不知從何時起,乒乓球和羽毛球賽場成了中國人獨領風騷的圣地。包攬所有冠軍也成為了中國國家隊已經實現的夢想。不過,“中國包攬”現象卻引來越來越多的擔憂和爭議。今年五月,繼世乒賽中國包攬所有項目桂冠后,蘇迪曼杯賽場上,中國隊又以壓倒性優勢衛冕,關于“中國包攬”的討論又空前激烈。這個八月,羽毛球界的另一盛事—世錦賽又要開鑼,中國國家隊的表現必定又成為世界評論的焦點。
Having won every title going at the"world table tennis championships, China—as widely 1)predicted—wrapped up the Sudirman Cup world team badminton championships in equally 2)emphatic fashion.
That after Chinese athletes pocketed 51 gold medals at last year’s Olympics to finish top of the medals table for the first time.
Outside China, players, coaches and fans agree that as the Asian country grows richer, it is likely to increasingly dominate sports such as badminton and table tennis, in which it has traditionally been strong.
But what they cannot agree on is whether this is good for the sports themselves, while even the Chinese are beginning to wonder if, in some disciplines at least, they have become just too good.
“It’s dangerous,” Cai Zhenhua, the country’s most senior table tennis official, said after seeing China secure yet another clean sweep at the world table tennis championships, in 3)Yokohama, Japan. “If one association keeps winning everything, it’s good for that association but it’s not good for the sport.”
Even before China saw off South Korea 3-0 to win badminton’s 4)biennial Sudirman Cup—they have now won the 5)prestigious trophy three times in a row—there was disquiet about their supreme domination in that sport as well.
“I don’t think anybody thinks that domination’s a good thing,” said Tom Bacher, president of Badminton Europe. But Bacher said he did not think China’s rapid development would automatically lead to further sporting success, saying that the rising standard of living could lessen the 6)incentive to pursue a sporting career.
Raphael Sachetat, chief editor of the Badzine.info"website, said he feared badminton would lose popularity if China continued to dominate—and ultimately that may mean the sport being thrown out of the Olympics. However, Sachetat 7)conceded that China’s success could only improve levels of play throughout the sport as other nations worked harder to catch up.
Maijol Mahap, Malaysia’s usually 8)reticent badminton team manager, said after seeing his side taken apart by China that he feared the game would become “boring” if the Chinese kept on winning.
But not everyone agrees China’s supreme domination in badminton is negative.
Several players at the Sudirman Cup from lower-ranked nations said the Chinese players could not be blamed for raising the bar and that it was up to the rest to try to catch up.
“We are really in awe of the Chinese players’ ability so it is not a negative thing, it’s up to us to train harder and to learn from them,” said Scotland’s Gordon Thomson, 23, a singles player.
A young player from Singapore said, China’s success was partly due to its huge pool of players, while the Chinese also train very hard.
One glimmer of hope for the chasing nations is offered by Cai Zhenhua, who said success carries with it responsibility. “It’s our duty to offer the secret of our success to the world,” he said.
繼在世界乒乓球錦標賽上贏得所有項目的冠軍后,如眾人所料,中國憑借各個單項的巨大優勢再捧蘇迪曼杯世界羽毛球混合團體錦標賽的
冠軍。
在此之前,去年的奧運會,中國運動員將51面金牌收入囊中,首次登上獎牌榜的首位。
中國之外,參賽選手、教練和球迷都持相同的看法,認為隨著中國這個亞洲國家日益強盛,它很可能會在羽毛球和乒乓球這類傳統優勢運動項目上逐漸取得主導地位。
但他們意見不一的是,這對于這些運動項目本身是否一件好事,甚至連中國人也開始疑惑,至少在某些方面,中國是否真的好得過分了。
“這很危險,”蔡振華——中國乒乓球界最高級別的官員,在看到中國在日本橫濱再一次成功橫掃世界乒乓球錦標賽各項桂冠后如是說:“要是一個國家總是贏下所有的項目,對于這個國家來說是件好事,但對于這項運動而言卻并非如此。”
即使是在中國以3比0擊敗韓國贏得兩年一度的蘇迪曼杯前(至此中國已經連續三次奪得了這個榮譽獎杯),中國在這個項目的超級優勢已經引起一些人的不安。
“我想沒有人會覺得統治性優勢是件好事。”歐洲羽聯主席湯姆·貝奇說道。但貝奇表示,中國的快速發展不會自然而然地讓中國取得更多運動上的成功,因為生活水平的提高會削弱追求運動生涯的決心。
著名羽毛球網站Badzine.info主編拉斐爾·薩謝塔說,如果中國繼續保持統治地位,他擔心羽毛球的普及性會被削弱——最終可能意味著這項運動會被奧運會拋棄。不過,薩謝塔也承認中國的成功會讓這項運動整體水平得到提高,因為其他國家一直在奮力追趕。
邁祖爾·瑪哈普馬來西亞這位平時沉默不語的羽毛球領隊在看到自己的隊伍被中國打得落花流水后說,如果中國一直這么贏下去,他害怕這項比賽會變得很沉悶。
不過,不是所有人都認同中國在羽毛球方面的超級統治地位是消極的。
在蘇迪曼杯比賽上幾個來自低級別國家的選手說,中國運動員不應該因為提高了該項目的門檻就受到批評,而應該是其他人要努力追趕。
“我們確實非常敬佩中國選手的能力,所以那并不是件消極的事情,關鍵在于我們要加倍刻苦訓練并且向他們多加學習。”23歲的蘇格蘭男單選手戈登·湯姆森說道。
一位年輕的新加坡選手說,中國的成功部分歸根于他們龐大的運動員儲備,同時,中國運動員的訓練也非常刻苦。
蔡振華為其他奮起直追的國家點燃了希望之光,他指出成功應該伴隨著責任。“向全世界提供我們的成功之道是我們的責任。”他說道。
