On September 20, 2021, in the table tennis competition of the National Games, the 41-year-old veteran Hou Yingchao's competition was particularly eye-catching. In the eyes of the outside world, he has performed "table tennis miracles" time and time again, and he continues to pers

On September 20, 2021, in the table tennis competition of National Games , 41-year-old veteran Hou Yingchao 's game was particularly eye-catching.

In the eyes of the outside world, he has performed "table tennis miracles" time and time again, and he has continued to persevere on the court. He is worthy of everyone's applause.

The superstar that was supposed to rise was unexpectedly "extinguished"

Like many domestic table tennis players, Hou Yingchao has been exposed to table tennis since he was a child.

Along the way, he also encountered many difficulties. His parents often instilled in him the idea of ​​"don't give up easily".

He is obsessed with table tennis. However, like many playful boys, he often delays training because of playing.

In the first two years after joining the Beijing team, Hou Yingchao's training was not tight, and the coach did not supervise him too much. The fun-loving Hou Yingchao simply relaxed his requirements on himself.

In 1995, the leader of the Beijing team went to find Hou Yingchao's parents. They didn't mince words and said bluntly: "Your child's level is too bad. Find a place as soon as possible."

But Hou's parents felt that their child was here I have been on the same path for so long, and it would be a pity to give up casually.

They begged the leaders of the team, hoping to allow Hou Yingchao to practice in the team again. If that didn't work, they would find another way out.

After Hou Yingchao found out about this, it was a huge blow. He felt that he was ashamed of his family and that if he didn't practice well, he would be an embarrassment to his parents.

Coach Yan Yongguo walked into the Beijing team at this time. He felt that Hou Yingchao was a malleable talent and treated him well.

Seizing this opportunity, Hou Yingchao began to work harder and won 34th place in the 1996 National Youth Competition. Although the ranking did not sound high, it was the first time he had won a ranking in the competition.

The period from 1996 to 1998 was regarded as Hou Yingchao's "life transformation period".

As he continued to pay, Hou Yingchao also saw rewards, and his ranking rose.

Because he finished 13th in the Weifang training camp in 1997, he entered the second national team in February 1998, and his first coach was Hanwha. After

achieved some results, he began to be sent to participate in higher-level international competitions. In the Finland Open, he won the championship in one fell swoop. In the subsequent Denmark Open, he unfortunately lost to Bo. er.

This was also his first encounter with European masters. After this time, he began to remind himself: Don't be blindly optimistic, you still need to work harder.

's days in the national team were the days when Hou Yingchao made the most progress.

In an interview in 2001, Hou Yingchao also said: I want to be a "secret weapon."

However, a sudden "accident" completely changed Hou Yingchao's life.

It was 2004. The Chinese men's and women's table tennis teams were divided into two groups and went to Xiamen to participate in a closed training camp.

When all the team members were packing their bags and preparing to set off, head coach Cai Zhenhua announced a decision that surprised everyone:

"For serious discipline, athletes Bai Yang, Hou Yingchao, Li Nan and Fan Ying Because their love affair affected their training, the team decided to temporarily return the four of them to the provincial team. In the future, based on their respective performances when returning to the provincial team, they will consider whether to be recalled to the national team. "

It is difficult to let such news come out. No one is surprised, the competition is about to begin, and four strong players were withdrawn before training, which obviously exceeded everyone's expectations.

The incident made headlines in the sports news at the time.

China Youth Daily "Sports Focus" has many reporters who put forward their opinions.

Cao Jing said: "I think this way of handling is too rough and impersonal. Although the table tennis team is a semi-military management team and needs strict management as the basis for the team's performance, table tennis The team is not isolated from society; now the entire society is emphasizing humanistic care, and the table tennis team's behavior makes people feel that they are isolated from the world."

In his view, the team rules stipulate that no discussion can be made. Fall in love, but if falling in love does not affect the game, then who has the right to stop others? This is much better than the kind of athletes who go out to drink and lie drunk in the lobby.

