Henan's "Pili Girl" made history by stepping onto the Olympic podium Liu Qingyi: I will continue to dance and pursue my dreams
2024-08-11
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Chinese athlete Liu Qingyi at the award ceremony on August 10. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shen Bohan
On August 10, in the women's bronze medal match of the breakdancing event at the Paris Olympics, Chinese player Liu Qingyi defeated Dutch player India and won the bronze medal. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Yongzhen
□Our special correspondent Huang Hui and Henan Daily all-media reporter Wang Weihao
"This is my first bronze medal. It is not easy to win a medal in the Olympics." In the early morning of August 10th, Beijing time, in the mixed interview area outside the breakdancing competition venue in the Place de la Concorde in Paris, Liu Qingyi shared her feelings about participating in the competition with reporters. At this time, the final of the women's breakdancing event in the Paris Olympics had just ended, and the girl from Henan won the bronze medal. Since breakdancing was the first time to appear in the Olympics, this bronze medal also created history in Chinese sports. At the same time, this is also the first medal won by Henan athletes in the Paris Olympics. The first and second place were won by Japanese athlete Yuasa Ami and Lithuanian teenager Dominika respectively.
In the women's breakdancing competition at the Paris Olympics, the 16 contestants were first divided into four groups for a round-robin tournament. The top two in each group advanced to the quarterfinals, and then played a single elimination tournament until the final champion was decided.
Liu Qingyi advanced smoothly in the group round-robin match with two wins and one loss, and defeated Ukrainian player Kate in the quarter-finals to enter the semi-finals. In the subsequent semi-finals, Liu Qingyi met Lithuanian teenager Dominika. Liu Qingyi had won all three previous matches between the two. In this semi-final, Liu Qingyi went all out as soon as she came on the court, taking the lead in making a series of "power moves" with full intensity, fully integrating into the DJ's music and the atmosphere of the scene, bringing cheers from the audience; Dominika was not to be outdone and responded strongly to Liu Qingyi's "attack". After a "dance battle", Liu Qingyi lost 1:2 and entered the bronze medal competition.
Talking about the loss in the semi-finals, Liu Qingyi said: "There are many styles of street dance. This competition gave me the feeling that it might be a bit more 'STYLE' (popular), while my style is more difficult, more explosive, and focuses on overall expression. But the judges of today's competition may not pay much attention to these things, so I just did my best. I tried my best and did what I expected, but the result is not something I can control. Although it may disappoint everyone, I think I should accept the result calmly."
Liu Qingyi's opponent in the bronze medal match was the famous Dutch player India who defeated her in the group stage. In fact, Liu Qingyi and India not only faced each other twice on the same day, but also faced each other many times in previous competitions as both were masters in international competitions. In the Outbreak2022 street dance competition in August 2022, Liu Qingyi defeated India in the finals and won the first world top breakdance championship for Chinese breakdance, breaking the history of Chinese breakdance.
Although it was her sixth time to compete in the bronze medal match of the day, Liu Qingyi still maintained sufficient physical strength. Her moves were sharp and powerful, with both difficulty and expressiveness, a "grand scene" that only happens in the finals. In contrast, India, who had performed very well before, seemed a little overwhelmed. In the end, Liu Qingyi won 2:1 and won the bronze medal.
After her victory, Liu Qingyi reviewed the bronze medal match: "We are old rivals and we have won and lost against each other. In fact, I was quite emotional because I didn't want to lose to her and wanted to prove that I was better than her. I have been preparing for those 'things' in the competitions. No matter whether it is the semi-finals or the finals, the 'things' are here. The most important thing when going on court is to overcome psychological barriers, express yourself and be yourself!" As for the gap between her and the champion, Liu Qingyi's answer was "the right time, the right place and the right people, none of them can be missing."
The bronze medal won by Liu Qingyi is the first medal for Chinese breakdancing at the Olympics. Regarding this historic bronze medal, the girl from Henan said: "This is a milestone. It can make more people understand breakdancing and motivate more people to stick to it. So I think this bronze medal can promote the development of breakdancing in China."
As the interview was about to end, the reporter asked Liu Qingyi to describe her feelings at the moment. "Mixed feelings," Liu Qingyi said.
At the press conference after the game, Liu Qingyi also talked about what she gained from participating in the Olympics: "I am very happy to participate in the Olympics, and I am also very proud to stand on the Olympic podium... Everyone's encouragement and support is a shot in the arm for me."
In addition, Liu Qingyi also admitted at the press conference that the years of preparation for the Olympics have not only brought her achievements: "Because I have often trained and competed abroad in the past few years, I have been influenced by the world's breakdance atmosphere, which is also an experience for me. After being exposed to the world's street dance culture, I understand what I want and what I want to do next. This Olympics is an experience of self-growth."
When asked about the fact that breakdancing will no longer be included in the next Los Angeles Olympics, Liu Qingyi said calmly: "I will continue to dance, do what I want to do, and continue to pursue my dreams."
Liu Qingyi, who has strong explosive power and dares to challenge the difficulty of movements, is from Xinxiang. She was discovered by our province during the preparation for the 2nd National Youth Games in 2019, and soon emerged in national competitions. In September 2021, Liu Qingyi won the women's championship in the breakdancing event, which was first established at the 14th National Games. In 2022, Liu Qingyi began to shine in the international arena, winning the Outbreak 2022 Street Dance Competition and the 2023 The Notorious IBE International Breakdancing Competition, two world-class breakdancing events for Chinese breakdancing. In October 2022, Liu Qingyi won the runner-up in the World Breakdancing Championships, winning the first breakdancing world championship medal in history for the Chinese team. In October 2023, Liu Qingyi won the women's championship in the breakdancing event, which was first established at the Hangzhou Asian Games, not only making history again, but also qualifying for the Paris Olympics. It is worth mentioning that the player who lost to Liu Qingyi in the final was the Japanese player who won the Olympic Games and the 2023 World Championships champion Yuasa Ami.
In the world of breakdancing, Liu Qingyi, who was born in 2005, named herself "671", which is a homophone of "Liu Qingyi". We hope that "671" will continue to fly high in the journey of pursuing her dreams.
