Win or lose, athletes gain experience and confidence
By Hu Min |
October 29, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Minhang athletes won 15 gold medals in eight sports, including rowing, shooting, trampoline, volleyball, soccer and cycling, as part of the Shanghai team at the 7th National Intercity Games in the southwestern city of Nanchang.
For the second time in the event's history, medal standings were not announced. Event sponsors said they wanted the competition to focus on athlete grooming and not on medal tallies.
Minhang and Fengxian were the only two districts included in the Shanghai team. The event is billed as a seedbed for future Olympic champions, with youngsters encouraged to participate to gain the experience of international competition.
More than 340 gymnasts from Minhang participated in the 25-sport tourney, which attracted 6,000 athletes from across the nation.
The quadrennial intercity games feature most of the sports of the Olympic Games, including soccer, basketball, table tennis, archery, track and field, swimming, diving, judo, kayak, shooting, weightlifting and wrestling.
Dong Wei and Yin Dameng took the first gold medal for Minhang, winning the 2,000-meter women's pairs rowing competition.
The duo didn't live at the athletes' village because Yin suffers from car sickness. Instead, the oars-women stayed in a hotel just opposite to the Yaohu Water Sports Center, where the competition was held.
Fortunately, Yin suffers no seasickness. The pair was confronted with severe challenges at the starting point, with strong rivals from the northeastern city of Dalian team taking the lead in the first 500 meters. Strong winds and rough waters made the going tougher.
Yin said the pair had never encountered such adverse conditions while training at the Shanghai Water Sports Center at Zhujiajiao in Qingpu District.
Rising stars
The pair began to overtake the Dalian team after the first 500 meters and never looked back. Zhou Haojie won the gold medal in men's trap-shooting in a group competition with his teammates. He started training after graduating from Tianyuan High School in Minhang.
"It is the first time that I won a championship at nation-level competition," Zhou said proudly.
He said the game boosted his confidence and helped him accumulate experience in competing in big events.
Gai Ao, a 16-year-old athlete from Minhang, proved to be a rising star in tennis.
She eliminated Liu Siqi, a top-seeded player from Wuhan, in the first round of women's tennis, though she eventually lost to Guo Xiaoxuan, a player from host province Jiangxi.
Before the game, Gai was considered a bit of a dark horse in the competition. She was the only player from Shanghai to participate in tennis.
In a tough match against Liu, Gai won the two sets on tie-breaks 7-6.
Four years ago, Gai's father brought her to Shanghai from Shandong Province to hone her tennis skills.
She is in excellent condition, according to her coach Yu Naizheng, and has a promising career ahead of her in the sport.
"It's not so much the results at this stage, but rather gaining the experience of competing against strong rivals in big games," Yu said.
The Minhang team won in the U20 men's volleyball after beating the Hangzhou team in the final, but lost to Hangzhou in the group competition.
"I told my team members not to give up hope and to learn from their mistakes," said Wang Jian, coach of the team.
Among other champions from Minhang, Yu Long won the men's high jump, and Sun Lele grabbed gold in the men's 1,500 meter race.
Many celebrated Chinese champions - like Athens Games men's 110m hurdles champion Liu Xiang, women's table tennis player Deng Yaping and diving queen Fu Mingxia, winner of four Olympic gold medals - used the quadrennial intercity games to strengthen their positions ahead of next year's Olympic Games.
For the second time in the event's history, medal standings were not announced. Event sponsors said they wanted the competition to focus on athlete grooming and not on medal tallies.
Minhang and Fengxian were the only two districts included in the Shanghai team. The event is billed as a seedbed for future Olympic champions, with youngsters encouraged to participate to gain the experience of international competition.
More than 340 gymnasts from Minhang participated in the 25-sport tourney, which attracted 6,000 athletes from across the nation.
The quadrennial intercity games feature most of the sports of the Olympic Games, including soccer, basketball, table tennis, archery, track and field, swimming, diving, judo, kayak, shooting, weightlifting and wrestling.
Dong Wei and Yin Dameng took the first gold medal for Minhang, winning the 2,000-meter women's pairs rowing competition.
The duo didn't live at the athletes' village because Yin suffers from car sickness. Instead, the oars-women stayed in a hotel just opposite to the Yaohu Water Sports Center, where the competition was held.
Fortunately, Yin suffers no seasickness. The pair was confronted with severe challenges at the starting point, with strong rivals from the northeastern city of Dalian team taking the lead in the first 500 meters. Strong winds and rough waters made the going tougher.
Yin said the pair had never encountered such adverse conditions while training at the Shanghai Water Sports Center at Zhujiajiao in Qingpu District.
Rising stars
The pair began to overtake the Dalian team after the first 500 meters and never looked back. Zhou Haojie won the gold medal in men's trap-shooting in a group competition with his teammates. He started training after graduating from Tianyuan High School in Minhang.
"It is the first time that I won a championship at nation-level competition," Zhou said proudly.
He said the game boosted his confidence and helped him accumulate experience in competing in big events.
Gai Ao, a 16-year-old athlete from Minhang, proved to be a rising star in tennis.
She eliminated Liu Siqi, a top-seeded player from Wuhan, in the first round of women's tennis, though she eventually lost to Guo Xiaoxuan, a player from host province Jiangxi.
Before the game, Gai was considered a bit of a dark horse in the competition. She was the only player from Shanghai to participate in tennis.
In a tough match against Liu, Gai won the two sets on tie-breaks 7-6.
Four years ago, Gai's father brought her to Shanghai from Shandong Province to hone her tennis skills.
She is in excellent condition, according to her coach Yu Naizheng, and has a promising career ahead of her in the sport.
"It's not so much the results at this stage, but rather gaining the experience of competing against strong rivals in big games," Yu said.
The Minhang team won in the U20 men's volleyball after beating the Hangzhou team in the final, but lost to Hangzhou in the group competition.
"I told my team members not to give up hope and to learn from their mistakes," said Wang Jian, coach of the team.
Among other champions from Minhang, Yu Long won the men's high jump, and Sun Lele grabbed gold in the men's 1,500 meter race.
Many celebrated Chinese champions - like Athens Games men's 110m hurdles champion Liu Xiang, women's table tennis player Deng Yaping and diving queen Fu Mingxia, winner of four Olympic gold medals - used the quadrennial intercity games to strengthen their positions ahead of next year's Olympic Games.
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