by Wade Townsend & Amy Ding
Shanghai has taken gold in the Men’s Teams event at the China National Games after defeating when they defeated Sichuan on Saturday 2nd September in Tianjin.
The win continues Shanghai’s domination in China as the premier team. But for Xu Xin, Shanghai’s star player, the ghost of silver medals past are still fresh on his mind.
“We placed second in the National Championships in 2011 and 2012,” said Xu Xin. “In 2013, we made it to the final again, but we still got the silver medal. It was a low point for us. I confidence dropped, especially when losing two points in the final in the last National Games.”
But the team managed to turn it around and have struck gold.
“However, since 2014, we won three successive gold medals in the National Championships and we are the champion of the National Games this year. There is no doubt that we have the strength to win. In the new cycle of National Games, all of us worked together to achieve better results.
Three years on and Shanghai don’t look like going anywhere.
“We were not the favourite to win championships in 2014, but now we have won a fourth-straight gold medals in national competitions.” Xu Xin
Despite the loss in the final, Sichuan’s Coach Zheng Changgong had nothing but praise for his players.”
“I am touched by the performances of our players today. We have been on the losing side, but our players still played the game point by point and didn’t give up.” Zhang Changgong (Sichuan Coach)
Meanwhile in the bronze medal playoff, Jiefangjun came away with the place on the podium.