In the early hours of August 3rd, in the mixed doubles final at the Paris Olympic Games, the Chinese pair Zhang Zhiwen/Wang Xinyu narrowly lost to the Czech team and won the silver medal. This was the first time that China had participated in the mixed doubles event in the Olympics, making history.
In an interview with Xinmin Evening News after the match, Zhang Zhiwen’s father, Zhang WeiHua, said that he stayed up late into the night watching his son’s mixed doubles final and couldn’t fall asleep for a long time afterwards.
Zhang WeiHua said, “It’s a bit of a pity, just short by a little, both teams had their chances, but it came down to the very end. However, winning silver is already quite good, as the opponents were very strong.”
Zhang Zhiwen comes from a sports family in Shanghai; his father, Zhang WeiHua, was a famous central defender in Shanghai’s football scene during the 1980s and 1990s, having played for teams such as Shanghai International and Qingdao Hainiu. His mother, Qin Wei, was an outstanding shooting athlete.
When asked previously why he did not go to watch his son play on-site, Zhang Zhiwen’s father, Zhang WeiHua, said, “I considered it for a long time, but decided not to, so as not to distract him. Besides, what if something didn’t go well when I was there? The psychological pressure on athletes can be quite significant.”