Chapter 32 1. These years, those cities

I can't say whether there is a legendary end of the world.But the time came to 2012, and we were really in the final years of our respective careers.Such a reality requires more courage to face it.The first one to say he was going to leave was my idol when I was young - "Danish Golden Boy" Peter Gade.At the beginning of the year in Birmingham, he extended an invitation to me that he would announce his retirement after the Danish Classic in December 2012.In the testimonial, he only invited me.It is my honor that Lee Chong Wei and Taufik were not invited.So, let me go to Copenhagen again, with a different mood, to send my seniors the last journey.

Blonde hair, elegant style of play, resolute character, and bright smile, this is the eternal picture of Gade in the hearts of fans, including me.Even though he is 35 years old, people still like to call him "Danish Golden Boy".There will be no second Gade in this world. He was ranked No. 1 in the world at the age of 21, and he has maintained the top level of men's singles for almost 15 years. This is not something that any athlete can do, including me, Taufik, and Li Zongwei. No one can guarantee that when we are 35 years old Can still have Gade's competitive state. After achieving the Grand Slam, I once set my goal of becoming a player like Gade and playing until the age of 35.But then I found out, that really can only be an ideal of mine.

China's national conditions are different, and China needs to constantly train young champions.And my competitive state will definitely get worse and worse as I get older, and I will start to feel powerless.If in the days to come, I am unable to take on an important position in the team and fail to complete the task of winning major tournaments, I must make way for more young people. In the general environment where winning the championship is the premise, let alone whether the team agrees or not, I may not be able to pass my own test.I would ask myself: why are so many young people not given the opportunity?They work so hard, they need a stage.If I always occupy this position, but I don't have a gorgeous performance, I can only choose to quit.

I don't know what Copenhagen will be like in December.Every year we fly all over the world, have been to so many countries and so many cities, but we have never stopped to appreciate them.In Europe, Denmark is the only place I have a soft spot for, and Xie Xingfang also likes it there. Just like the Danish fairy tales we read when we were young, in this country, everywhere you go is a painting.It is different from the artistic and romantic atmosphere of Paris, France. There may be no great hotels or bustling department stores here, but only a kind of elegant and classic beauty that naturally exudes.Just like the meaningful stories left by Gade in the world badminton world in the past 15 years.

Gade and Zeng ranked first in the world in men's and women's singles, and they were called "golden boys and jade girls".They had a vigorous love, but when Gade became a father in 2004, the child's mother was not Martin, but Kami, the daughter of Hogg, a patient in the same ward and a famous Danish handball player, during his knee surgery in the hospital. La Hogue.Every year at the Danish Open, Camilla will take her two daughters to watch Gade's game live.When people were still envious of this happy family, during the 2011 China Open, Gade admitted frankly: "I'm divorced, it's not a secret." I also learned about this news through the media.However, I don't even realize what the changes in life have brought to a 35-year-old man.Except for some signs of aging on his face, the Gade we know seems to have remained unchanged for 15 years.Even if the fairy tale ends, Gade is still Gade.

Life is a race against yourself, even if you always fall down in the end, you must leave a beautiful gesture to the world.The world badminton world should be grateful to Gade, and we should also be grateful to this era that can still catch up with Gade.How many times, he has not flinched, not cowardly, not afraid in battles that seem to be bound to fail, even if he exhausts his last ounce of strength to prevent the opponent from scoring smoothly.I think for such an athlete, even his opponents will give him a standing ovation.He deserves "greatness". Someone once asked me, if I had superpowers and could go back in time, what would I most want to change.My answer is "no".I don't want to go back because I don't need to change.Wanting to travel back in time can only mean that you have too many desires.Some things that seem bad at first can turn out to be good over time.Life cannot be as you wish, it is always so smooth, ups and downs and ups and downs are the normal state of life.That's real, isn't it nice?

Fortunately, we will meet again in London.For our generation of men's singles, this is the last orgy.The reality of playing one game less makes us pay more attention to each other's friendship, regardless of the outcome. If one day I reach the end of my career like Gade, I will also take my family on the trip.And the first choice must be Japan. Tokyo may be the fastest-paced and busiest city in the world on average, but for the Japan Open every year, the cleanliness and orderliness is impressive.This is a country where tradition and modernity coexist harmoniously.The comics, music, design and food there are at the forefront of the world, especially its design fascinates me.When I was wandering around Tokyo one year, I bought two bags at the first store on the street.A friend who went with me said, "There is still a whole street behind." I told him, "I'm afraid I won't buy it now, and I won't have it when I come back." Indeed, Tokyo is able to conquer a picky person like me.

