The Chinese badminton men's doubles pair Liang Weikeng (right) and Wang Chang competes in the final at the Paris Olympics on August 4 (XINHUA)

It's another summer belonging to the Olympics. Beijing resident Zhang Yuhao is a badminton enthusiast and fan of China's national badminton team. He said the badminton men's doubles final on the evening of August 4 took him back to the London Olympics 12 years ago.

"It's just a bit disappointing that they ultimately missed the mark, but it doesn't matter. These two athletes are still young, and there's plenty of time for them," Zhang told Beijing Review.

The young athletes he talked about, China's two 23-year-old players Wang Chang and Liang Weikeng, fought fiercely but ultimately lost to their opponents 1-3 to claim the silver medal.

"I see the 'Fengyun band' in Liang and Wang," Zhang said.

Twelve years ago, Zhang travelled to the UK to watch the badminton men's doubles final at the 2012 London Olympics. "When the 'Fengyun band' won the gold medal, I could hardly hold back my tears," he said. "Their unyielding spirit, years of striving and tacit understanding as partners were really touching."

True badminton doubles legends, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng, are called the "Fengyun band" for two reasons. One is that their playing style, which is as unpredictable as the wind and clouds, has contributed to their outstanding achievements in badminton; the other is that their names are homophones of the words wind and clouds, with yun meaning cloud, and feng meaning wind.

The doubles events in every Olympic Games always attract special attention. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team China once again dominated multiple doubles events such as diving, shooting, badminton, table tennis, and synchronized swimming.

These events, featuring elements such as tacit cooperation, aesthetic appeal and frequent interactions between the athletes gripped fans, who shared their fondness of the doubles teams on social media.

Déjà vu

As athletes born after the year 2000, Wang and Liang earned acclaim on social media for winning the silver medal in their Olympic debut.

The duo began their partnership in 2022. It took them only one year to rise from the 444th place on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) ranking to the top three in the world, and then to the topmost position at the end of 2023. With their superb skills and strong psychological resilience, they are hailed as the successors to the "Fengyun band" and have high expectations from fans.

In the videos of their past matches, regardless of the outcome, they are always cheerful and never complain about each other. Wang also said multiple times in the live broadcast after the Paris Olympics, "Liang makes me feel very secure on the court because I know there's a teammate protecting me from behind."

However, there are still stumbling blocks to overcome before further progress. "After all, they are young players born after 2000. It's understandable that there will be ups and downs in the competition," Zhang said. "I hope they will fulfill their dreams in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028."

Moon and tides 

Paris Olympic diving champions Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi have also been wooed by both traditional and social media.

In the relentlessly competitive arena, the two athletes compete for the same medals, but their ambition and desire to win do not tear them apart as friends; instead, they bring them closer together.

At this Olympic Games, Quan won the gold medal in the women's 10-meter platform diving with a total score of 425.6 points, becoming the youngest triple gold medalist in Chinese Olympic history. Chen bagged the silver medal in this event, behind by 4.9 points. After the competition, Quan ran to find Chen, and they hugged tightly. "She said to me at that time, 'You're amazing, you're really amazing,'" Quan recalled.

They partnered in the women's synchronized 10-meter platform diving and won this Olympic gold medal, achieving the seventh consecutive Olympic championship for China in this event. From the side view, their movements in the water were perfectly synchronized, like one person.

In the run-up to the Paris Olympics, Quan experienced the growth spurt that all female diving athletes go through. Her height increased by 7 cm, and her weight also increased by about 7 kg. She therefore came to understand the difficulties Chen had faced during her preparation for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Yao Ye, a coach at a swimming pool in Beijing who has been following the diving competitions, told Beijing Review, "It's not that only by defeating each other can one be considered a winner or valuable. Instead, it's just like: Because I won, I can better understand the disappointment of not standing on the top of the podium, and we are the same."

From the Tokyo Olympics to the Paris Olympics, over three years, the Chinese diving twin stars, Quan and Chen, have grown as fans have watched.

Chen, born into a sports family in Shanghai, started training in diving at the age of 6 and was selected for the Chinese National Diving Team at 14. Quan, two years younger than Chen, was born into a rural family in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province. She was selected for the Zhanjiang Sports School at the age of 7 and began training in diving.

At the Tokyo Olympics, 14-year-old Quan quickly gained recognition. Her achievements, personality and inspiring story became hot topics of discussion.

This year's Paris Olympics have further boosted Quan's popularity both domestically and internationally. The Paris Olympic Organizing Committee hailed her as the "Diving Queen."

After the Tokyo Olympics, coaches paired Quan and Chen as partners for the synchronized diving event.

The two are top female athletes in the 10-meter platform event, but while they have demonstrated exceptional skills in individual competitions, synchronized diving requires extreme coordination and synchronization between the two partners, necessitating long-term collaboration and practice.

Between Tokyo and Paris, the pair took the women's synchronized 10-meter platform gold medal in every international competition.

Working with a strong competitor like Quan has motivated Chen to "hold onto the determination to never give up." She hopes to jump as high, flip as fast, and execute moves as beautifully as her partner. At the 2023 Fukuoka Swimming World Championships women's 10-meter platform diving final, Chen's five dives were nearly perfect, not only setting a personal career-high score but also achieving the feat of winning three consecutive world championships.

"I want to walk hand in hand with her to the top of the podium," Quan said in an interview with China Central Television before the competition. They are each other's strongest opponents and closest teammates.

They are like two stars that illuminate and compete with each other. Regardless of the final result, they are a pair of dazzling twin stars.

"Without her, my athletic career might not have reached such a high level," Chen spoke of Quan.

There are many stories to tell about these "twin stars" in Team China. At the Paris Olympics, table tennis players Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha once again captured the world's attention with their outstanding performances. They not only demonstrated top-level skills in their individual events but also worked together in the mixed doubles event, using their tacit understanding and excellent performance to win a gold medal for Team China.

The Chinese pair Wang Liuyi and Wang Qianyi won the gold medal in the synchronized swimming duet event. This gold medal is also the first Olympic gold medal in synchronized swimming duet for China.

In the badminton mixed doubles final at the Paris Olympics, the Chinese pair Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, who have been team partners for five years, defeated the opponents to win China's first badminton gold in Paris.

These Olympic twin stars have sweated together and grown together, all the way to shine from the top. 

(Print edition title: Standing as One)

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson

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