Hats off to the veterans! Xu Anqi, who was in danger, really tried her best

New Jiangsu China Jiangsu Netnews (reporter Lu Xiang) missed the bronze medal, and finally the Chinese team won the fourth place in the team at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Former Olympic champion and Jiangsu athlete Xu Anqi, who was appointed to replace the injured Sun Yiwen in the semifinals, failed to create a miracle after all, missed the final, and lost to Italy in the bronze medal battle. However, for the 29-year-old veteran who has experienced the pain of retirement and comeback, being able to stand on the Olympic field for three consecutive years is already a hero.

He became famous at a young age and defeated the Olympic champion at the age of 15

Some people say that she is talented and lucky, but for Xu Anqi, the hard sweat and hard work behind the achievements are her strongest dependence. Xu Anqi was born in 1992 in a military family in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, his grandfather was a veteran of the Transitional River Campaign, and his father was a naval soldier. Influenced by the family environment, Xu Anqi developed a boyish strong personality very early. At the age of 9, she was selected by the Nanjing Sports School to participate in epee training in fencing. Because of her tall stature, at the age of 13, Xu Anqi was able to defeat an adult player who had been training for many years with a heavy sword. At the age of 14, Xu Anqi, who participated in the Provincial Games for the first time, easily won the championship with a score of 15:7.

In the 2007 FIB Women's Epee World Cup, 15-year-old Xu Anqi became famous in one battle, and with a score of 5:1, she challenged Russia's two-time Olympic champion and fencing star Okosana. To this end, Xu Xuening, the head coach of the national women's fencing team at that time, broke through to include Xu Anqi in the national team. Along the way, Xu Anqi has achieved very well, winning the fencing championship at the 2012 London Olympic Games and the runner-up at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Since joining the national team in 2009, Xu Anqi has won more than 10 World Cup championships, 2 world championships, 2 runners-up, 1 third place and many medals in Asian and national competitions.

Back on the field, the road back is difficult

After winning the 2017 National Games, Xu Anqi once faded out of the arena and lived a sweet little life with her husband Wang Sen. At the same time, she also went to do public welfare with her good sister Hui Ruoqi, and went to remote areas to bring the fun of fencing to children. In October 2018, Wang Haibin, the chairman of the Chinese Fencing Association, came to Nanjing to have a conversation with Xu Anqi, hoping that she would return to the team, and Xu Anqi also talked about her concerns, body, injuries, conditions, etc., but with her inseparable feelings for fencing and Wang Haibin's ardent expectations for her, she finally chose to return.

The day after the decision to return, Xu Anqi returned to jiangsu and began recovery training. Athletes train extremely hard, and in order to compete for national honors internationally, many athletes have put in efforts far beyond their own endurance. Xu Anqi is the same, the daily large number of training caused her right knee lateral meniscus tear, need to rest for three weeks to return to the training ground, the road back to the competition has become longer. Even so, Xu Anqi is still struggling to walk on the road of comeback.

In late January 2020, Xu Anqi was injured while training in France, followed by another injury to the knee joint of her left leg, but just when the results of her injury treatment were still not satisfactory, Xu Anqi's father's condition began to deteriorate, and eventually died of lung cancer. Her mother died early, and she could not accept this fact for a long time because she had been dependent on her father since she was a child. Fortunately, under the meticulous care of her husband and coaches, Xu Anqi gradually came out of the haze.

Without fear of pain, fight for your dreams again

Participate in your third Olympic Games in 2020... For Ms. Xu, everything was moving towards her plans, but a sudden covid-19 pandemic that postponed the Tokyo Olympics for a year also disrupted all of her plans. In the end, after communicating with her coach, relatives and friends again and again, Xu Anqi chose to fight again for her dream.

After unremitting efforts, the 29-year-old Xu Anqi stepped onto the Olympic field for the third time, and as a substitute team member, she and Lin Sheng, Sun Yiwen and Zhu Mingye passed the hurdles to advance to the semifinals. In the semi-finals, individual epee gold medalist Sun Yiwen was injured in the second set, Xu Anqi came off the bench, but the Chinese team lost to the South Korean team 29:38 and missed the final. In the bronze medal match, facing the strong Italy, Xu Anqi failed to continue the London bench miracle and ultimately missed the medal.

"Participation is more important than winning", while cheering on the winners, we must not forget the participants who did not stand on the podium. For Xu Anqi, standing on the Olympic field, she is enough to win people's respect and applause.