Some people also expressed their belief in the decision made by the national team. The views of

reporter Liu Jing also represent many netizens: "I think the punishment is not actually for "falling in love." The essence is that their falling in love affects the training and leads to such punishment. If the punishment is only for falling in love, I think it's a bit extreme; but if the penalty was imposed because training was affected, it would be understandable. "

However, this announcement that year also caused a certain amount of discussion within the team.

Among the four people who were expelled, Fan Ying's lover is Wang Hao, while Bai Yang's lover is Ma Lin, and the remaining Hou Yingchao and Li Nan are a couple.

Many team members felt that Hou Yingchao and Li Nan were the most unjust, because they believed that the punishment given to Wang Hao and Ma Lin by the team was unfair.

Some team members questioned: "Why were Li Nan and Hou Yingchao expelled together, while the other two pairs only expelled Bai Yang and Fan Ying, but not Ma Lin and Wang Hao?"

In fact, they themselves also know the answer. After all, the world-famous The Athens Olympics is coming soon. Ma Lin and Wang Hao were the backbone of the team back then, so naturally they cannot be punished casually.

This has led to some netizens questioning: I am going to participate in the Olympics soon. I fired my girlfriend in advance. No matter what the reason is, can't I wait until the game is over?

However, after the dust settled on this matter, there was no further follow-up.

After that, Hou Yingchao found an opportunity and went to Europe to play.

went from France to Russia, and then from Austria to Poland . In the following years, Hou Yingchao continued to compete and maintained his competitive status.

In the 6 years of overseas campaign, he won the UEFA Cup championship, and also won a series of honors such as the US Open men's singles championship. It seems that Hou Yingchao has always been the "big candidate" in everyone's mind. .

He once summed up his personality in three words: straightforward, diligent and persistent.

Because of his unique height and arm length, he can always "sway" from side to side, saving the ball back and forth. When being bombarded by aggressive play, he can always find opportunities repeatedly. It can be said that he "explodes from depression" ".

Even though his life has encountered some twists and turns, he still loves his career and has found his own path in the process of choosing his playing style.

After the setbacks, he rarely thought about his future or thought too much about things. He felt that every time an opportunity came, it was extremely rare for him. All he needed to do was Jump in when you get an opportunity.

He also said that if there were two words to describe him, they would be "without distraction" and "without hesitation".

"Return to the world" is the "top class"

In the days when Hou Yingchao's life was relatively "depressed", Liu Guoliang had been paying attention to his movements. He once mentioned in "Sending Wang Hao and Chen Qi to Hou Yingchao to Europe":

Let Wang Hao and Hou Yingchao go to Austria to play, and our coaches will not go with them. Let them learn to take care of themselves, take care of their own lives, buy their own tickets, learn to get along with foreigners, and look at foreign clubs. What it's like, what their training system is like, what it's like to play in Europe, etc. In today's information society, nothing is absolutely confidential. They go abroad to participate in other people's leagues, and while adapting to others, they affirm their own. The playing style has also been gradually adapted to by opponents.

Liu Guoliang has always had a very accurate eye for people, and the "seedlings" he identifies will explode sooner or later.

All old fans thought that Hou Yingchao had faded out of sight. In the men's singles final of the National Table Tennis Championships on July 29, 2019, the 39-year-old Hou Yingchao defeated Wang Chuqin with a score of 4:0. After 19 years, he once again won the men's singles championship in the national championship, telling the world what "the sword is not old" means.

This is a competition participated by many young athletes, and its gold content has always been very high.

On July 25, a few days before the final, Hou Yingchao posted a message on his personal social platform, accompanied by a photo of the national table tennis team's Lingshui training hall, announcing that he would briefly return to the national team.

He said frankly: "Having not played a high-intensity game for nearly a year, my physical strength will be affected, and there is also a gap in pace and attention to the ball."

After winning the championship, Hou Yingchao once again received widespread media attention. For a 39-year-old veteran, winning the championship is not an easy task in itself, but Hou Yingchao did it.

This year, the Shaanxi team extended an olive branch to Hou Yingchao, and the two parties successfully shook hands and concluded the deal. This cooperation was hailed by Hou Yingchao as "valuing the competition with outstanding young people."

During the Shaanxi National Games, Hou Yingchao always talked about "enjoying the game."

