The Best Hit
作者：王子诚 陈庆霄 时间：2023-10-05 09:23
October 4th, 2023 witnessed the soft tennis match of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, in which Japan defeated Chinese Taipei by the score of 2-1.
Soft tennis, which originated in Japan in 1884, differs from regular tennis in that it uses soft rubber balls instead of hard yellow balls, making the match more lasting therefore more attractive. Played primarily in Southeast Asia, the sport was first included in the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games as an official event. Actually, if it were not for the Asian Games, many people around the world would not have heard of this niche sport. “It really struck me that such a sport that I've never heard of could be so interesting,” said a spectator.
Fighting its way through, Japan gained a narrow victory by 2-1. Seeing the athletes doing their best in the game with beads of sweat over their foreheads, Koudai Hori, the director of Japan's soft tennis team, couldn’t help clapping his hands as they came to victory. As the birthplace of soft tennis, there are more than 400,000 enthusiasts in Japan and it is regarded as a daily workout, according to Mr Hori. “It's happy to see the traditional sports of my motherland to be spread worldwide.”
As for their opponent Chinese Taipei, despite their failure and sadness, their coach has a positive point of view. “Even though we lost, we have played our games,” noted Professor Zhuang Yanhui, current mental coach of the Chinese Taipei team. “Some people would probably get insane about not getting the gold medal, but the three years' training has surely taught us something beyond just winning or losing.”
He thought they would be mistreated in China, but the truth turned out to be completely the opposite. For the heart-warming attitude and high standards of facilities in Hangzhou, “I'd say it's the best hit we've ever had!”, said Mr. Holi.
It works the same as all the competitors actually. After all, it is the cultural communication between different regions and the Olympic spirit of dedication and cooperation that truly makes the soft tennis match the best hit.
Soft tennis, which originated in Japan in 1884, differs from regular tennis in that it uses soft rubber balls instead of hard yellow balls, making the match more lasting therefore more attractive. Played primarily in Southeast Asia, the sport was first included in the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games as an official event. Actually, if it were not for the Asian Games, many people around the world would not have heard of this niche sport. “It really struck me that such a sport that I've never heard of could be so interesting,” said a spectator.
Fighting its way through, Japan gained a narrow victory by 2-1. Seeing the athletes doing their best in the game with beads of sweat over their foreheads, Koudai Hori, the director of Japan's soft tennis team, couldn’t help clapping his hands as they came to victory. As the birthplace of soft tennis, there are more than 400,000 enthusiasts in Japan and it is regarded as a daily workout, according to Mr Hori. “It's happy to see the traditional sports of my motherland to be spread worldwide.”
As for their opponent Chinese Taipei, despite their failure and sadness, their coach has a positive point of view. “Even though we lost, we have played our games,” noted Professor Zhuang Yanhui, current mental coach of the Chinese Taipei team. “Some people would probably get insane about not getting the gold medal, but the three years' training has surely taught us something beyond just winning or losing.”
He thought they would be mistreated in China, but the truth turned out to be completely the opposite. For the heart-warming attitude and high standards of facilities in Hangzhou, “I'd say it's the best hit we've ever had!”, said Mr. Holi.
It works the same as all the competitors actually. After all, it is the cultural communication between different regions and the Olympic spirit of dedication and cooperation that truly makes the soft tennis match the best hit.