Friend, I know you didn't. I merely availed myself of the opportunity offered by you to express my feelings on the subject. You see, I was smiling and grinning at you, remember the six emoticons ? Btw,still on this topic, at the Li Ning Cup China National Team Championship when Li Yongbo was asked by the reporters how come so many big shot players are taking part, he immediately shot back:" National team players big shot? National Team has no big shot, once on court they are athletes." On another note, Li Yongbo has really softened his stance on allowing the national players to participate in domestic events. He expressed that having achieved his lifetime goals in badminton in terms of gaining all the medals and titles available, he is going to divert his attention equally to popularising and promoting badminton nationwide down to the local and community levels by encouraging all the national players to take part in events such as the CBSL and National Team Championships as well as mingle with the fans and spectators. That's what Lin Dan said he will do too.
I don't think it is Asian Games. It is Badminton World Cup. Strange policy by Li Ning, since no more World Cup. Surely LXR, CJ, CL, WXL,Yu Yang and the others has no chance to get all 5 stars. Actually I don't know why Li Ning "choose" World Cup, consider that World Cup is not IBF / BWF official tournament. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/for...210-The-Five-Stars-Printed-On-Their-Kit/page3
These girls are trained to win the match. I believe they are professional players and will not mixed their friendship with competition. LD taken as an example, has really good relationship with Bao chunlai, but normally routed Bao with something like 21:3 or 21:4.. very interesting. Li xuerui, Wang shixian, Chen xiaojia and Liu Xin are nearly at same age. They were training together, living together back in 2008, no wonder why they are good friends.
"But I don't feel like playing today! I want to spend the day at the beach! Why can't I go to the beach?!?" "Be quiet, little girl! LYB is watching. I'm an old man now, you want me to lose my pension?"
Li xuerui "the last day of 2012" I'm so sorry that I'm not good at translation. Just hope people here could see how nice a girl LXR is --------------------------------- " Today is the last day of 2012. I come here to thank for your support and encouragement. It's an extraordinary year for me, I never thought so many once impossible dreams come true. It's really a lucky and memorable year for me. No matter what happened in the future, I'll be eternally grateful to confront future. Also, I'm very thankful for all of your advices, demands as well as inspiration. I hope everybody will get better and better in the next year. It's most important to keep healthy. And happy new year to you all. I'd say that I'm so happy with you all. I'm so thankful for the all friends in this tieba. I wish we could find time to meet here after completing our studies and works. " -----------------------------------
Thanks for sharing, dieter_spath. Maybe you could try and ask her to join us here on BC whenever it's possible...
Badmintonforum is English only - however, we can make exceptions under certain circumstances. This would be a perfectly good example!!
That would be amazing, and so cool! I vote to invite Li Xuerui to BadmintonCentral as Honoured Member.
Justin L knows Mandarin and English well. Hope he could spend a little time on visiting LXR's tieba to bring some news about LXR to us and translate into english by the way. Besides language barrier, it looks to me, LXR has so little free time after daily-based training. Only at the period of playing some tournaments, she could find time to interact her fans with her mobilephone in the hotel. I also heard that Wang Yihan and Wang Lin are studying english right now, and Lu Lan's english is not bad at all. Maybe it's a little wiser to invite Wang Lin or Lu Lan to BC because... ..., you know.
Friend,thanks for your compliment, but ,shy to say, my Mandarin isn't good enough to write; it's actually much easier for me to interpret or translate from Mandarin to English than the other way round. As you've suggested,maybe I should visit her tieba blog and try my best to translate some of her posts here. Those of you who are good in Mandarin and conversant in English can help out too. dieter_spath, you are doing a very job of it; thanks and keep it up. You're right, LXR seems to have little free time and writes infrequently.
