It seems that the growth history of Dānlín has inspired you.

I never admit that Dānlín did badly in the 2004 Olympic Games. Actually, I played very hard,

It's just that my opponent plays better than me. This is the case with competitive sports.

You have to keep yourself at a high level, or you will lose.

Text | Dānlín

Olympic Games is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get until you peel it off yourself. The chocolate candy I got in Athens is unique in the world.

That summer, the longing for the Athens Olympic Games occupied my life. However, the story that happened in the next two months of preparation made my life turn around here.

The Olympic training venue was chosen in Yiyang, Hunan Province, where I won the men's singles championship of the Municipal Games the year before last (Changsha, Hunan Province was the main venue for the 5th Municipal Games in 2003, but the badminton competition was held in Yiyang). But during the training, I was accidentally injured. At that time, I thought it was not a serious injury, but it turned out to be fatal to me.

One day in training, I accidentally worn my heel. Grinding a piece of skin is a trivial matter, and I didn't pay much attention to it. So I went to practice sandpits with my teammates and got infected. I felt a little painful when I went back to the dormitory to take a shower that night. When I woke up the next day, I saw that my whole heel was swollen and I couldn't train at all. The team suggested that I take two days off. However, two days later, the injury did not improve and there was no sign of swelling. I went to the hospital to hang the infusion bag or bottle and had an anti-inflammatory injection, and then I hung the infusion bag or bottle for three days. I have stopped training for five days and still can't go back to the training ground. At this time, I began to feel uneasy.

This is something I have never experienced before, and I have no countermeasures except anxiety. Even now, I still feel anxious about Dānlín at that time. It's just that now I know how to handle it.

In the next few years, I often rubbed my feet during training and competitions, or my thumb was inflamed, but my doctor and I both knew how to deal with it safely and effectively, and how to make me recover as soon as possible. But in 2004, none of us experienced it. This is the process of learning, and this process has to pay a price. Some things just don't have shortcuts.

At that time, I was still young, although the outside world said that I had a domineering attitude, but that domineering attitude was actually very fragile, because I was too young and easily disturbed by one person or one thing.

On the eve of returning to Beijing from closed training, another legendary thing happened. Until now, I think this is a myth.

Shaoshanchong's "myth"

At that time, as the last team activity during the training, our team came to Shaoshanchong, Xiangtan, Hunan, Chairman Mao's hometown. After visiting Mao Zedong's former residence, his teammates decided to run up the mountain together and pay homage to Mao Jiazu's grave halfway up the mountain.

I remember it was very hot that day. I think most of them went. It doesn't matter if I miss one. They just hid on the bus and played poker with several other teammates. All the troops are back. Before leaving, all the staff, coaches and athletes will take a group photo in the square.

I remember very clearly that the photographer kept telling us to look up at the camera. But it's too hot and the sun is dazzling. I can't open my eyes at all. I was impatient at that time and jokingly turned to the bronze statue of Chairman Mao next to me and said, "Chairman, are you hot?" If I were now, I would definitely not make such a childish move. I don't know if it was because of this disrespectful behavior that I was eliminated in the first round in Athens.

Looking back now, I was really young and impetuous, as if nothing was important, but actually very naive. So after the 2004 Olympic Games, I told my friends that I had played a joke on Chairman Mao before, and Chairman Mao also played a joke on me after he arrived in Athens.

The most amazing thing about the whole thing is that some of my teammates who went up the mountain to worship at that time toasted and some offered cigarettes, and only Zhang Ning was the most special-she lit three cigarettes. As a result, there were many admirers. In the end, only Zhang Ning won the Olympic champion. I also heard that before the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, Kong had pinned a badge of Chairman Mao on his clothes before competing with Waldner, and Kong finally achieved a grand slam.

Speaking of this "myth", it is not because of superstition. But then I thought, maybe this shows that people always have awe, so that they will not be too grandiose and walk steadily step by step. Of course, you will also find that Dānlín was not modest at that time, but his status as the "number one in the world" held him too high and ungrounded. At that time, Dānlín was like a balloon. As soon as the wind blew, he ran away and his hand was broken, as if it were going to explode at any moment.

But I didn't realize it at that time. We left Yiyang and planned to go back to Beijing to make final preparations. On the day of departure, Yiyang local citizens and fans spontaneously organized waist drum teams and lined up on the streets to bid farewell. The scene of beating gongs and drums really makes me feel tragic. Everyone regards me as the number one favorite of the Olympic badminton men's singles champion, which is also my own goal.

The depression and pain of Athens

After arriving in Athens, I found that all the conditions were average-the diet was not particularly ideal and the venue was far away. Slowly, I began to get a little nervous.

I found that when I really want to do everything well, for example, I want to sleep better and eat better, I know I'm getting nervous. Because I want to be foolproof, I will care a lot at this time.

