22-year-old Du Tingting now holds more than 60 national or international rope skipping championships. Photo courtesy of interviewee
There are many masters of competitive rope skipping in China, but there are very few who reach their peak right after their debut and have won the titles of "World Skipping Master" and "Asian Rope Skipping Master" consecutively in just a few years. Du Tingting, who is only 22 years old this year, is such a "master".
Du Tingting has been partnering with skipping for more than ten years since she first participated in the competition when she was in the first grade of junior high school. Du Tingting has won more than 60 national or international championships. Although the year-round training is very boring, and sometimes she is so tired that she cannot lift her legs, but with her love and persistence in skipping, she chooses to persevere.
"Rookie" participated in the competition for the first time, nervous, excited and scared
In 2002, Du Tingting was born in a small town in Kaifeng City, Henan Province. This girl who has been fond of sports since she was a child has an unyielding drive.
chose to skip rope, which was somewhat of an afterthought for Du Tingting. "The first time I came into contact with it was in kindergarten. In the fourth grade of elementary school, the school required everyone to sign up for extracurricular activities. I saw that my classmates were jumping very well, so I thought I could do it too." , she joined the rope skipping club of Xinliu Road Primary School in Jinshui District, Zhengzhou City.
In Du Tingting's view, "In primary school, rope skipping is more of an after-school hobby. The management of the club is not strict. They usually train after school in the afternoon and the time is short. Sometimes activities are suspended due to weather conditions." At that time, she I don’t really like skipping yet, let alone what kind of development it will have in the future.
In 2015, Du Tingting was admitted to Zhengzhou No. 76 Middle School and studied with Dong Yanjun, a national senior rope skipping coach in the club. It was at that time that she came into contact with figure skipping. “I had never seen it before, so I thought it was quite fun.” In junior high school, her goal was no longer a hobby, but to participate in competitions, and she started in national-level competitions. If you want to get good results in , you have to spend more time on skipping. "I follow Teacher Dong basically all year round." Du Tingting said that because she was afraid of affecting her studies, her parents did not support it at first, but she never thought of giving up.
When she was in junior high school, her parents objected to Du Tingting continuing to practice skipping because they were afraid of affecting her studies, but she never thought of giving up. Photo provided by the interviewee
Half a year later, Du Tingting represented the school in the 2016 National Rope Skipping League Finals held in Guangzhou. To compete with the highest level players in the country, she was somewhat unsure of herself as a "rookie". When recalling her first competition experience, she said she was "nervous and excited mixed with some fear."
In that competition, Du Tingting won third place in the women's individual figure intermediate event, and won three championships, one runner-up and one third place in the mixed group event.
won an award after participating in a national competition for the first time, which made Du Tingting feel that she was pretty good, but she was unsatisfactory in the tricks. Especially after seeing the performance of other players, she wanted to practice skipping better. Since then, studying and training in her spare time have become Du Tingting's daily routine.
's excellent results in various competitions are a reward for Du Tingting's efforts, and also made her parents gradually change their attitude. In this process, coach Dong Yanjun played an important role, "Mr. Dong is my life. In junior high school, I was a little tired of studying because I was not good at studying. Without him, I might have left school and entered the society long ago. "
encountered career setbacks, and sometimes I felt like crying when I saw a skipping rope. "When I was in junior high school, there was a female classmate who danced better than me. Every time I jumped next to her, I wanted to surpass her. It was this energy that made me jump. I can keep moving forward on the skipping rope."
In order to perfect her movements, Du Tingting has to train for two to three hours after school every day. She said that holidays are the most productive time. In order to improve her competitive level, she would train with her teammates throughout the day when other students were on holiday. "The daily practice time is basically about six or seven hours. After practice, I can't even lift my legs. The intensity is very high." Even now, Du Tingting still maintains the habit of training every day. When the intensity is high, she will take a day off to adjust.
