OlymPicks: Finally, Some Wins as Chinese Stars Bring Home the Goods
In OlymPicks, we highlight news, gossip, and developments regarding the buildup to Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympics.
After months of reading about Beijing 2022 prep, it makes a nice change to hear about some medal-winning instead. Two Chinese swimmers and one table tennis player – who had originally made names for themselves at previous Summer Olympic Games – won major titles this past week.
Table tennis wins with a hat-trick and women's doubles gold
Let’s start by serving up some news about table tennis star Ma Long, who first won gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Ma, wielding his paddle to victory at the Table Tennis Federation World Championships in Budapest this week, a win (over formidable opponent Mattias Falck of Sweden) that was made extra sweet by the fact that this is Ma’s third men's singles title in a row.
Chinese table tennis fans were downright spoiled at the Hungary event, as this win was complemented by an exciting doubles victory for Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu, who, as Inside the Games put it “battled back from two games down against Japan's Hina Hayata and Mima Ito to win 8-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-3, 12-10 11-8 in a thrilling final.”
All in all, China snag all five of the gold medals on offer.
Ye Shiwen achieves new PB
Meanwhile at the International Swimming Federation (FINA) Champions Swim Series in Guangzhou this past Sunday, star swimmer Ye Shiwen (pictured in the lede image above) dove in and won the 200m backstroke in two minutes, 22.53 seconds, which as she happily reported to state media after her win, is a new personal best. "It's very good to be back in Guangzhou as this is the place where I started my dream."
Swimming fans will certainly recall that back at the 2010 Asian Games, the then prodigious 14-year-old swimmer won both the 200m and 400m individual medley. She followed it up two short years later by winning two gold medals at the London Summer Olympics, gaining global notoriety in the process. Clocking her fastest finish yet in Guangzhou this past weekend, it doesn't look like Ye’s already illustrious career is slowing down anytime soon.
Bad Boy Sun Yang distracts critics with a shiny gold medal
Lastly, let’s go from the girl who could do no wrong, to her fellow Olympic swimmer and notorious bad boy Sun Yang (pictured above) who was accused of destroying his blood sample in a scuffle with drug testers a few short months ago.
Perhaps extra motivated to move attention away from this controversy, Sun turned out an outstanding performance at the same FINA international championship in Guangzhou, winning a pair of gold medals for the men's 200m and 400m freestyle events.
As described by Inside the Games: “Sun shrugged off the controversy surrounding him as he delighted the home crowd at the Guangdong Olympic Sports Centre with dominant performances in the men's 200m and 400m freestyle.”
From record-setting victories to beleaguered champs coming back from the brink, there’s no shortage of drama and excitement for summer international sports fans in China.
READ: Could the Next Big Snowboarding Star Be Chinese?
Photos: telegraph.co.uk, Slate