When the lottery results came out, I played against Lin Yufeng in the first round, and I thought the first game was not easy to play. I know this opponent is difficult to deal with. Because I just beat him in the semi-final of the All England Open at the beginning of the year. Although the score is 2-0, I know he is tenacious.

Susilo is not as vulnerable as everyone thinks. Susilo is an Indonesian-born China player. Although not very famous, but the ball is not bad. Because of this, I didn't adjust my mentality at that time, and I was stuck in a state of not getting up. I just think that although he doesn't play well, he should have no problem winning.

Because I was worried about this and that, I didn't give myself a proper position. I felt like I couldn't let it go after the first game. On the contrary, my opponent's shots and state are very good. After playing for a few minutes, I found that this game would be difficult for me.

I lost the first game. I was a little confused and at a loss. I just thought about "I hit the ball first" without any purpose. At halftime, the coach said something to me, which I forgot, except that coach Li Yongbo kept telling me to attack. But I found that in the process of implementation, the effect of the attack was not particularly good. My opponent is too well prepared, and in the face of the so-called world first, his opponent's mentality has always been to shock me, resulting in my offensive line is not particularly good and the success rate is not high at all. If you don't get points in the attack, plus you have lost the first game, it will soon become that the score has been falling behind.

0-2, the world was out in the first round. After the game, I couldn't react at all. That's it? Is it over? After the fight, I texted Xie and said, "I lost." She doesn't believe me at all.

After the game, the coach just said that there is a price to pay for being young. In fact, I don't think that the defeat of Athens can simply be brought about by "youth" and "cost". I never admit that Dānlín did badly in the 2004 Olympic Games. Actually, I also played hard, but my opponent played better than me. Competitive sports is like this, you have to stabilize yourself at a high level, or you will lose.

This is not the so-called price, but the return movement itself. It's not that I didn't pay attention to this game, which led to "non-combative attrition", nor that I lost the game because I didn't handle some things well in my life. It's just that Ronald played better that day, that's all

I lost the game and went back to my room in the Olympic village. Bao and others knew that I lost. He also had a game that day and has advanced to the next round. So, he comforted me and said "it doesn't matter", and then he rested because there was a game the next day.

After taking a shower, I went to bed. In order not to affect Bao Xiao's rest, I began to hide under the covers and write back to all my friends. Because it is the first round, there is no live TV broadcast. At first, everyone didn't believe me. Later, everyone came to comfort me and hoped that I was all right. I told them I was fine and fine.

That's true, but I'm sure it hurts. Text messages were sent and sent all night, and the day in Athens slowly lit up in my impression. I really didn't sleep all night.

When I got up in the morning and a new day came, I realized that your Olympic trip ended last night!

But I can't feel sorry for myself there. Because my companions still have games to continue, I will cheer for them, help them collect information about their opponents, record game videos and help them with logistics services. As long as they need any help, you should go there as soon as possible. A lot of trivial things keep you from escaping from the stadium. You have to continue to face it, which is the most painful, more painful than losing it.

Considering there are still so many days, how can I get through it? I called Gao, the director of our Bayi team, and I said, "Is there any way for me to go back first? I don't want to stay in this place. " This was all I had left.

I understand that the whole delegation should act collectively. I'm just dreaming, but I have no other choice. On the other end of the phone, Director Gao calmly enlightened me. He said that the present situation is actually an exercise for me. "Yes, there are many places that you don't want to face, see or return to, such as seeing your opponent and returning to familiar areas. But the more so, the more valuable it is to your exercise. Moreover, you should set your mind and actively cheer for your companions. " I listened to him.

So, I stayed in Athens for nearly three weeks. Because we arrived four days early, we intended to return to China immediately after the competition, but at this time, the wife of Director Li (played by Li Yongbo) also came to Athens with the rhythmic gymnastics team, and their competition began. Later, Director Li decided to go together after the game. So, after the badminton match, I stayed in Athens for another week. Every day is very hard and difficult.

In retrospect, I was a little conservative in the pre-Olympic training, only paying attention to quality, blindly pursuing "accuracy" and ignoring other necessary training. Unlike before the soup cup, I want to practice everything and improve everything. For example, I used to train to run four groups, and Yiyang trained to run only two groups; I used to take the initiative to run stairs after training every Saturday, but I didn't when I was in Yiyang. I'm not saying that I can win the championship in the Olympic Games by running more than two groups and climbing more stairs, but that I am too meticulous about some details in training, and after striving for perfection, the whole person is not relaxed enough, but deviates from the normal training track.

Thanks to Tawfik.

In Athens, I witnessed Taufik's progress from 8 to 4 and 4 to 2, and finally won the championship. After the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, Taufik was the Olympic champion, and I was the first in the world. In the next four years, my story with him will not only happen on the court, but any details between us will become the talk of the media and fans.

