The Paper's reporter Chen Jun
Chen Long in the game.
After Lin Dan left the national feather, the impression of this team to the outside world seems to be "leaderless".
But everyone is overlooking one thing – the 2016 Rio Olympic men's singles champion is Chen Long.
In daily life and competition, Chen Long seems to be low-key, but when he steps on the Olympic field, the 32-year-old veteran can always show his best self.
In the men's singles semifinals of badminton on August 1, Chen Long defeated Indonesia's Kim Ting 2-0 to reach the Olympic final again! His opponent will be Denmark's Acelon.
Chen Long once again reached the Olympic final.
In this Olympic Games, Chen Long's signing luck was good, avoiding the favorites to win the championship such as Arcelor and Momota Kendou. In the first round of the knockout round, Chen Long faced Malaysian rising star Li Zijia, and in the case of losing one set first, Chen Long withstood the pressure and pulled two consecutive sets to reverse the pass.
In the quarterfinals, Chen Long welcomed the second seed of the tournament, Chinese Taipei's Zhou Tiancheng, and another 2-1 to reach the semi-finals, while achieving a 10-game winning streak against Zhou Tiancheng.
Because in another quarter-final, China's Shi Yuqi lost to Arcelor, Chen Long became China's only seedling in the men's singles final four, and the burden of impacting the championship was on him alone.
Chen Long said: "This Olympic Games is prepared for difficulties in the competition, after reaching the quarterfinals, any game will not be easy, and he will not give up lightly in difficult situations." Against the masters, whoever makes fewer mistakes is closer to victory. ”
In the semi-finals, Chen Long's opponent was Indonesia's Jin Ting, in the world's top ten players' battle records, Jin Ting was one of the few players with superior results against Chen Long, and every time he met his strong attack, Chen Long struggled very much.
In the 2019 BWF Finals, Chen Long lost twice in three days to Kim Ting in two consecutive 0-2 in the group stage and semi-finals. But this time the Olympic semi-finals met, Chen Long let go of a game, played proactively!
In an interview, Chen Long also admitted that he was 32 years old, and in his last Olympic Games, he had to fight with all his strength and did not want to leave any regrets.
Indonesia's famous Kim Ting.
Although Chen Long has gathered all the championships in the badminton world, Chen Long's position in the hearts of fans does not seem to be completely proportional to the results.
On the one hand, he has lost many times in the team competition and performed mediocrely; on the other hand, Lin Dan's aura is too dazzling, which makes the baton receiver Chen Long under the pressure of being compared for a long time.
In the new Olympic cycle, Chen Long's state was not stable, until the return of the famous coach Li Mao, he slowly began to recover, and after winning the French Open championship, the world ranking returned to the top five.
And now Tokyo is his battlefield, in order to achieve the Chinese men's singles Olympic four consecutive championships, rush it!
Editor-in-Charge: Ascendas
Proofreader: Zhang Liangliang