(Editor’s note: Zhang Jialang accumulated enough ranking points in the 2022 World Cup in Serbia to rise to No. 1 in the world. The following is an in-depth interview with him after returning to Hong Kong from the Olympics, reviewing the difficult times he experienced before the Olympics, and how to “forget about the Olympics” after the Olympics "Medal, start again.)
【Introduction】Growing up is a novel that can only be read in retrospect.
Criss-crossing people and things, deduction layer by layer, in joy, loss, throbbing, heartache, time has made you a powerful person.
Before entering this chapter, it is recommended to read the first and second episodes of the novel.
The first chapter of growing up is about the eyes of others, and the second chapter is about the introspection of the National People's Congress. This time when he came to the Olympics, it was the first time in 24 years that Zhang Jialang doubted his life from the bottom of his heart.
The first time to grow up. Young Swordsman Says: Please Forget I'm the Asian Champion (2016)
The second time of growing up. Introspection in a quiet space
is the courage of the National People's Congress (2018)
"After the gold medal, waking up is a new day." I laughed at him speaking in an official tone, and he countered: "Really, if it doesn't matter, Ikea will retire." (Photo by Li Zetong)
On July 26, 2021, the Makuhari Exhibition Hall in Chiba, Japan.
In the top 8 men's foil event, Zhang Jialang faced Russia's Kirill Borodachev, 9:14 behind.
Due to the epidemic, there were no live audiences, so the referee had to shout "En-Garde, Pret, Allez", accompanied by sporadic "come on" from teammates.
The Russians made a resolute shot, and the Hong Kong team had to score 6 points against the opponent to reach the top 4. It is probably impossible, right?
However, the next 6 minutes affected the breathing and heartbeat of millions of Hong Kong people.
Even though Paulo Datev asked to change his sword twice, created two short breaks to restructure the rhythm, and added a one-minute pause per quarter, Zhang Jialang still used four swords to take the initiative to attack and two swords to defend and counterattack to tell us not to tell ourselves lightly. "Do not".
The top 8 of the Olympic Games, from a one-point loss to a comeback to advance.
People in Hong Kong are asking, "How calm is it?" (file photo; photo by Gao Shiqi)
Today, more than two months later, wearing the most comfortable T-shirt and shorts, walking on Nike x Travis Scott x Fragment Design Air Jordan 1 Low, sitting on the high stool in the studio, raising a pair of long legs, Zhang Jialang gestures Wearing silverware hands, we once again took us into the Midsummer Miracle.
"At one point, I changed from "I don't know what to do" to become very focused. I could see through the opponent's tactics very quickly, but I couldn't think of a way to crack it at first, but later I knew that I had to go forward to fight, and I couldn't back down, but I went up and stabbed again. If you don't get hit, you have to retreat. If you're in a hurry, you'll get too close and you'll get stabbed. That's it at 8:13. But I thought, I should hit what I'm good at, right? At least step forward Fighting is called "I have done it", it is better than shrinking back and losing. At 9:14, at this moment, I suddenly became very concentrated, all I saw was the front, there was no way back, I told myself, step forward and beat him ”
Why did that "moment" suddenly appear? Zhang Jialang was a little embarrassed, and carefully stated the real reason. It was a laughable little incident.
He even warned, "It's not easy to write things out on the street."
The 24-year-old boy in front of him, holding an Olympic gold medal, is still the same as he was training in Nanjing five years ago, or at the World Championships in Wuxi three years ago: a little shy, outspoken and very childish.
Nearly 4 hours into the interview, Zhang Jialang is frank and childish, and he is still him.
(Photo by Li Zetong)
Regarding the Olympic gold medal, we have discussed, if we win, should we cheer or cry?
Zhang Jialang, who was only 19 years old in those years, only felt that this "what if" was one of ten thousandths of a distant and nothingness. Anyway, if he couldn't think of the answer, he would be overshadowed. It is most practical to train on time tomorrow morning.
But when the chance of 0.0001 really came, he couldn't react at all, "I'm happy, but I'm happy, but I'm happy, because I can't believe it." To this day, he still feels unfamiliar and fuzzy. If it wasn't for interviews and photos, he would He won't take out the gold medal, he will only put it in a cloth bag and a box, and put it in a corner of the dormitory. He never thought that when he was a child and his teammates were discussing who is the Olympic champion in the arena, he would one day become a gold medal sword in the eyes of others. hand.
Zhang Jialang told a little story that made people laugh but couldn't go out on the street.
