Chapter 25 4. Ferris Wheel of Happiness, shocking the world with a kiss

After returning from Athens, I started my recovery training with little rest.The love affair between me and Ah Fang has become a well-known thing, and I also frankly admitted to the media that we wanted to become the same golden couple as Danish Gade and Martin back then. In the second half of 2004, Zhang Ning, Zhou Mi and Gong Rui who participated in the women's singles competition in the Athens Olympic Games were either busy with their own personal affairs or considering whether to continue.Therefore, Xie Xingfang took Zhu Lin, Lu Lan and other younger junior sisters out to play in the Open.Ah Fang seized that opportunity and won 6 championships in a row.

Before the Athens Olympics, Xie Xingfang had already possessed certain strength, and her style of play was unique, and she had not lost much in foreign games.But in the face of her three senior sisters, the overall strength is still not as strong as them.Their physical fitness and experience are not as good as theirs, and they are more disadvantaged in fighting. This round of strong rebound in 2004 gave her and me a lot of confidence.We began to often win the men's and women's singles finals together, and the media always changed their tricks and made various news headlines.What impressed me the most was the article "Boyfriends in Men's Singles, Girlfriends in Women's Singles", which reported that we both won the championship at the same time.

Fast forward to the 2005 All England Open.Birmingham is a testament to our love.It was during the 2004 All England Championships that our relationship was first "revealed".I made it to the final that year, and as a result I won my first All England title, and she lost to Zhou Mi in the quarter-finals. We went to the All England Championship together again, and the weather was very cold.One day when I walked to the entrance of the gymnasium, Ah Fang saw the Ferris wheel opposite and said, "Why don't we go up together after the final!" I said, "Okay." Later, we both entered the final again, and Ah Fang Won her first All England Championship, but I lost to teammate Chen Hong.On the Ferris wheel, in order to comfort me, Ah Fang suggested that as long as there is a Ferris wheel when I go out to compete in the future, I can go sit together.I said "Okay", thinking in my heart: I will win the championship together next year, and then I will go to the Ferris wheel to see.

What is rare is that in the second year, we won the championship at the same time for the first time in Birmingham and became a real gold medal couple. In January 2006, it was the middle of winter in the UK, and even on weekends, there were few people on the streets.It's a pity that because I had to catch a plane early the next morning, the previous agreement could not be fulfilled, so I could only look at the Ferris wheel from a distance and sigh, which became the only fly in the ointment during the trip to Birmingham. To some extent, the Ferris wheel is the witness of our two years of love and career.After that, we also went to the Ferris wheel on the Champs Elysees in Paris, right by the Seine.Later, when we heard that the one in Birmingham had been demolished, Ah Fang and I sighed for a long time, feeling that it was a pity.

The Spring Festival of 2006 came after the All England Tournament.It's rare for the team to have a holiday, and I haven't celebrated the New Year at home for 11 years.A Fang's family is also in Guangzhou, looking forward to her returning home and reuniting soon.When I returned to my hometown in Longyan, almost everyone who saw me asked, "Why didn't you bring Xie Xingfang back with you?" But the reunion dinner was not delayed for long.On the day of the Lantern Festival, Ah Fang met our whole family for the first time. We all got together like a family and had a reunion of the Lantern Festival.It's just that the location has been changed to Fuzhou, the training ground for the Chinese badminton team.Although my father, mother, and grandmother had met Ah Fang separately before, it still feels different to be able to celebrate the festival together at home.

A year later we are back in Birmingham again. The All England Championship in 2007 became the 10th time in my professional career that Ah Fang and I won the crown together.The schedule broke the convention that time, and the men's singles final was held before the women's singles.Because Ah Fang always waited for me after the game, this time I want to give her a surprise.After defeating teammate Chen Yu 2-0 and successfully defending the title, I hurried back to prepare. The women's singles final was scheduled to be the grand finale, which gave me plenty of time to prepare.In the end, Xie Xingfang easily defeated Pi Hongyan 2-0, only allowing her opponent to score 19 points in two rounds.Xie Xingfang made a perfect ending for the Chinese team and was cheered and congratulated by more than 8,000 spectators.At this time, I was already waiting in the player tunnel.When she walked up to the podium, I walked up to her with a bouquet of roses.Even without rehearsals, the atmosphere at the Centennial All England is the best in the world.The following spotlight accompanied me all the way to Ah Fang.Maybe it was because the lights were too dazzling, Ah Fang didn't know what happened at first.When I approached, she was also very happy.All kinds of exclamations, screams and whistles sounded at the scene. I patted her and kissed her forehead.Probably because no one has been so bold before, and now it is the Chinese athletes who have always been considered too restrained to do such a thing, so the media are very excited and all rushed forward.Originally, I was ready to leave the stage, but now Ah Fang graciously pulled me to stay and let the media take pictures together.The only regret is that I couldn't buy flowers that day, and finally found a bouquet of roses with the help of a friend.A Fang and I are the happiest memories of both reaching the top of the All England Championships twice.