If Athens is only the first step from the so-called "world number one" to the top, then the next Anaheim and Doha are like storms on the way. They come face to face, you hold on, the whole world is yours; If you are defeated, the abyss is at your feet.

Before 2004, I didn't really compete with Taufik. We hardly met in the final of the competition. After the bloody battle in the 2005 Soviet Cup final, I was full of expectations for the World Championships that year.

The World Badminton Championships left Eurasia for Anaheim, Los Angeles, USA. As a result of the lottery, Taufik and I were divided into two and a half zones. At that time, Li Zongwei had not yet risen, and most of the competition for the men's singles championship depended on us.

Seeing Taufik beat Li Zongwei in the semi-final, or win Wensa before, you will find that Taufik was in a very good state at that time, and you must pass this hurdle if you want to win the championship.

But he didn't really shock me at that time, because it was the first time we met in the singles final of the competition, and my understanding of him was still superficial. What I was thinking at that time was how to limit him through the tactics formulated by my coach and me. However, the coach and I both ignored a very important point: under the circumstances that external factors limited our level of play, we didn't realize that Taufik would be more experienced than me.

The result of the game was terrible. Taufik took only 36 minutes to win three straight sets, the first set 13-0. This directly led to my collapse on the court, and the total score of the two games was only 10. For such a humiliating defeat, some fans later left a message saying, "Even if you change your right hand, you won't lose so badly, right?" "Dānlín, the uncrowned king, is obviously a liar." Some even said, "I'd rather he lost in the first round than suffer like this."

This is Taufik's first men's singles champion in the World Championships, and it has also made him a "grand slam" integrating the Olympic Games, the World Championships and the soup cup. He is also very happy. Besides, in the final, he beat me by a landslide.

"I didn't expect it to be so easy to get a grand slam after waiting for so many years." Taufik said this after the game.

"Dānlín who defeated Gade in the semi-final and Dānlín in the final are totally two people. I can easily mobilize him to control the rhythm of the game. I had prepared a lot of tactics, and we each won several times. I value the experience I learned in the competition more. For example, in the Su Cup, I learned something from myself and successfully applied it to later competitions. He is fast, but my play will not consume too much physical strength, which will be good for me to drag down the game and have a higher winning rate. But I didn't change any tactics at first, and it was already 13-0 ... "At the press conference after the game, Taufik's words also made me introspect.

Anaheim's Arrow Pool Gymnasium is very open. It is not a professional badminton hall. Badminton competition is held in summer, and the wind direction of air conditioning has become the biggest problem that puzzles all players. This also makes Anaheim the most unpopular place in previous World Championships. The American men's doubles won the championship, and the mixed doubles of New Zealand and Thailand reached the semi-finals for the first time, all of which repeatedly explained that the winner here is not necessarily the strongest, but it must be the luckiest. However, China was out in the first round of women's singles, and Olympic champion Zhang missed the mixed doubles semi-final.

So strictly speaking, I didn't lose to him in that game, but I lost when my ability was still unable to control such a changeable venue. When there are uncertain factors such as wind direction, I find myself easily influenced, and I am not confident at once and can't let go.

Under such conditions, only Taufik, who was at the height of his power at that time, could control the venue well, and only top Taufik could control such a venue. In 2005, his skills at that time, to be honest, were indeed more advanced than any men's singles player, which I admit.

Taufik has advanced technology, and most importantly, he has confidence. I found him particularly comfortable, calm and supercilious on the court. This is the natural charm of an athlete who has experienced many competitions and won many championships.

In fact, the wind direction has no effect on Tawfik. He also believes that the person who can win the championship in this venue must be the luckiest. But he said, "The wind is unpredictable. I never think about unpredictable things." And he even joked, "I asked several teammates at the beginning and found that the wind is different at every venue and every time, so I didn't think about it at all." Dānlín just thinks too much. "

Taufik has set his sights on the Beijing Olympic Games since the day he achieved the Grand Slam, because no one has won the men's singles championship in the Olympic Games (badminton has been included in the official competition since the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, and the previous men's singles champions were Wei, Larson, Ji Xinpeng, Taufik and). But, at that time, I didn't think it was that far.

However, I still thank Taufik for what he said later: "Don't think that I won easily today, which means something. This is definitely not the real lindane today. I was the number one seed in the 2000 Olympic Games, and I didn't get real results until the Asian Games two years later (Taufik beat South Korea's Li Xuanyi to win the men's singles final in Busan Asian Games in 2002). My Olympic champion is still four years away from being the world's number one. Dānlín is probably the same. But if he wants to win the Olympic champion, he has to pass me. "

Just kidding, Taufik guessed the ending, but missed the process. But I still value some lessons Taufik taught me in that game.

Excerpt from Autobiography of Dānlín: Until the End of the World

Dānlín