(Photo by Li Zetong)
Since becoming a full-time athlete in 2014, he has accumulated a World Youth Championship, 1 silver, 2 bronze in the Asian Games, and 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze in the Asian Championships. Seven years is not a long time, but after all, the Olympic gold medal cannot be achieved in one day. Zhang Jialang The description is apt: "Psychology is more important. It is said that it is hard to practice "good work" (the meaning of "licensed"), but every matter, big or small, is something that I have to experience about growth."
The plot of growth is not necessarily as vigorous as the rebirth of the phoenix and the victory to the end of the world, but there are always various underlying lines, interspersed in different chapters, and subtly intertwined and brewing.
Going back to the 2019/20 season two years before the Olympics, with a total of five World Cups and Grand Prix, Zhang Jialang's results were two top 64, one top 32 and two top 16, and the quarterly world ranking was 24.
This season, the Olympic points have been calculated, and at that time, he had to qualify for the Olympic individual competition and was at a disadvantage (he later won the individual competition ticket by qualifying for the team competition).
Facing the predicament, Zhang Jialang was annoyed: "I can't play well with the solution? Shimi, I'm not suitable for sword fighting? Will the solution work?"
During those painful days, "accustomed to" and "you have to think" were the common words of Zhang Jialang's IG DM.
(Photo by Li Zetong)
Zhang Jialang said bluntly that February and March this year were a period of "hard work" for him.
How many nights of insomnia, all kinds of problems in life are always uncontrollably entangled in the early morning when only looking at the ceiling, and my mind is noisy and chaotic.
Occasionally DM him on Instagram, and he mostly simply replies with "I'm used to it (add an emoji)" and "Have some thoughts."
He tried to fill all of his life with swordfighting. Every day, he spent 120% of his physical strength on swordsmanship, and then used 120% of his energy to watch the video of swordfighting. At that time, he said, "I will be discouraged when I reach a certain position, but I will continue when I am overwhelmed." I don't think I can hold on to that much, so my insistence is sword fighting." Now I feel: "I can't fight well, I lose my temper, and I'm in a bad mood. Loop has the same question: I'm not suitable for sword fighting? Fight again, fight again. No, it's OK, let's take a day off. It feels like a new day when I wake up, but after a dozen, it's exactly the same."
"Greg gave me a week off for the first two months of the Olympics. I'm really grateful that Greg trusted me so boldly." (Getty Images)
In mid-May, about 60 days before the opening of the Olympic Games, French coach Gregory Koenig (Greg), seeing Zhang Jialang spinning like crazy, decided to grant a week off at a critical moment.
At that time, Zhang Jialang immediately stayed away from fencing. He went to eat, drink coffee and chat with friends every day, and his head was completely shut down for seven days.
In fact, he always knew that nothing was more important than the Olympic Games at the moment. The more than 100 hours of emptying probably gave him the courage to cut off the unnecessary burden.
He described the holiday as "saving my life".
"Difficulties are all for yourself, right? When you reach a position, if you don't want to be annoying anymore, the problem is no longer a problem. Anyway, it's boring and a waste of time."
"Difficulties are all for yourself, right? When you get to a position, if you don't want to be annoying anymore, the problem is no longer a problem. Anyway, it's boring and a waste of time." (Photo by Li Zetong)
In the painful and confused late March, Zhang Jialang went to Doha to play the last World Cup before the Olympics.
The record of being out of the top 16 is by no means bright, but standing on Kendo, he used to feel frightened and timid when he fell behind. For some reason, he did not appear. He almost ignored his opponent and played his own sword moves at will.
Just living this sudden change, he once had an in-depth discussion with Greg: "I asked the coach, shouldn't swordsmanship follow footwork? He said, yes, but it's limited to a certain kind of person, and I'm not that kind. He He told me not to obliterate myself, sometimes I can easily attack, so I don’t have to follow my footwork, I can just run up, he thinks I have to create my own sword strike.”
The coach threw out this answer. Zhang Jialang was suspicious, but he finally believed it, and grasped the "crazy fight" in the final preparation stage after a week off.
Others sometimes think that he picked up the foil "chaotic", but he insisted: "It's not a random fight, it's work, it's comfortable, and I know what I'm doing." After trying the "crazy" version , He also mastered the law of freedom of movement, and practiced some sword moves and tactics that belonged to Zhang Jialang.
This is not only a matter of technology and tactics, but also a game of mentality.