OT - but very pertinent and thought-provoking. ...and I hope someone tells LYB, the CBA and LXR! .. Athletes feel English gives them inside track Updated: 2012-08-13 By Yu Yilei and Peng Yining in Beijing and Sun Xiaochen in London (China Daily) http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-08/13/content_15669096.htm Excerpts: ...Since 2004, more than 1,000 athletes from 29 national and provincial teams across the sporting board - including the Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Li Xiaopeng, the swimmer Luo Xuejuan and the table tennis player Zhang Yining - have participated in the English-language program provided by the Chinese Athletes' Educational Foundation. The athletes are coached by professional teachers, some of whom are native English speakers, in their classes every week. They are also encouraged to obtain a language qualification from Trinity College London, an international exam board whose certificate is recognized by colleges, universities and employers worldwide. In 2012, 61 athletes passed the Trinity examination, with 17 of them earning an "A" grade, according to the CAEF. In addition to the program, Li said the national sports teams regularly use English in their training sessions and daily lives. ..."It's not just about talking fluently in front of the cameras," said Li. "Sometimes your English skills can even affect the result of the race." ..."If you are on a convergent course with another boat, you need to hail loudly to make clear your understanding of the situation and your intentions. Just as important, you may need to defend yourself at race hearings, where a rival competitor may be protesting at your actions. An inadequate command of English may mean that you don't put your case forward effectively and could result in you losing points and the race," said Li. That message was driven home to Xu when she found herself in a hearing during an international race in 2002, at age 14. "With our broken English, we couldn't even describe clearly what had really happened out on the water, and if you lose the protest, you might lose your score," said Xu. "Since then I've realized how important the language is." ...After winning the gold medal in London, Xu used English during an interview with China Central Television as she narrated a video of herself approaching the finishing line in the Olympic final. "Now let's take a close look at how Lijia is steering her boat and surfing the wave," she said to the camera, without recourse to a teleprompter or other aids. She was later interviewed by CCTV's English-language channel and the foreign media. "Reporters love her," said Li. "She is one of the few Chinese athletes able to freely express themselves in English. Through English, Xu has learned a lot about the world and vice versa." Li believes that Xu's superior English skills could see her altering the stereotypical image of Chinese athletes, by helping the world to understand more about them, he said. ...Highly developed language skills can also provide a brighter future for athletes when they retire, said Huang Xuechen, who won bronze and silver medals in the synchronized swimming events at the London Games. "My life is not just about swimming. I am going to retire someday, and by then, my English skills might help me find a new job or apply for a college overseas," said Huang. ..."After training and practice every day, learning English is actually a good way to relax," she said. Xu's language skills have also been welcomed by The International Sailing Federation. She said international sporting organizations are eager to work with people with different language skills, and upon retirement she would be delighted to join the federation and dedicate the rest of her life to sailing. ...China's top-ranked tennis player Li Na has also impressed the world with her proficiency in English. "Before this tournament, people said I couldn't do well on clay courts. Now I think they will change their minds," said Li in English after winning the French Open championship in 2011 and becoming Asia's first Grand Slam champion. As international brands chase the Chinese market, sports stars capable of boasting an international image are in a seller's market. "She (Li Na) speaks English, she has a great personality, and she's a champion in a sport that China has traditionally not dominated. And with (basketball star) Yao Ming retiring, that leaves a big hole," commented Terry Rhoads, former head of sports marketing at Nike, in an interview with the British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph. "She is also a great ambassador, very pleasant and very interesting. That has a positive effect on the way that people see China and makes Chinese people feel very proud." The legendary table tennis player, Deng Yaping, who won six world championships and four Olympic gold medals, began learning English in 1997 at the ripe old age of 24. In Moscow in 2001, she made the final presentation for Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games in English, and took a lead role in winning the bid. Subsequently, Deng received a master's degree from the University of Nottingham in 2002 and a PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2008. She talked about learning the language in a speech delivered in English at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where she studied for her bachelor's degree. She told the audience that learning the language had not been easy, but the secret of her success came from establishing her goal, being confident and, just as in the field of sports, plenty of "practice, practice, practice."
