Agency :
The past year has been one like none other for the sporting world, with a number of sports events either canceled or postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Chinese athletes have been grappling with the unprecedented situation as they prepare for the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games.
The Tokyo Summer Olympics, rescheduled for July 2021, will award medals across 339 events in 33 different sports.
According to China’s State General Administration of Sport, Chinese athletes have won Olympic qualification in 155 events across 20 sports such as archery, equestrian, diving, women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, and table tennis. Olympic qualifying events in 25 sports, including shooting, weightlifting, wrestling, judo, boxing, track and field, swimming, and gymnastics, have not concluded yet.
Wang Yun, an official with China’s General Administration of Sport, said the Chinese teams have paid close attention to the competitions and tried their best to turn risks into opportunities.
Training behind closed doors was a routine for Chinese athletes in 2020.
“Life is really boring here. There is nothing new besides the training,” said Rio 200m individual medley bronze medalist Wang Shun, who has been training at the National Aquatic Training Center in Qiandao Lake, Hangzhou with the Zhejiang provincial team since March.
Wang’s coach Zhu Zhigen echoed that the Covid-19 outbreak was mentally challenging for athletes.
“The athletes were in low spirits after a long time of living right inside here. There was also a potential crisis because it was hard for athletes to fully mobilize themselves, so their training efficiency and self-discipline were affected,” said Zhu. A lot of games were suspended, so it was difficult to guarantee the quality of training without regular competitions. Moreover, some athletes began to suffer from anxiety and depression to some extent.
In late September, China’s female epee fencer Xu Anqi competed in the national fencing championships for the first time since the outbreak.
The past year has been one like none other for the sporting world, with a number of sports events either canceled or postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Chinese athletes have been grappling with the unprecedented situation as they prepare for the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games.
The Tokyo Summer Olympics, rescheduled for July 2021, will award medals across 339 events in 33 different sports.
According to China’s State General Administration of Sport, Chinese athletes have won Olympic qualification in 155 events across 20 sports such as archery, equestrian, diving, women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, and table tennis. Olympic qualifying events in 25 sports, including shooting, weightlifting, wrestling, judo, boxing, track and field, swimming, and gymnastics, have not concluded yet.
Wang Yun, an official with China’s General Administration of Sport, said the Chinese teams have paid close attention to the competitions and tried their best to turn risks into opportunities.
Training behind closed doors was a routine for Chinese athletes in 2020.
“Life is really boring here. There is nothing new besides the training,” said Rio 200m individual medley bronze medalist Wang Shun, who has been training at the National Aquatic Training Center in Qiandao Lake, Hangzhou with the Zhejiang provincial team since March.
Wang’s coach Zhu Zhigen echoed that the Covid-19 outbreak was mentally challenging for athletes.
“The athletes were in low spirits after a long time of living right inside here. There was also a potential crisis because it was hard for athletes to fully mobilize themselves, so their training efficiency and self-discipline were affected,” said Zhu. A lot of games were suspended, so it was difficult to guarantee the quality of training without regular competitions. Moreover, some athletes began to suffer from anxiety and depression to some extent.
In late September, China’s female epee fencer Xu Anqi competed in the national fencing championships for the first time since the outbreak.
