Du Kaiqin Makes History: Hong Kong Table Tennis Team Shines with Two Bronze Medals at Asian Championships

Hong Kong’s table tennis team had just missed out on a medal at the Paris Olympics earlier, but their performance at the Asian Championships was a stark contrast, and they even won two bronze medals. head coach Li Jing admitted that it was an unexpected surprise: “I originally expected them to win with less pressure. There might have been a little fear, but there was no I expected them to be very diligent and focused as soon as they entered the game. I did not expect that the two men and the female players would perform so well.” he reason why the players have learned from the experience of losing in the Olympics: “I think maybe it was because of the experience after the Olympics that they felt they had not to do enough and the players, including Du Kaiqin, have been working harder on the impact of their shots using.”

Li Jing is happy to see that Wu Yonglin (second from right) has made great progress in women’s singles, women’s doubles and women’s team.

Li Jing pointed out that we have now entered a new Olympic cycle, and that the Hong Kong team is entering a transition period between the old and the new. in the young players to the field on purpose, and the effect was not expected: “Look at Huang Zhenting with Chen Haohua, of course there are opportunities to achieve higher results, but it is always first match. I’m very happy Juntao and Wu Yonglin, the latter 19. Chen Haohua, 20, had an upset victory over Zhang Benjiwa, who won the men’s singles. , in the men’s team, while 20-year-old Wu Yonglin saw great progress in women’s singles and women’s team Every hand “deserves to be beaten”. have made so much progress, I think everyone has higher demands on themselves. I feel very happy now, because in the end, if you want to make a name for yourself, you have to rely on yourself.”

Du Kaiqin won two bronze medals in the women’s team and women’s singles.

Perhaps the biggest surprise for the Hong Kong team this year is Du Kaiqin, who won two bronze medals Compared to the women’s team who won three times in a row, the women’s singles medal is the hardest to win after 19 years Even she herself also considered it “uninteresting”. “Actually, about 8 or 9 years ago, when the mixed doubles and team teams had already won medals at the World Championships, I really wanted to progress in singles, as the more I thought about it, the more I thought about the stress I felt, creating a vicious cycle. “It’s sad that I lost in singles over the years when I reached the top 8 at the most, and then I thought there was something wrong with me mentally. 16, and even “round trip”, and then these two have been hurt for many years, so I will not want to think about it anymore, and I will not mention this dream to other people. “

Women’s team bronze winners Li Kaimin (from left), Wu Yonglin, coaches Zhang Rui, Li Haoqing and Du Kaipu; Zhu Chengzhu, who returned to Hong Kong a few days ago, did not arrive at the airport due to family matters.

Du Kaiqin believes that this breach may be related to the new racket. “Because of the previous racket, it was difficult for me to pull the ball with force. the racket, After I changed the rubber, it became easier to pull the ball and the speed increased faster Then I went to Beijing and beat the Swedish chipper (Linda Bergstrom), to win another match like this, I never thought about it at all. bin in a strong battle and confirming that he won the medal, he immediately threw the racket high with joy. “At that moment I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t. and suddenly my dream came true.”

Du Kaiqin received a stuffed panda doll as a gift from her mother.

At the same time, Du Kaiqin was also happy that he had still achieved good results in three matches in one day despite being injured, and thanked “Doctor Gao” who joined the team many times. She also said she was mentally prepared to face the effects of the back wave: “After the Olympics in Paris, it will be a new cycle. that is, hunger, because of course, the young players at the back are progressing very quickly, so I have to keep this competitive mentality to prepare for this cycle in Los Angeles. “

Du Kaiqin was picked up by his parents and brother at the airport.

The Hong Kong team will travel to Oman again at the end of the month, followed by a mixed team competition in Chengdu in December. Li Jing revealed that Zhang Rui will lead the team and will have 4 male and 4 female players participate. When it comes to the National Games next November, both Li Jing and Du Kaiqin agree that it is the “most difficult” event. Haoqing has said that she will not participate. future, she remained tight-lipped as she planned to retire, saying only that she would announce them at the appropriate time.

Lee Hao Chung (right)

Apart from Zhu Chengzhu who was absent due to family issues, Yao Juntao and Chen Haohua both arrived in Hong Kong later due to flight issues.

Photos and text: Vincent

This article was written by “Sports road“Originally published in”Asian Table Tennis Championships｜ The triumphant victory of the Hong Kong team became the focus of Du Kaiqin’s speech about winning the women’s singles medal for the first time: I never thought about it」