2023-08-16 03:11:05
The pair of badminton mixed doubles partners has won 5 international championships since the co-production last year, and recently won the World Universiade gold medal in one fell swoop.
But few people know that the two were at odds in the beginning, how did they go from being at odds to developing a perfect tacit understanding?
In this year’s Universiade badminton mixed doubles semi-finals, Taiwan’s Ye Hongwei and Li Jiaxin successfully avenged the Chinese players who had previously lost in the badminton mixed team gold medal match, and then defeated Li Fangzhi and Deng Chunxun, also from Taiwan, in the final to win the gold medal in one fell swoop .
It is hard to imagine that the 24-year-old Ye Hongwei and the 26-year-old Li Jiaxin won the first Universiade gold medal in their careers after only 20 months of mixed doubles. The two are currently ranked 18th in the world and are Taiwan’s No. 1 mixed doubles team.
As soon as they got off the plane on the evening of August 8, they were interviewed by “Weekly Magazine” non-stop the next morning, and then they had to rush to the presidential palace to accept President Tsai Ing-wen’s praise. Although the faces of the two looked a little tired, when they talked about the Universiade gold medal, their eyes still showed unconcealable joy.
Ye Hongwei said bluntly that winning the championship this time was completely unexpected. “The World Universiade is the first time we have participated in a large-scale sports event, and we won the gold medal in the end. I didn’t dare to think about it before.”
Perhaps because I didn’t think too much, I dared to give it a go. The moment it was confirmed that he won the gold medal, Ye Hongwei collapsed to the ground, excitedly raised his hands high in celebration, while Li Jiaxin turned her back and clenched her left fist, and shouted, as if to vent all the aggrieved stomach accumulated in the past.
After all, the two had been waiting for this gold medal for a long time.
“Playing is a happy thing. I will touch the ball when I have nothing to do. If I lose, it will only take a day or two to settle down, but it will not be so long that I don’t want to touch the ball.” Ye Hongwei said.
Ye Hongwei returns from injury and cherishes the game even more
With a height of 186 cm, he started playing badminton in the third grade of elementary school. At first it was purely a hobby, but when he was playing in an off-campus arena, he was accidentally spotted by the coach of Taipei City Datong High School.
So, as soon as he graduated from elementary school, he lived in Taichung and went to Taipei alone to study and receive formal badminton training. “My family told me, ‘You are responsible for your own decisions’, and I was under a lot of pressure at that time,” Ye Hongwei said. Fortunately, he also showed his talent later, and he was selected as a reserve member of the China Rent badminton team in his freshman year of high school, specializing in doubles.
Yang Junxiang, who was recruited as the coach of the Chailease badminton team 8 years ago, recalled that in the early days of its establishment in 2015, they began to develop potential rookies in various countries and high schools. , especially those with outstanding achievements will not come.” Ye Hongwei was one of the first batch of players.
Yang Junxiang shared that he was optimistic about Ye Hongwei at the time. First, he had a good sense of hitting the ball and he would not return the ball in a standard way; second, he was tall and thin, and his hitting power and speed could be improved through physical exercise; Partnering with a right-handed shooter can increase the defensive range and has an advantage in doubles.
The 17-year-old Ye Hongwei performed well as soon as he debuted, ranking third in the world youth men’s doubles, and became an official player of China Rental at the age of 18, and even attracted other clubs to poach.
something unexpected may happen any time. When he was promoted to university in his third year of high school, he injured his lumbar vertebral arch due to playing, and was unable to play for a year.
This injury brought his career to a sudden standstill. Not only did his doubles partner find a new partner, but he also began to worry, “Will I be surpassed by many people after a one-year break?” “What if the team doesn’t want me?” The pessimism made him want to quit for a while.
However, the coaches did not give up. They encouraged Ye Hongwei to heal his injury first, and don’t be discouraged immediately even if his physical condition is poor. They also promised to find a partner for him in the future.
With the comfort of the coach, Ye Hongwei also slowly adjusted his mood, taking advantage of the injury to learn how to practice and how to return the ball on the sidelines. He smiled wryly, “I’m still very worried that I won’t be able to go back to the game. I can only try not to think about it. If there is really no other way, I can switch to coaching.”
Ye Hongwei said frankly that until today his injury has not fully recovered, and he can only try to protect the injured part to avoid recurrence. However, because of this low tide of injuries, he now cherishes every game even more, and has the desire to win. “My ambition is very big. I want to win the championship in all major competitions, or at least squeeze into the front.” Three.”
After more than a year of running-in, Ye Hongwei (left) and Li Jiaxin (right) showed an excellent tacit understanding on the field. (Photo/Provided by the General College)
Li Jiaxin changed the runway for Olympic tickets
And the coach didn’t break his promise, he really found a gold medal partner for him – Li Jiaxin.
Unlike Ye Hongwei’s full of enthusiasm, Li Jiaxin exudes a firm and stable temperament.