...from the same article quoted in the above post... From left to right: Zhou Yan (curling), Zhong Hongyan (canoeing), Gong Ruina (badminton) and Han Xiaopeng (skiing), in discussion with their teacher during an English class at the University of Wisconsin in the US. They were among 16 medal-winning athletes from 2008 Olympic Games, taking part in the university's 10-month-long "China Champions" program. Zhang Jun / Xinhua Gong Ruina! *** ssiiiggghhhhh ***
An article worth reading.... Meteoric rise of a budding star Made In China By CHOW HOW BAN Saturday January 5, 2013 http://thestar.com.my/columnists/st...mnists/madeinchina/12536294&sec=Made In China Excerpts: ...“If you have seen our training before, you would be able to imagine how much effort the players put into their work. Two years ago, my senior teammates were at a much higher level than me. “But it was good for me as I could improve my game a great deal when sparring against them. I think you cannot simply say that my achievements in 2012 were because I put in more effort than others. It’s just that being part of this excellent team helps you catch up with your teammates.” ...“Many of my opponents focused much more on my higher-ranked teammates. I had an edge over others because they did not know my game well and I might catch them flat-footed when playing against them. “But during the Olympics, I believe that the opponents would have studied my game carefully. ...“I need to perfect my skills and style of play. I cannot depend on areas that I am strong at and leave too many loopholes in other areas of my game. ...Li first picked up a racquet at seven when her parents sent her to a boarding sports school in the sprawling Chongqing city. Initially, she did not like the sport at all, not to mention the strenuous training and homesickness being away from her parents. After achieving some good results in junior competitions, she developed a greater interest. ...Many badminton fans might not know that Li is equally good at playing doubles. She plays in the doubles for the People’s Liberation Army team, her provincial club. She noted that some skills and techniques that she developed in doubles have helped her create more attacking opportunities in her singles games.
Excerpt: So, who does she look up to? She gave a definite answer: Lin Dan – the two-time Olympic and four-time World champion. “I like what he wrote in his autobiography: ‘Do not think that because you’re not in good form today then you can simply lose your match’. “I’m not a star chaser but indeed he is a role model. During his training, he works very hard and has very high expectations. I’ll try to follow in his footsteps,” she added. End. Anyone got the autobiography yet... a few translations pls.. justin?
That's right, LXR idolises Lin Dan as I've read and said elsewhere before. That quotation from Lin Dan's autobiography is a very good piece of advice and motivating force for a growing,developing player. Looks like after the Olympic lull, she has taken those words to heart. Still only 21 and less than 3 years into her international career, she definitely has quite some way to go to reach her peak, and there is still considerable room for improvement despite her stellar performance to date. I've no doubt as she matures and gains in experience, she will grow from strength to strength. While that is apparently frightening and worrisome for her rivals, I'm more concerned that, barring unforeseen circumstances, she doesn't burn out too soon from over-training and pushing herself too hard. Understandably, CBA, LYB in particular, have expressed high hopes in her which translates into high demands as well. At least for the next few years until the Rio Olympics, she is called the Olympic champion, the player everyone including her teammates wants to beat, and whose every move in badminton is under constant,close scrutiny, and that's the kind of relentless pressure she will have to live with all the time. If she can handle it properly and emerge stronger than ever,she may one day become the veritable female version of Lin Dan, truly worthy of comparison. Let the future tell. (Pakito,my friend, I haven't got a copy of Lin Dan's autobiography but even if I do, I won't dare to attempt translating even parts of it for fear of copyright violations. Unlike one-off online articles which the writer or publisher usually allows citations freely, a book esp one so recent and hot as Lin Dan's is a different matter. But I think quoting and translating sentences and passages from excerpts already published online might be acceptable;let me think about it.)
In an interview, Li Yongbo expressed his concerns that some great Chinese shuttlers suffered injury in the competitions and the national team would work on the subject of improving ways of training and recovery. Let's hope things will get better.
