Chapter 34 3. Until the end of the world

In 2012, I entered my 12th year in the Chinese badminton team.The thorns and brilliance along the way have achieved the "Grand Slam" that cannot be copied in the world badminton world.The Chinese pay attention to the 12-year reincarnation, and sometimes when I think back to the time, I often feel as if it was a lifetime ago, or as if it was just yesterday. After the "LD" on the back of the neck, I tattooed a series of five stars on the left arm, representing the Grand Slam.If you look at the uniforms of the Chinese team, you will know that some people have one or two stars on their chests, and my five stars are already full.I think even if one day I retire, it will always be with me.It is printed on my left hand holding the racket, protecting me in every expedition and battle.Ah Fang asked me if it hurt when I got the tattoo.It's a bit painful, but it's nothing compared to my 12-year career as a national player.I also inscribed two "F" on the inside of the right hand, one front and one reverse, which are dedicated to Fangfang.

Having experienced a lot, I gradually become nostalgic, and I often chat with my friends about interesting things in the past.Over the years, I have often been asked a question, that is, how did I practice my flying and diving, and is there any unique secret.Even Xie Xingfang was curious about this question. The version she heard was that the Bayi team had specially trained me.I laughed and said, "You guys are too good at associating." I used to joke with the media, and I said, "I trained as a goalkeeper, but you don't know?" Here, I want to tell you the truth, the reason why I can "fly" , It must be that your footwork is not well practiced.

To say that you can "fly" is bragging, and diving to save the ball is just an instinct.And when I first discovered my "stunt", it was purely because of playfulness.At that time, I was still in the Bayi team, and I didn’t do much exercise. I wasn’t as tired as I was in the national team. After practice, it was still early and I had nothing to do, so I said to my teammates: “Come on, kill a diagonal.” Wait for him to hit the ball. When I was playing, I would do a side flip and catch the ball.At that time, I just thought it was fun, and I didn't think about it.No way, I was naughty when I was a child.

I am probably the first in the world to dare to play this in an official game.I remember very clearly that it was my first time participating in the Urban Games.I played against Guo Siwei in the first preliminaries, when he had already entered the national team.As a result, I killed him and the game went to three rounds.I had a big lead in the third game, so I did that on one ball, a side somersault.As soon as I saw that he was going to kill the ball, I "flyed" over to get one, but I still got caught, and the referee looked dumbfounded. That was the only time.After beating him, I entered the men's singles race.

That game was so funny.In the first game after entering the main match, I won Wu Wei from Hong Kong again, and I also won three games.I was still in the Bayi team at that time.After I won Wu Wei, many people were very happy.Because they were unwilling to fight Wu Wei, for fear of losing face to Hong Kong players.And I put Wu Wei down, and went to fight for the top eight the next day.Later, when the big brothers from other teams fought with me as a child, they would definitely have the upper hand physically and mentally, but they molested me... The first two days I fought too hard, and then I really lost my strength.

So after entering the top eight, I played three rounds with Chen Yu when the eight entered the 4th and lost.After the loss, I played against Cai Yun again. He was still playing men's singles at that time, but I lost again.When competing for the seventh or eighth place, I lost to Zhu Weilun again, I remember it very clearly.It means that after I entered the top eight, I have never won, and I have been losing and losing, and I lost the eighth place.It's over, and I was awarded a "Best Newcomer Award" after the game. Looking back now, isn't it embarrassing?I said that flying is a natural instinct.The speed of badminton is getting faster and faster. When you can't catch the ball with normal footwork, you can only fly out.But my current understanding is that your own consciousness must be a little bit weaker, and your judgment is wrong, so you want to "fly".

There is a view that the current 21-point competition system is more conducive to "muscular men" because the game pays more attention to speed.So the European Gade can play until the age of 35, while the talented and technical player Taufik started to decline at the age of 30. For our athletes who have been fighting around all year round, strength training is definitely needed when we cannot maintain systematic training, because it can protect us from getting injured easily.When we go out to races, we go to the hotel gym and we bring our own bungees.There are rubber rope training methods for rubber ropes, and gyms also have gym training methods.And black athletes generally have good strength and explosiveness, so I sometimes joke that I have to get a little tan.

