Gymnastics florets for a group photo. Figure/IC photo
On the evening of July 27, in the final of the gymnastics women's team at the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Chinese team's lineup composed of 4 post-00s "Little Flowers" suffered a blow, ranking only 7th, equaling the worst record of the Athens Olympic Games.
After tonight is a new day, in the follow-up personal projects, gymnastics "little flowers" will also be in the all-around, balance beam and other projects, impact medals or even gold medals is not impossible.
In fact, in the previous team qualifiers, the little flowers have become popular on the internet with their elegance and generosity and super high appearance. I hope that they can show their strengths without fear and reap the best rewards of this Olympic cycle.
Tang Xijing in a free gymnastics competition. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Tang Xijing
The "little snail" became famous in World War I two years ago
Born in Guangdong, Tang Xijing began her gymnastics career in Beijing, from Dongcheng District Sports School to Shichahai Sports School, and finally to Xiannongtan Sports School to train with Wang Liming, who is currently coaching in the national team.
Although she has been exposed to gymnastics since childhood, Tang Xijing in the eyes of the coach is not very talented, and the girl who is called Xixi by gymnastics fans compares herself to a "little snail", "A very simple basic action, I am much slower than the players in the same period." As long as "step by step up", "little snails" can also stand on the Olympic field.
What allowed Tang Xijing to establish the main position of the women's team in the Tokyo Olympic cycle was the 2019 World Championships. The little girl's qualifiers were slow and hot, there were some mistakes, and the individual all-around was only ranked 21st. But she seized the opportunity to participate in the final as a substitute, and played well in all four individual events, with a silver medal to equal the best result of the Chinese gymnastics women's individual all-around. At the award ceremony, Tang Xijing stood next to the "queen" of American gymnastics, Byers, also holding a bouquet of flowers, temperament and self-confidence did not fall behind, and Qingxiu's appearance was very pleasing.
"This kid is more daring to play in the game, so the coaching team dares to use her." This is Wang Liming's evaluation of Tang Xijing. In the process of preparing for the Olympic Games, the coaching staff reinforced Sissi's weaknesses. In several selection competitions, the little girl dared to try, find problems through actual combat, and with the patience and tenacity of the "snail", took a solid first step on the Olympic stage, and looked forward to ushering in greater gains in personal projects.
Lu Yufei in a balance beam competition. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Lu Yufei
Behind the "pretty" game with injuries
On the day of the gymnastics women's qualifier on the 25th, "Lu Yufei is so beautiful" was on the social media hot search - she did not lose the sweet appearance of the idol drama female number one, and she was more than the heart and "shooting" at the camera, which was directly hit the audience's heart. With her GIF and video in the game, netizens directly called "sugar exceeded the standard".
However, for gymnastics fans, the 21-year-old Fifi can defeat the biggest enemy of injury and "go out of the circle" at the Tokyo Olympics, which is really painful and gratifying.
Being selected for the Olympic squad itself is enough to show that Lu Yufei is not a "vase". Born in 2000, a Zhengzhou girl won the free gymnastics championship at the Youth Games at the age of 15, but after entering the adult group, she was plagued by injuries, not only affecting domestic competitions, but also missing the opportunity to participate in international competitions.
The little girl admitted that being "suppressed" by injuries has become a daily routine, and it is also very "uncomfortable" in training, and giving up is of course not unthinkable. But Lu Yufei is most fortunate and grateful that the coach did not give up on her, but always accompanied her, encouraged her, and ushered in the highlight of this year's national championship individual all-around summit with this "little flower", and entered the Olympic roster of the Chinese women's team in one fell swoop.
After the team final, Lu Yufei will also participate in the individual all-around and uneven bars finals, as she said before the trip: "Be the best yourself at the best time and show the best side." ”
Zhang Jin in a free gymnastics competition. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Zhang Jin
The "gifted girl" returned from injury
The 2018 Gymnastics World Cup Stuttgart station only had two gold medals in the men's and women's individual all-around, and Zhang Jin, a Shanghai girl who was not yet 18 years old at the time, won the championship in one fell swoop, breaking the 7-year all-around gold medal drought of the Chinese women's team, and she was once called "genius girl".
Zhang Jin said: "I am not a genius, my qualifications are not the best, and I have also had many times when I was afraid and could not persevere, but every time I gritted my teeth, it passed." ”
Since practicing gymnastics at the age of 4 and a half, Zhang Jin has suffered countless injuries, large and small, but this strong girl has not been defeated, but has experienced stronger and more patient in the process of recuperation, rehabilitation, and catching up with the progress again and again. After bringing back the gold medal from Stuttgart, she successfully passed the Asian Games trials and won the team championship and balance beam third place with the team at the Asian Games in Jakarta that year.
This serious and hard-working girl in the eyes of the coach set herself a goal: step by step, and strive to stand on the Olympic field. In the three team selections that began in May this year, Zhang Jin first won the silver in the all-around of the championships, and then won the first place in the all-around projects of the last two selections, and steadily won the qualification for an Olympic team. When the list was announced, parents who were far away in Shanghai bluntly said that they were proud of Zhang Jin.
In order to impact the Olympics, she and her parents have not seen each other for more than two years. The daughter's dream of a battle, parents can only watch in front of the TV, in their hearts, no matter what the results, Zhang Jin's efforts are worth it.
Ou Yushan in a vaulting match. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Ou Yushan
The Olympic stage gained valuable experience
Born in 2004, the Tokyo Olympics were her first major event in her senior category. Like the sisters on the team, the little girl has spent most of the past two years overcoming injuries, resulting in less than expected results.
Because of the epidemic, although the Chinese team has not participated for a long time, it has also given Ou Yushan and others more time to recover and train systematically. "It's been more than a year to cut the details, improve the difficulty and the stability of the 4 items." She said.
After the "retreat", Ou Yushan's performance in the 3 team selection matches was remarkable: the vaulting difficulty was restored, the balance beam of strength was played steadily, and the championship also performed well in free gymnastics and high and low bars.
Due to her lack of experience in the international senior competition, Ou Yushan did not make much mistake in the Olympic qualification tournament, but the overall failure to play at the best level. After experiencing such a big scene as the final, Xiao Ou gained the most valuable experience of young players and won more possibilities for the future.
Beijing News reporter Liu Chen
Edited by Wang Chunqiu Proofreader Liu Baoqing