with each other at other times, so I really didn't expect them to be able to play like this. I should say that everyone is very satisfied, and I am very pleased. ”
During the time when his son was competing in the Olympics, Zhang Weihua happened to be in Spain. Every year at this time, he takes a group of young tennis children from Shanghai to participate in summer camps abroad. Due to work, Zhang Weihua watched his son's game intermittently. "In the first game of mixed doubles, I watched the first set, and they lost, and I was just about to start busy, and I didn't watch it, and they won later." After that, Zhang Weihua happened to be on the way back to China, "When I arrived in Dubai, he reached the quarterfinals. When I played the third game, I was on the plane. As soon as he landed in Shanghai on the evening of August 1, he received a lot of text messages on his mobile phone, all of which were sent by relatives and friends to congratulate him, only to know that he had reached the finals. ”
In Europe, it is quite convenient to travel from Spain to France, why not change the ticket and go to the scene to see your son play? Zhang Weihua said with a smile: "I've thought about it for a long time, but forget it, don't let him be distracted." Besides, what if I go to see it and it doesn't turn out well? The psychological pressure of athletes is actually quite large. ”
Talking about his son's performance in the final, Zhang Weihua said: "There are good scores, but there are also a few mistakes, which need to be summarized, and there is a chance to win the game, including the last 2 points." Today's performance is normal, because the opponent is indeed not weak, you see that the opponent played all the way, it was relatively easy, basically won 2-0, and the strength was there. It's not as difficult as Zhang Zhizhen, who has won three times in a row. ”
In order to prepare for the Paris Olympics, Zhang Zhizhen made a lot of sacrifices, and his father knew it very well. "You have to study your opponents, you have to adapt to the venue, you have to pay more in terms of time and energy, including two ATP tour tournaments, you can't participate, and you will lose points. However, the Olympics is what he has always wanted to play, so he would rather give up these points or small interests to play the Olympics for his country. After all, how many Olympic Games can an athlete participate in in his lifetime? Not everyone has the opportunity and privilege to go to the Olympics. ”
After his trip to Paris, will Zhang Zhizhen still consider participating in the next Olympics? Zhang Weihua said: "Zhang Zhizhen will be 28 years old on October 16. At his age, it should be said that there is still a chance to play one or two more terms, depending on the situation, maybe there will be younger ones coming out. I think if he had the opportunity to go again, he would definitely still participate, there is no doubt about that. I didn't get the gold medal this time, so I'll do it again next time, right? ”