by Dong Yixing, Wang Haoyu and Wang Hengzhi
BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) — With greater strain and better anticipation, beginning a brand new Olympic cycle because the reigning champion is rarely simple. And Chinese fencer Sun Yiwen absolutely is aware of that.
After profitable a historic gold within the girls’s epee particular person on the Tokyo Olympic Games and ending fourth at China’s National Games in 2021, Sun did not compete in any respect within the 2021-22 season, as an alternative taking time to relaxation, recuperate and regulate.
Coming again within the 2022-23 season from the bottom world rating – 94th – of her senior profession, Sun began off her journey to the Paris Olympics with the goal of fixing earlier issues and on the lookout for future pleasure.
“I’m still improving and growing, I’m not coming back to say that I’m going to win the gold medal again,” Sun advised Xinhua in an unique interview. “I think I had a lot of problems and deficiencies on my way to the gold medal in Tokyo, and there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”
“I think if I can do everything more perfectly, I will be in a better state. The result is not the most important for me, but to identify and solve the problems, and look for the joy during the process.”
Sun suffered a muscle pressure in her left leg and withdrew from the workforce occasion in Tokyo, one of many many accidents that altogether took her greater than a yr to recuperate from.
“After the Olympic Games, I’ve always had some kind of injury. So most of the time I have been staying with the national team to receive treatment,” Sun had advised Xinhua in January.
“I had a problem with my back and tailbone, which compressed the nerves. I haven’t jumped since the end of the Olympics. Even a small jump can affect my nerves and cause a lot of pain,” she mentioned.
Sun resumed coaching in October final yr and competed in 4 World Cup tournaments and one Grand Prix within the following months. Despite solely a Sixty fifth-place end in her season debut in Tallinn, Estonia only one month into common coaching, Sun took bronze in each particular person and workforce occasions in Barcelona, Spain in February this yr.
“I didn’t compete or train for more than a year. I was a bit rusty in every aspect. I had to play while trying to recall the sense of fencing,” Sun mentioned after the World Cup in Nanjing, China final weekend. “But I think I’m recovering fast and getting it back little by little.”
“I didn’t think I could win a World Cup medal in such a short time. It has given me huge confidence,” added the 30-year-old.
As the fencing qualification interval for Paris 2024 begins on April 3, 2023, Sun and her teammates could have a sequence of home and worldwide competitions, together with the National Championship, Epee Grand Prix, Epee World Cup, the Asian Championship and the World Championship within the subsequent few months.
“My coach told me not to rush. Fencing requires steady progress without ups and downs both mentally and physically.”
“One step at a time,” mentioned a peaceful and assured Sun. “And each event is better than the previous one.”