“Badminton is the topic of my life and family. It is already a part of my life.” She was born into a badminton family. Her father, Li Mouzhou, and mother, Chen Xiaoli, were both national champions. Li Jiaxin and her younger brother, Li Jiahao, were both national champions. The road to badminton.
“Before the third grade of junior high school, my father only gave me two choices: study or play badminton. My father thought that he had the resources to play badminton, so I played badminton if I could.” The encouragement of my father was both pressure and motivation for Li Jiaxin.
What impressed her the most was that when she was in middle school, her father gave an ultimatum to her because she hadn’t achieved any results yet. “If you don’t win the National Games, don’t play. Why don’t you spend money on tutoring to recover your homework?” In order to continue playing. At that time, she practiced extra every day until 8 or 9 o’clock in the evening, and finally won the championship.
Despite her talent and hard work, Li Jiaxin’s career path was not so smooth. In fact, she was originally a singles player, but in the women’s singles, it is difficult to stand out from the crowd with Taiwan’s first world badminton queen Tai Tzu-ying, let alone an Olympic ticket. So she resolutely decided to switch to doubles when she was in college, and she did not hesitate to have disputes with her family.
Although eventually agreed, she has been struggling without a suitable partner. The Chailease badminton team has always been optimistic about Li Jiaxin. Three years ago, through Li Mouzhou, who is also the coach of Chailease, they broke the precedent of not poaching and signed Li Jiaxin, who was originally in the Yabo badminton team. Let her partner with Deng Chunxun in the women’s doubles The combination won the national ranking championship in the first year. Li Jiaxin proved with her achievements that the decision to change the track was correct.
Taiwanese badminton mixed doubles partners Ye Hongwei (right) and Li Jiaxin (left) won the Universiade gold medal. (Photo/Provided by the General College)
The desire to win allows the two to let go of their conflicts and confrontations
It was not until the beginning of last year that she co-produced with Ye Hongwei and competed in international competitions one after another. However, after the two joined forces, not only did they not hit it off at first, but the contradictions were on the verge of breaking out. The two have different ideas about how to handle the ball, and they often argue and fight each other.
Li Jiaxin sometimes plays women’s doubles and mixed doubles in one day, but the rhythm of women’s doubles is slow. When she enters mixed doubles, it is difficult for her to get used to Ye Hongwei’s powerful speed. Ye Hongwei also felt the same, the speed of the rhythm intensified the conflict between the two.
“They use men’s doubles and women’s doubles to deal with it separately, but in fact, each form of badminton has different things to do in the beginning, middle and end. Naturally, they can’t play well.” Huang Boyi, the coach of the Chinese rental badminton team Point out the key.
Fortunately, although the two were out of tune at the beginning, they both knew clearly that their goal was “victory”. This is their common belief, so the two finally reached a consensus because of the common language of “seeking victory”.
“We all talk about goals. After all, we all want to win.” Yang Junxiang said. For this goal, Ye and Li listened to the coach’s advice. Since they can’t win with strong attacks, it is better to try to win with soft “match”. .
After more than a year, the two tenons that couldn’t be pocketed were finally successfully docked. Now, even if there is disagreement with each other, it can be brought up immediately during the game and discussed in detail afterward. And after matching for a long time, they gradually understand each other’s habits, and naturally develop a tacit understanding. “Now you don’t need to talk too much on the court, you can know the opponent’s thinking, and the tactics are more clear.” Li Jiaxin said.
According to Yang Junxiang’s observation from the side, only Li Jiaxin can control Ye Hongwei’s character. In fact, when Ye Hongwei just returned from injury, he changed his mixed doubles partner three times within six months. The first two times were younger junior girls, and the match was not as expected.
Ye Hongwei said, “Previous school girls would not reflect their own thoughts. They knew that there was a problem, but they didn’t know where the problem was. If I directly set what to do, it would put a lot of pressure on the other party.” Until the third time, he Paired with Li Jiaxin, a school sister who is two years older, although the two were at odds with each other at first, they quarreled with each other in the end and found a perfect understanding.
However, for them, the Universiade is just the beginning, and the Asian Games and the Olympics, which are also called the “Three Great Games”, are still waiting for them to challenge. First of all, they will play in the Hangzhou Asian Games at the end of September, and strive to raise their world rankings to the top 13, so they will be sure to qualify for the Paris Olympics next year.
Not only that, but they also have to overcome the current weak position of the mixed doubles system in Taiwan. Yang Junxiang explained that in Taiwan’s mixed doubles, players are selected from the men’s doubles and women’s doubles who are good players. Therefore, mixed doubles players have to perform in both men’s doubles and women’s doubles. They must first be selected for the national team before they can play mixed doubles.
“It’s a big milestone to be able to enter the Olympics.” Li Jiaxin set her ambition, and this is also the goal she and Ye Hongwei, the mixed doubles team, are striving for. After experiencing many trials such as injuries, track changes, and running-in, they hope to turn their sweat into strength and continue to shine on the international stage.
The Chailease badminton team continues to grow, and there are currently more than 40 players and coaches. (Photo/Provided by China Rental Badminton Team)
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