Chinese athletes prepare for Tokyo Olympics amid challenges

Du Li was watching the National Shooting Championships in Yichang, Hubei Province, on September 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

One thing remains certain in the shadow of uncertainty cast by the COVID-19 pandemic: the determination of Chinese athletes to compete for their best at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- One thing remains certain in the shadow of uncertainty cast by the COVID-19 pandemic: the determination of Chinese athletes to compete for their best at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

As China's national two sessions are holding in Beijing, Olympic shooting champion Du Li, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), asked for leave because she is leading the training of the national shooting team in Putian, southeast China's Fujian Province.

"Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, many international competitions were canceled. And we have been training behind closed doors since last year," Du said.

When the outbreak started last year, Chinese athletes were still active in the Olympic qualifiers and related tournaments. As Chinese athletes' bid for the coming summer Olympics might be influenced by possible entry restrictions of relevant countries and regions, some Chinese athletes chose to go abroad before the related competitions and to train outside of China.

The Tokyo Olympics, postponed to July 2021, will award medals across 339 events in 33 different sports. According to China's State General Administration of Sport, by the end of last year, Chinese athletes have won Olympic qualification in 155 events across 20 sports such as archery, equestrian, diving, women's basketball, women's volleyball, and table tennis.

Impacted by the pandemic, Olympic qualifying events in 25 sports, including fencing, judo, track and field, swimming, and gymnastics, have not concluded yet. This means that athletes involved in these events have to prepare for the scoring and qualifying competitions first to gain the Olympic qualifications instead of having themselves fully trained for the Games.

With only four months to go before the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, athletes could only face these challenges by getting trained behind closed doors.

"The main problem is that we don't have formal events. It is quite troublesome. Without competitions, athletes find it hard to adjust their form in training," Du noted.

"For more than one year, some young shooters only participated in several national trials, which cannot be put on a par with international competitions such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games. Despite the athletes' results in training, there is still much uncertainty going into events," she added.

Not only shooters but other athletes were also plagued by the lacking of formal events.

Taekwondo athlete Zhang Can (L) was training in Chongqing on December 2, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)

Chinese taekwondo athletes experienced a painful period of 10 months without competition last year.

"These 10 months were not only disastrous for athletes but also very tough for the national team's preparation for Olympics," said Guan Jianmin, Chinese Taekwondo and Karate Association president and a CPPCC member.

"It's especially arduous for older athletes and those who need to control their weight," Guan added.

Chinese swimmer Wang Shun spent much of last year training behind closed doors. "Life was really boring. There seemed to be nothing other than training," Wang said.

China's female epee fencer Xu Anqi and her teammates have been training for nearly nine months but unable to participate in competitions. "Some young players told me that they were depressed, and they did not know what they were training for," Xu noted.

Fortunately, a series of adjustments, such as having holidays and providing more leisure options, alleviated Chinese athletes' anxiety. Moreover, national training, trials and various competitions were organized to keep players' spirits up.

"I hope both me and my athletes can achieve good results," said Du, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and head coach of the rifle event in the Chinese national team.

The Tokyo Olympic Games is only a stop in China's journey to build a sports power. Chinese athletes have higher aspirations such as Yao Ming, the Chinese Basketball Association president and a CPPCC member expected.

"I hope the Chinese men's and women's basketball teams to be competitive in the world, not just to get a ticket to the Olympics," Yao said.