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Ding Xinyi. Image source: Shapingba News

"We won the championship. Chinese rhythmic gymnastics finally became Olympic champions!"

On the evening of August 10th, Beijing time, the Paris Olympic Games rhythmic gymnastics team all-around final ended. Two Chongqing girls, Ding Xinyi and Guo Qiqi, and their teammates Hao Ting, Huang Zhang Jiayang, and Wang Lanjing performed well and won the championship with a total score of 69.800.

This is the first time that the Chinese rhythmic gymnastics team has won an Olympic gold medal, creating new history.

Participating in the Olympics for the first time, Ding Xinyi, who was not yet 20 years old, helped the Chinese team win the Olympic gold medal with her outstanding performance. As her home team, the Chongqing Rhythmic Gymnastics Elite Team also attracted the attention of many netizens.

How could a team that was only established in 2014 produce an Olympic champion in such a short time?

Long limbs and good flexibility

Naturally qualified for artistic gymnastics

"Many of our Chongqing children are born with long limbs and good flexibility, which perfectly meets the selection requirements for rhythmic gymnastics. They are very outstanding nationwide, which has laid a solid foundation for the establishment of Chongqing's excellent rhythmic gymnastics team." said Feng Yuanxiaojia, deputy director of the Shapingba District Sports Bureau.

The reporter learned that rhythmic gymnastics had always been a key project in Shapingba District before the establishment of the excellent sports team. Rhythmic gymnastics was developed very early in Shapingba District. Guo Qiqi, a member of the championship team, received her initial training in rhythmic gymnastics in Shapingba District, Chongqing from 2004 to 2007, and later joined the national team. Lv Yuanyang, runner-up in the collective event of the Beijing Olympics and captain of the national team, also received training here.

"These three years are very important for Guo Qiqi's journey in rhythmic gymnastics. A tall building starts from the foundation. Without these three years of enlightenment training, she would not have been able to develop so well." Guo Qiqi's mother said.

However, at that time, there was no professional team in Shapingba District, and the training location was not very fixed. First, we went to the Shapingba District Gymnasium and Swimming Pool, and later to the National University of Science and Technology Gymnasium, moving back and forth continuously.

It was not until 2014 that the Chongqing Rhythmic Gymnastics Elite Team was officially established by the Municipal Sports Bureau and the Shapingba District People's Government. This was also the first elite sports team jointly established by the city and the district in Chongqing. Since then, the team has been training in the Shapingba District Gymnasium.

Chongqing's excellent rhythmic gymnastics team trains. Image source: Visual China

In 2016, Ding Xinyi, who had originally gone to Shanghai for training because Chongqing had no professional team, returned to Chongqing and officially joined the Chongqing Rhythmic Gymnastics Elite Team. She studied and trained in group projects under the guidance of coach Wang Yantian for 5 years.

During the past five years, under the guidance of her coach, Ding Xinyi has continuously honed her sense of equipment and basic skills. Not only did she and her teammates help the Chongqing team to repeatedly achieve good results in national competitions, but she also successfully entered the national first team for trial training in 2021, and officially joined the national team in February 2022.

"It has only been 10 years since the Chongqing Rhythmic Gymnastics Team was established. Teams like Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have a history of 40 or 50 years. However, colleagues all say that the development of Chongqing Rhythmic Gymnastics is really like a dark horse, and it has great potential." Xu Yading was very pleased when talking about this.

Winning brings confidence

Let more people see the potential of Chongqing rhythmic gymnastics

"We have achieved so many good results in rhythmic gymnastics. Our colleagues in the industry all say that Chongqing people are really motivated and have worked hard to achieve these results." Recalling the process, Feng Yuanxiaojia was filled with emotion. "Before, Chongqing had many outstanding rhythmic gymnastics athletes, but there was no professional team. In order not to waste the athletes' talents, they were sent to Shanghai, Zhejiang, Sichuan and other provinces and cities for professional training, which was a pity. It was against this background that the Municipal Sports Bureau made up its mind to establish a professional team."

After the professional team was established, a group of veteran coaches from Shapingba District Sports School, including Xu Yading and Xiong Lin, insisted on staying on the front line with their passion and love, and gradually handed over the baton to the younger generation of coaches, including Wang Yantian and Hu Shiqing.

On the athlete side, a group of outstanding young athletes represented by Ding Xinyi, Long Zou Yumeng (member of the second team of the national rhythmic gymnastics collective events), and Yang Yuting (member of the national rhythmic gymnastics team's individual events) are gradually emerging on the high-level stage.

Today, Ding Xinyi has stepped onto the highest podium of the Olympic Games with the Chinese team. This is not only the first Olympic gold medal for Chinese rhythmic gymnastics, but also a major moment in Chongqing's rhythmic gymnastics career.

Team members and coaches watched the rhythmic gymnastics team all-around finals together. Photo by Wang Xurui of Hualong.com

During the competition, coach Wang Yantian, the players and Ding Xinyi's family watched the game together in Chongqing, cheering for the two Chongqing girls and the Chinese team. After winning the championship, Wang Yantian was so excited that he cried with joy.

"I'm so excited and proud of the Chinese girls. They have realized the dream of several generations of Chinese rhythmic gymnastics." Wang Yantian said that he believed that winning the gold medal would also bring great confidence to Chongqing rhythmic gymnastics and allow more people to see the unlimited potential of Chongqing children in rhythmic gymnastics.

Hualong.com Wang Xurui/Text