Sometimes attendance at events delays training, and I will keep running for at least half an hour every day, and then make up what I owe on Sunday.Therefore, even if I stand on the threshold of 30 years old now, my fat index is still the lowest in the team, and my physical fitness is no worse than anyone else.But I learned how to allocate energy reasonably.There was a time when the team practiced back and forth, and I beat Lu Yi and Chen Long in a row. They refused to accept it and wanted to compete again.As a result, I competed for 5 rounds in a row, and I won all of them.The price is that the calf muscles are tight the next day, and I have to rest for three days, which is a bit of a loss.

Nostalgia is inadvertent, and this inadvertence often brings you special surprises. When I went to Germany and All England in early 2012, I started to rewatch "Slam Dunk" on the plane.This is my favorite cartoon besides "Doraemon" when I was a child, and it is also a common memory of the post-80s generation. At that time, what I cared about was when Yingmu Huadao could progress faster, and Xiangbei was going to defeat Lingnan.I remember the opening song was called "I Really Want to Say I Love You Loudly". The melody was very inspirational, youthful and beautiful, and it made my blood boil.After one episode, I couldn't wait to listen to the ending song, so I fast-forwarded to the next episode to see what will happen to Sakuragi Hanamichi.But when I went to see it ten years later, I found many details that I hadn't noticed before, and I had a completely different feeling.It was on that flight that I listened to the ending song for the first time: "Until the end of the world, we will not be separated. For countless nights, I have been praying like this..." At the end of the screen is the back of Yingmu Huadao , I suddenly feel that if one day I want to leave the stadium I once loved, I may leave you with such a picture.

In one game, the "famous Japanese basketball center" Takenori Akagi sprained his foot. The doctor advised him not to play again, otherwise his injury would be aggravated, and he might even be disabled, and he would never be able to play basketball again.But Akagi felt that nothing was more important than now, and he insisted on returning to the court.He doesn't allow himself to withdraw when the team needs him.Although this is just an anime, athletes are really like this. They regard honor as paramount, especially for the team, and dare to sacrifice and take risks.I think if a similar scene happened in the Olympic Games, I would definitely choose to persevere like Akagi.

This reminds me of the scene at the All England Open in early 2012: Li Zongwei and I once again stood together in the final.Spikes in the backcourt, dives to save the ball, culls in front of the net...the two fired with full firepower as soon as they came on the court, and they were as exciting as ever.I only got away with winning the first game with a lucky roll net.When everyone expected Li Zongwei to bring a more exciting second game, when the score came to 2-6, he suddenly made a decision that surprised everyone-he told the referee that because of his shoulder injury, he Cannot continue the game. In fact, many of my brilliance are due to Li Zongwei's "fulfillment".In the Beijing Olympics, I defeated Li Zongwei and won my first Olympic champion; in the Guangzhou Asian Games, I defeated Li Zongwei again and achieved my "Grand Slam"; The first "Five Crowns" in 35 years after... So, after the game, I took off the jersey in front of 8,000 spectators and gave it to Lee Chong Wei, who also exchanged his jersey with me.Although this kind of situation usually happens on the football field, I didn't think much about it at the time. I just naturally wanted to express my respect for such an opponent in this way.At that time I said: "I hope today's injury will not affect him too much, because we will meet again in the Olympics. Lee Chong Wei will also represent Malaysia in the World Series." Later, Li Zongwei revealed that he injured his arm in the semi-finals, and he felt pain at the beginning of the finals.But it was precisely because he was playing the final with me that he chose to persevere. In May 2012, when Li Zongwei withdrew again due to injury in the Thomas Cup match, I was not feeling well.I also told the media: "For us, the biggest enemy is not any opponent, but injuries." Like, love, work hard, pay, decline, fail, dull, end... Thinking of this, there is an inexplicable sadness in my heart. In China, apart from Lin Dan, there are also Yao Ming, Liu Xiang, Li Na... Even in the badminton world, there are too many rising stars.And Li Zongwei took on the glory of a country. "Until the end of the world, we will not be separated. For countless nights, I have been praying like this." Until the end of world, until the end of the world.I got this new tattoo on my right upper arm after I got back from the All England.Many people hope that Lin Dan will continue to fight. Although I also feel tired, every time I think of all the glory along the way, and more importantly, the little contribution made by our generation to the sport of badminton will be accompanied by those who come later. "Until the end of the world", it seems that my heart will be relieved a lot.For me, badminton is not a certain championship, nor a moment of joy or sadness, but a process from beginning to end. Even though London is my last Olympic Games, even though the name Lin Dan has become blurred like a symbol after many years, I still have lovely you guys.I will remember the years we spent together when we were young.Those shared memories will continue until the end of the world.