At the Tokyo National Arena in the evening, a delegation of 43 1 person from China will appear.
At that moment, for many athletes in China, it means five years of long preparation and even more than ten years of struggle.
On July 9, local time, the Tokyo Olympic flame arrived in Tokyo, Japan, and the welcoming ceremony was held at Ozawa Olympic Park Stadium.
The Olympic Games has always nurtured the hope that young teenagers will get ahead, and also entrusted the expectation that veterans who have reached the end of their careers will successfully make a curtain call.
Whether they retire on the podium or regret turning around and leaving the stadium, they are likely to bid farewell to the stadium where they once poured their dreams, sweat and youth.
When the cycle of the Tokyo Olympic Games was extended from four years to five years, its impact and influence spread rapidly from the time the decision was announced. Although athletes will not stop chasing forward, the gap of one year is enough to bring about great changes in international sports.
After all, Dānlín, Zhang Guowei, Ding Ning and Lilin did not appear in the China delegation that entered the national stage. In the past year, they also made unyielding efforts on the training ground, but the helpless decline in competitive level made the Olympic dream drift away.
Chen Long is in the game.
Some people are rushing back, and some people are carrying heavy loads.
Chen Long, the 32-year-old Rio Olympic champion in men's singles, is the only player on the team's list who has gone to Tokyo with Olympic experience. As the defending champion, Chen Long resisted the pressure of declining state for some time and improved his skills and tactics under the guidance of Li Mao.
According to the contract, Chen Long entered the second half, avoiding the host player Taotian Xiandou and Danish star Ansailong, but after his group qualifying, he still played directly against the new British champion Li Zijia, and the road to defending his title was doomed to be difficult.
The Olympic Games is postponed for one year, and all athletes are faced with the problem of cycle adjustment. The original plan deviates from the preset track, even if it is better than the dream team like Guo Ping, it is a difficult problem to be solved urgently. In this context, it is not easy for veterans like Ma Long and Liu to maintain the top level in a highly competitive environment.
Malone won the men's singles championship in ITTF Finals in 2020.
Even if the game is postponed, Malone is still on the road to making history. Standing on the Olympic Games again and winning the championship is Malone's only goal, but age and injuries always remind fans that China "Dragon" misses a game.
As the first sprinter in the history of China to advance to the men's100m semi-final of the Olympic Games, 32-year-old Su Ruyuan stood in the Tokyo Olympic Games and launched the final impact on the men's100m final. However, in the 100-meter race, Sue can only "fight her way out" in a new way and reach the final.
Sue of China is in the competition.
Athletes in China, especially the old athletes, are still on the move because of the epidemic and the postponement of the competition. Whether defending the goal or catching the last bus to fight, the historical moment in the eyes of the outside world is disappointing to them.
From 20 17 till now, the world champion Gong has been the most stable gold medal winner of China track and field team. But the trip to the past three Olympic Games was full of regrets for her. Passing the Olympic gold medal of the women's shot put repeatedly made Gong eager to fulfill his long-cherished wish at the Tokyo Olympics as never before.
On the honor book of Gong's career, only one Olympic gold medal with the heaviest weight is missing. As a veteran of the four dynasties in the Olympic Games, she finally ushered in the best opportunity to rush for gold. "This is my peak. As long as I remain competitive and have no injuries, I have already won half of the gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics. "
Liu Hong celebrated with the national flag.
As a "mom" athlete and an Olympic champion at the peak, Liu Hong is about to experience her fourth Olympic cycle. From the youth of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to the companionship and support of family and children, 34-year-old Liu Hong likes this stadium more than ever.
"There is a stronger self that has not been inspired." Today, Liu Hong is still exploring her own limits. For the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games, what she is looking forward to most is to really enjoy more than an hour on the track.
Even at the age of 34, Yan Ni has undoubtedly been selected into the Olympic list of China women's volleyball team. She and Yuan form the world's top secondary attack line, which will become a powerful weapon for China women's volleyball team to defend its title. Stability and reliability are the most reassuring labels on Yan Ni, and now she will fight for the China women's volleyball team to the last minute.
In the men's final of the trampoline competition of the Asian Games in Jakarta, the Olympic champion scored 59.925 points with the difficulty coefficient of 17. 100 and won the men's individual online gold medal.
In 2008, Dongdong started his trampoline Olympic trip with an Olympic bronze medal. After 0/3 years in Tokyo/KLOC, his career is still going on. Five years ago, the silver medal in Rio ended with regret. Dong Dong, 32, is looking forward to winning the championship in Tokyo and ending his career.
Famous table tennis players Xu Xin and Liu, 36-year-old weightlifter from China, the new springboard "Queen" stone of China diving team, etc ... In recent years, each of them is racing against time, speeding up their pace and sticking to it in sweat and tears.
They sweat for their dreams, from youth to the mainstay of the team, until they enter the twilight of their careers. Persistence is their belief that they have not changed their initial intentions over the years, and the perfect curtain call is also their yearning destination.
Text/Yu Wang
Photography/Chen Ji, Li Li, Liu Bo Guan Guan
Editor/Zhao Xu