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peninsula omnimedia reporter sun zhaohui

at 4:30 am on august 31, beijing time, qingdao athlete li yujie defeated her opponent 11:0 in the women's k44 57kg final of the paris paralympic taekwondo event to win the gold medal. this is the first gold medal won by a chinese athlete in the paralympic taekwondo event, and also the first gold medal won by qingdao and shandong athletes in this paralympic games. at 17:30 on september 1, the reporter connected with three qingdao athletes, li yujie, liu ludong, shao qian and their coach yu jie, to listen to their feelings about the competition.

li yujie

“i couldn't hold back my tears when i saw the national flag rising”

reporter: li yujie, when you stood on the podium, looking at the rising national flag and singing the national anthem, your eyes were filled with tears. what was your mood at that time?

li yujie: this is my second time to participate in the paralympic games. winning the paralympic championship, raising the national flag, and playing the national anthem were my dreams when i started practicing taekwondo. i was a little confused after the finals, and it took me half a beat to come to my senses and know that i won. i was very excited at the time, and i felt very honored to represent china in the highest international arena. because everyone pays more attention to the athletes in the arena, my first thought after the game was to take my coach to the stage. the coach held the national flag, and we raised the national flag high together and turned around the arena. i was still very excited when i received the award. i didn't want to cry at first, but when i saw the national flag rising, i really couldn't help it. at that time, i felt that i had finally realized my dream, because i had paid a lot along the way, my efforts were not in vain, and everyone's care and support for me were not in vain.

reporter: so what do you think is the key to your success?

li yujie: it was the coach who changed my personality and psychology. i used to be a very impatient athlete. this impatient personality was reflected on the court. when i was playing against each other, i would be eager to score, instead of trying to prevent the opponent from scoring. also, when the game was stalemate, my mental state was unstable. because of this impatient mood, my technical movements on the court were deformed. the coach would first temper my temper in daily life, slow me down and make me steady, and then change my technical movements to show my technical movements more completely. this is a key to winning when i encounter various situations on the court.

“this is not the end, but a new beginning”

reporter: liu ludong, you got 8th place in the men's k44 80kg class. this is your first time participating in the paralympics. are you satisfied with this result?

liu ludong: i have some regrets, but overall i have tried my best and i believe there will be room for improvement in the future.

reporter: you are already 30 years old this year. do you plan to participate in the next paralympic games?

liu ludong: i originally thought that this was my first paralympic games and would be my last. but through participating in the paris paralympic games, i found that there were many athletes older than me in the 80kg class. so i think this is not an end, but a new beginning. if there is an opportunity, i will continue to participate. this is also the change in my thinking brought about by this competition.

“i have learned a lot and will strive to go further in future competitions.”

reporter: shao qian, in the first round you met a player who was temporarily substituted by iran and lost the game. it was very regrettable. how do you feel about this game?

shao qian: although i lost the first game, i felt regretful, but i realized more about my shortcomings and learned the advantages of high-level athletes from all over the world. the style and technical characteristics they showed are what i gained from this competition. i will also learn from their strengths and avoid my weaknesses. i hope i can change myself in training and strive to go further in future competitions.

“standing on the field with the national flag on my back, i feel like everything is worth it.”

reporter: coach yu jie, you have always been troubled by the fact that you did not win the olympic championship. how do you feel when you see the athletes you trained fulfill your dream this time?

coach yu jie: when i was wearing the national flag and standing on the field, i was so excited. i felt that everything was worth it. it was also a dream come true for me. when i took li yujie to international competitions, many foreigners asked why you two had the same name. was it written wrong? because her chinese spelling li yujie without li is exactly the same as mine, yujie. it was like i was taking care of a younger version of myself. athletes and coaches complement each other. i was really shocked that they could practice taekwondo. their training is particularly difficult, and their balance and coordination are relatively lacking. but their willpower is beyond my imagination, and their physical training is not inferior at all. they are also my spiritual support.

"qingdao undertook the training mission of two national teams and made history twice"

reporter: director tang nan, this time chinese taekwondo won its first paralympic gold medal, achieving a breakthrough. how did the qingdao disabled persons' federation and qingdao disabled persons' sports center provide all-round support for athletes?

tang nan: qingdao has undertaken the training mission for two national teams, one is the paralympic ice hockey team, and the other is the taekwondo team. the paralympic ice hockey team won a precious bronze medal at the 2022 beijing winter paralympics, making history. similarly, our taekwondo team is also very competitive. at this paris paralympic games, it won the first gold medal in the chinese paralympic taekwondo project, which also made history. after the game, at the award ceremony, the officials of world taekwondo also praised us, saying that you chinese are awesome, and we feel very proud. the excellent results of these two projects are inseparable from the strong guarantee given to us by the qingdao municipal party committee and municipal government, and the support and encouragement of the leaders and colleagues of the municipal disabled persons' federation to the sports center, our athletes, and our sports teams. so this gold medal is not only a gold medal for our entire team, but also a gold medal for qingdao!