(Photo by Li Zetong)
The result of "OK" is the Olympic gold medal that Hong Kong has been waiting for for 25 years.
Technique and tactics are of course the keys to making history, but in the Olympic fencing final, kendo, it's a duel for gold or silver.
Just relying on the sword move in your hand, you must never stand in the middle of the podium. As Zhang Jialang said, everyone has skills, and the pre-battle treatment depends on the mentality.
On this, he shared some small snippets:
Before the finals, he and Italian swordsman Daniele Garozzo were in the preparation room waiting for the conference to check their equipment. Garroso, who had entered the final for two consecutive times, kept swinging his body and seized the last chance to warm up.
Just now, Zhang Jialang, who was playing the mobile game "Wild Brawl" with his teammates in a leisurely manner, sat across from him and looked at his opponent, and thought to himself, "I got it, if I were to post the Olympic finals, I'd have to do a pancake?"
He thought for two seconds, well, let's do it.
"I want to be Yu, but he sees me sitting across from him and looks at him. If I follow Yu, will he know I'm copying him?" The answer with a little innocence makes people laugh, but behind it means a kind of calm and calm, He really felt that playing in the Olympics was no different from playing in Hong Kong's age group competition.
"The term "normal heart" is very broad. You may not know what normal heart is. I will use daily life examples to substitute it. For example, when playing the Olympic Games, it is a grading competition. Anyway, it is a competition. If you win, you will win and you will lose. Said, losing is normal. Losing may be due to poor performance or good performance, but the opponent is better. We must not allow the opponent to play better than ourselves, right? After losing, Gentlemen shook hands and said, "You played well today. It's alright." It's over, that's it."
The real weight of the gold medal?
Zhang Jialang said that to this day, it is still unfamiliar and vague.
(File photo; photo by Gao Shiqi)
Recalling that at 8:30 p.m. on July 26, 2021, Hong Kong, which is 2,800 kilometers away from Tokyo, is not as ordinary as an ageing competition.
It was an unprecedented moment that seven million people looked forward to together. The tip of the sword, which was only 7 mm in diameter, ignited the whole of Hong Kong at 15:11. The Hong Kong people had suppressed their depression for more than two years, and all of a sudden came an emotional flood. .
History is frozen in the photo. Zhang Jialang, who sweated profusely on the Tokyo Olympics podium, looked at the gold medal on his neck, which has since become a mark of Hong Kong.
He always thought that the Olympic gold medal was the addition of another world champion to the Sports Institute. It was as simple as a citizen passing by to read the news at six o'clock. He never thought that the society would respond like this: After the Olympics, the phone was opened, and messages flooded in from all directions. Suddenly, I am everywhere on social networks like a tsunami. Instagram followers are skyrocketing in seconds. No matter how hard I try to reply to DMs, I am still in a state of 99+. The crowd in shopping malls will stop because of my game. People's attention, going out to dinner will be photographed by stamp collecting, a few advertisement photos will become a hot topic, and even the number of floors and rooms at home has become a matter of constant concern for the security uncle.
I remember that night, he sent a voice message: "I don't even know what happened to me. Today, I can't believe it. It's really..." Until today, the introverted and slow-tempered Zhang Jialang has not yet adapted, and only knows that he has taken it. After the gold medal, the second day is a new day. I laughed at him for speaking in an official tone, and he immediately countered, "It's true, if it's not my retirement from IKEA," but he also admitted that he had to reinterpret the world: "I don't think I am a Olympic champion, but I am really an Olympic champion. It takes time to understand the Olympic champion. I think I don’t know, but I don’t know what I don’t know, and I don’t know what to know. In short, I need to understand. But, will it be Ming is better than Ming?”
It is said that growing up is a novel that can only be read in retrospect.
When time makes you stronger, you will realize the weight behind the 556-gram gold medal, because the sweetness, happiness, fulfillment, doubt, jealousy, jealousy, and depression in the novel are all yours The heat source is also your big adventure life.
Further reading:
Interview with Zhang Jialang | Zhang Jialang explained the key moment of winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics, winning tactics and winning mentality
Open the novel, it is Zhang Jialang's growing memory (press the picture)
+8
Time will eventually make you a stronger person in the trials of happiness, consummation, jealousy, jealousy, and depression.
(Photo by Li Zetong)
Review Zhangjialang's Belgrade performance:
Foil World Cup｜Zhang Jialang stops in the top 8 and Kogoni is out in the first lap