To this day, Du Tingting still maintains the habit of training every day.Photo provided by the interviewee
"At that time, I would be envious when I saw my classmates going shopping or traveling on weekends or holidays." Because of regular training, several close friends rarely asked Du Tingting to hang out anymore. But seeing her progress in skipping, she regained her balance and felt that she had gained more than she had lost.
For Du Tingting, the competition is like a mirror, which can not only test her own level, but also see the gap between herself and high-level players. What impressed her deeply was that in every competition during the three years of junior high school, whether it was an individual competition or a team competition, they were always "overpowered" by the rope skipping team of a school in Guizhou Province, which made her secretly compete to win. "Old rival".
Dreams will always come true. In 2017 alone, Du Tingting won 14 championships in various domestic rope skipping competitions. At the 2018 World Rope Skipping Championships held in Shanghai, in addition to defeating Guizhou's "old rival", she also won gold medals in five events in the individual and team competitions, broke the 30-second single jump world record, and became the first Chinese to win. Athletes with the title of "World Skipping Master" in the women's category over 16 years old .
From her first participation in 2016 to last year's National Rope Skipping Championship, Du Tingting has won more than 60 national or international championships.
Du Tingting is the first Chinese athlete to win the title of "World Rope Skipping Master" in the women's group over 16 years old. Picture provided by the interviewee
But life is always imperfect without setbacks.
In July last year, at the 2023 World Rope Skipping Championships held in Colorado, USA, under the pressure of failing to enter the finals of the individual figure event, Du Tingting missed the 30-second single jump final due to a mistake. "Two consecutive mistakes made me collapse. I couldn't help but cry during the match." When she recalled that competition, she said that although she broke the world record twice and won the gold medal in the 3-minute single jump event, it was a huge blow. "The 30-second single jump and individual tricks have always been the best. My strong point, but I didn’t perform as well as I should in the competition. After I came back, I didn’t dare to do any tricks.”
For a while, Du Tingting wanted to cry whenever she touched the skipping rope. "I still have the level, but I haven't shown it yet. I'm not willing to do it." Since then, she has tried to overcome the psychological barriers and return herself to her previous competitive state.
In the second half of life, we need to cultivate a rope skipping master.
Currently studying at Zhengzhou University of Science and Technology, Du Tingting will enter her third year of college this summer. For many college students, this is the stage of preparation for leaving campus and entering society. When it comes to the future, Du Tingting said that her studies are her top priority, but she will still use her spare time to train and strive to achieve better results in competitions.
has been with skipping for more than ten years. When talking about how to achieve ten years of success, Du Tingting said: Interest, love and persistence are the secrets.
"My next goal is the Asian Jump Rope Championships to be held in Kawasaki, Japan, in July this year. I am now actively training to prepare for the event." Du Tingting revealed that she hopes to get the title of "Asian Skipping Master" in offline competitions. title. Although she had already won this title as early as the 2021 Asian Championships, it was an online competition at that time, and players could record videos repeatedly, so the gold content was relatively not that high. In addition, the World Rope Skipping Championships, which will also be held in Kawasaki, Japan, in 2025, is another goal of Du Tingting. She hopes to prove her strength and make up for her previous regrets.
Du Tingting is a girl with clear goals, both on the court and in the second half of her life. Photo courtesy of interviewee
Du Tingting, 22, said she hoped to continue fighting for a few more years. "Every player will go from the court to off the court. When that day comes, I hope to change my identity and continue my love for rope skipping." She wants to become a rope skipping coach and use the knowledge and skills she has learned without reservation. Teach students and let more people like skipping rope. Although the second half of her life has not yet begun, she has already set a goal for herself: to train a skipping master.
When asked if she would feel regretful or even reluctant if she could no longer continue competing one day, Du Tingting seemed very calm. "It would be hard to adapt to quitting all at once, but now I am changing step by step." Du Tingting revealed , she had previously obtained rope skipping referee and coach certificates, and she usually teaches students to skip rope. She will extend the timeline of transformation and gradually withdraw from the game.
Beijing News reporter Wang Jisong
chief editor Wu Dongni
proofreader Li Lijun
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