Every time I go to Japan, as small as a bowl of ramen or fresh sashimi in the supermarket, there seems to be nothing bad, so I can never stop.I have seen Japan in the movie "Initial D", and personally experienced the prosperity of Tokyo, the leisure of Sendai and the tranquility of Hokkaido.I hope that in the future I will have enough time to walk slowly and watch slowly.Throughout the year, you can enjoy cherry blossoms in spring, the sea in summer, red leaves in autumn, and skiing in winter. When the Tangyu Cup was held in Sendai, Japan in 2006, I fell in love with this small town in just one week.It is not as noisy and bustling as Tokyo. The whole city is like the Doraemon comics I saw when I was a child. It is a small house built by my own family. The yard is full of flowers and plants. The streets are not wide, but they are very clean. It feels great. .I remember that many teammates liked it very much, so we did not take the bus to and from the game as before, but chose to take the subway by ourselves, just to get closer to the city.Sadly, Sendai was destroyed by the Great Japan Earthquake in 2011. I often tell people around me that we were lucky enough to see the beauty of Sendai.If I have a chance, I will definitely find time to go back and have a look.

Many people know that China has a "star badminton team".Tian Zhen, Cao Ying, Mao Ning, Lin Yilun, Liu Xiaoqing are all badminton fanatics.They are not simply meeting friends with the ball, but quite formal, organizing a training session every week.They have already regarded badminton as their first choice for decompression and fitness. Among the outsiders I know, badminton seems to be the most popular sport.Every year during the Hong Kong Open, many entertainment stars will come to join in.Among them, Ye Qianwen is the guest of honor almost every year.She is not an ordinary fan, and she often plays badminton herself, and her level can be regarded as semi-professional.Her passion for badminton is no longer news.Li Zongwei is also very familiar with her, which makes Ye Qianwen very popular in Malaysia.I heard that Ye Qianwen usually plays more doubles, and Bai Guohao, the men's doubles champion in the 2005 World Championships, is also her golfer.

On the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Cheng Yuling, a famous Hong Kong TVB host, made a special trip to Beijing to interview Xie Xingfang and me. We had a very pleasant chat at that time.It was very dramatic that one day during the Olympics, Ah Fang and I went to the International Broadcasting Center to accept an exclusive interview with CCTV. It happened that TVB’s studio was next to it. Their staff recognized us and invited us to do the program.It happened that Zheng Yuling was in charge of the temporary interview that day.Ku Juji was their guest host that day.After the interview, Gu Juji exchanged phone numbers with me and made an appointment that he would call us when he came to Beijing, and contact him when we went to Hong Kong.

During our competition, the schedule is relatively tight.As a result, at the Hong Kong Open that year, Ku Juji took the initiative to come to the arena to find us, and even made an appointment to go to the billiard hall opened by Zhou Huimin after the game.Maybe it was influenced by the TV series, we all thought that Gu Juji would be an affectionate and melancholy boy like "Shuhuan", but we didn't expect it to be completely different.What's even more surprising is that despite Zhou Huimin's slender figure, she plays billiards very well.On that day, we also formed a team to compete.However, my Cantonese level is only "half a bucket of water", and Ah Fang can speak Mandarin when chatting with them.We hit it off immediately, and I also said that I will have another foothold in Hong Kong in the future.Later, when Gu Juji came to Beijing again, we all played badminton instead of eating.It can be seen that he is quite athletic. Hong Kong is a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.We often go to a hot pot restaurant during competitions. I heard that the boss has participated in the movie "The Disciple". Although there is only one line, he is a very bright policeman.For this reason, I dug up the movie and watched it again after I came back. Because I have a good personal relationship with many entertainment stars, I also know that each profession has its own difficulties.Many people know that I am a fan of Jacky Cheung, the "God of Songs".One year, in the last show of the "Snow Wolf Lake" tour, I had a brief exchange with him backstage.I often think, how many years does it take for such a "God of Songs" to emerge? There are also many examples in the sports world of cross-border development of athletes after retiring, but not many of them are truly successful.There are many versatile players in the badminton team, just look at the annual Spring Festival Gala in the team.I have also learned some dancing and drumming sporadically, but I really don't have time, so I can only do it as a hobby. At the beginning of 2012, a rare opportunity, I collaborated with Zhou Xiaoou, the lead singer of Zero Band, on a song "Heat War" dedicated to the fans.This song is very well written, badminton needs such an inspirational song.However, the key of this song is a bit high. When I recorded it, I was not particularly confident in myself, and I was much more nervous than when I was playing a game.However, after putting it in, every time the chorus part is sung, it really makes people have an urge to pick up the racket and play immediately.I've been waiting for such a suitable song.This is the most special gift I gave to the fans outside the arena, and it finally fulfilled one of my wishes.

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