In his personal social media, Hou Yingchao posted photos with Fan Zhendong , Xu Xin , Sun Yingsha . His face is always full of smiles.

What everyone noticed, besides his age, was his playing style.

holds the ball board horizontally with his right hand and uses raw rubber for his forehand and raw rubber for his backhand. He is the only player in the world's professional table tennis world who uses raw rubber for his backhand. This is Hou Yingchao's unique feature.

Cutting back and attacking, the game results are stable, especially maintaining a high winning rate against foreign athletes. This is Hou Yingchao's historical achievement. The veteran

is still exerting his value.

Everyone also saw how difficult it was for him.

Before the start of every game, Hou Yingchao comes to the scene early and wears muscle patches to protect his body for 10 minutes.

In 2021, Hou Yingchao is already 41 years old, and age seems to always be an important reason for his "hot search".

The questions asked by reporters are always very similar: "How long can you maintain your bravery?"

Regarding these similar questions, Hou Yingchao always smiles and then replies: "I am 41 years old, and I still can't." I am very happy to be able to compete in the same arena as teenagers in their early twenties without being beaten to pieces.”

He has always regarded table tennis as a part of his life. From his parents, he said, “Don’t give up easily.” Along the way, this is his career to support his family and his lifelong goal.

However, all viewers who know table tennis know that behind the veteran's modesty, there is "containing murderous intent."

May 3, 2021, was the second day of the Olympic simulation competition. Malone defeated Hou Yingchao with a score of 3:0; it seemed like a big lead, but in fact, Hou Yingchao was the "secret weapon" arranged by Liu Guoliang .

Because Hou Yingchao's raw rubber chipping style is extremely unusual, which can bring some challenges to the players. In addition, he can win the men's singles championship in the National Championships at a young age, which can also cause problems for the athletes. Some pressure.

was defeated by Malone. Hou Yingchao was even more calm. He said: "Liu Guoliang said this was a textbook game. Malone has such a strong ability and does not give me any chance. I am also very happy to be able to stand in such a situation." On the stage. "

The Chinese table tennis team has been prosperous for many years, on the one hand, because of the continuous emergence of new players, on the other hand, it also benefits from these veterans who have been willing to contribute and stick to it silently.

html On September 20, Hou Yingchao defeated Liang Jingkun in 1996 and Wang Chuqin in 2000 at the National Games, and attracted attention again.

Netizens jokingly said: Hou Yingchao is the 'national table tennis quality inspector', who is used to test whether the strength and quality of these young players are excellent. No wonder Liu Guoliang regards him as a magic weapon.

Hou Yingchao has always paid special attention to maintaining his body. He has also maintained a walking pace of 15,000 to 20,000 steps a day.

Faced with his own life path, he also said: "Whether it is at home or abroad, you must always study and compete with outstanding people, and you will maintain a relatively high level. People must live to As you learn, your achievements will come naturally without any deliberate pursuit. "

This also shows that at this age, Hou Yingchao has an extremely stable mentality.

As long as Hou Yingchao participates in a game, he himself will be on the hot search. "Evergreen" is the result of his strictness and self-discipline.

At the age of more than 40 years old, some of his competitive status is destined to be polished away, but the love in his heart has never wavered.

In 2022, Hou Yingchao continued his "commentary" work, always sharing some of his opinions and game analysis on social platforms. It can be seen that he has always loved table tennis.

html In April, Hou Yingchao once again received good news: he was admitted to Capital Institute of Physical Education for his undergraduate degree.

In addition, he spends a lot of time with his family and shares his daughter's paintings with netizens. Now he can be said to have both fame and fortune.

On July 4, Hou Yingchao once again went to the table tennis training ground, but time is not forgiving. He just celebrated his 42nd birthday and said directly: "I haven't trained for four months, and my arms don't follow the instructions very well."

Everyone believes that this veteran will continue to go on with love.

Reference

Take stock of the fines issued by the National Table Tennis Team: 4 people were expelled for falling in love, Zhang Yining was suspended, Phoenix Sports

Why is the 41-year-old table tennis veteran Hou Yingchao on the hot search three times a day? China News Service