Chinese Legion·Sixth Gold
On the evening of July 30th, Beijing time, the Paris Olympic Games table tennis mixed doubles final was staged in Hall 4 of the South Paris Arena. The Chinese combination Wang Chuqin / Sun Yingsha , currently ranked No. 1 in the world, defeated the North Korean combination Lee Jung Sik / Kim Geum Young 4-2 and won the mixed doubles gold medal. This is the first mixed doubles Olympic gold medal for the Chinese table tennis team. Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha made an outstanding contribution to the national table tennis team.
The table tennis mixed doubles final of the Paris Olympic Games is a battle for the Chinese table tennis team to regain lost ground. Three years ago in Tokyo, Xu Xin/ Liu Shiwen's "Xinwen combination" lost to the Japanese combination Mizutani Hayabusa/Ito Mima 3 to 4, making the mixed doubles the only event in the national table tennis that lost gold, and they also missed it. A chance to win your first Olympic gold medal. Three years later in Paris, the "Shatou combination" of Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha made up for this regret for the national table tennis team and defended the honor of the world's number one mixed doubles.
Make up for regrets
Winning gold in mixed doubles is the primary goal
Before the Paris Olympics, Wang Chuqin said in an interview: "Although I am playing three games in this Olympics (mixed doubles, men's singles, and men's team), my primary goal is Winning the Olympic gold medal in mixed doubles with Shasha (Sun Yingsha) "In fact, this is not only to make up for regrets, because mixed doubles is the first gold medal event in the Paris Olympic table tennis competition. Winning this championship will be a positive morale booster for the national table tennis team. effect.
The Tokyo Olympics regretfully lost the mixed doubles gold medal, which was like a thorn in the heart of the Chinese table tennis team. Entering the Paris Olympics cycle, the national table tennis team has been working hard to win the gold medal in this event at the Paris Olympics. In order to more fully carry out training and competition practice, the National Table Tennis Team established a mixed doubles group after the Tokyo Olympics, with senior coach Xiao Zhan as the team leader. It can be seen from this how important the mixed doubles event is as the entire Chinese table tennis team prepares for the Paris Olympics.
"We also made a lot of preparations for the Tokyo Olympics, but we still lost this gold medal. After that, we have been thinking about what aspects we did not do well and what aspects can be further changed. There will also be a lot of uncertainties, but Our goal remains unchanged, which is to regain this gold medal," Xiao Zhan said once in an interview.
In the "matching" process, the National Table Tennis Team continues to select the best from the best. They have been polishing the team and allowing the strongest combination to take on the mixed doubles task of the Paris Olympics. Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin gradually grew up under this background. After three years of practice, they have continuously improved their tacit understanding and accumulated competition experience, and finally became the strongest mixed doubles combination of the Chinese table tennis team and the well-deserved number one in the world.
The strongest combination
continues to improve its tacit understanding as it grows
At the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships in Houston, the "Shatou combination" won the world championship for the first time. They went all the way and defeated Zhang Benzhi and / Hayata Hina 3-0 in the final. The moment they stepped onto the podium, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin embraced warmly. They celebrated this hard-won championship in this way.
"I think this championship is the most beautiful start for our (group), but new challenges are also ahead." Sun Yingsha said at the time.
Entering 2022, the opportunities for "Shatou" pairing training are gradually increasing, and the number of entries has also risen sharply. They won the WTT Singapore Grand Slam that year, which was a great affirmation for them. The tacit understanding between them is gradually deepening, and the two have established a more positive chemical reaction.
"We cooperate more and more, and we have a better understanding on the court. We have gradually found some routines and scoring methods in mixed doubles events." Wang Chuqin said, "Shasha and I are complementary in personality. I sometimes have problems on the court. The mood swings will be bigger, and she can help me calm down quickly. She is calmer, and I am more relaxed. Sasha is very strong in singles. Athletes who are strong in singles are often not as focused on mixed doubles, but Sasha is. Differently, she is very focused on mixed doubles."
For the "Shatou combination", the solid winter training at the end of 2022 is an important guarantee for this combination to reach a higher level in terms of technology, psychology and other aspects.
In the winter training at that time, the National Table Tennis Team would put out 3 One of the training sessions was used for mixed doubles training. “This has never happened before. "Xiao Zhan said, "For the mixed doubles event, the whole team attaches great importance to it and works together. "
At the 2023 Durban World Table Tennis Championships, the "Shatou combination" won the mixed doubles championship again. And they once again defeated their old rivals Zhang Benzhihe/Hina Hayata in the final.
There was an impressive scene at the time. Sun Yingsha was in After getting on the podium, she deliberately took out her mobile phone to take a photo with Wang Chuqin, which showed how much they valued this championship. Sun Yingsha later said when looking back on the growth of the two: "Big Tou always said that I grew up very fast, but actually I think he was singles. My abilities are also improving rapidly and I have matured a lot. He has trained a lot in mixed doubles, and this championship is a confirmation for us. "
completed the transformation
took the initiative to shoulder the important task of winning the gold medal
In the eyes of many people, that competition made the "Shatou combination" begin to transform. In addition to technical factors, it was more about psychological maturity. Both of them became More responsible and able to take the initiative to shoulder the heavy responsibility of mixed doubles
“I think as we grow older and play more and more games, our experience is better than before, and our attitude and understanding of the mixed doubles project are also better. Clear. Before, we were more of the icing on the cake, but now we want to take on tough tasks and carry more. "Wang Chuqin said, "The mixed doubles competition will not be as easy as before. It will be more difficult now, but we feel that only in this way can we test our true level. "
After winning the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, Wang Chuqin once again expressed similar thoughts. He said: "This time I feel that we both bear more and the pressure is greater. Because Mixed Doubles is a separate Olympic gold medal, every team attaches great importance to it. Only by constantly working hard and pursuing higher goals can we stand out. "
"Shatou Combination" has completed its transformation step by step in this way. For Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, they are in their prime, and there are more championship honors waiting for them to win.
Text/Song Xiang, our special correspondent in Paris
photography/coordinator by our special correspondent Huang Liang/Wang Yong
