Complete the formation!, The Chinese team needs to use smart strategies to hold the ball and run, approaching the Hangzhou Asian Games: the game of the brave
Editor's note: The Hangzhou Asian Games opened on September 23rd and will close on October 8th. The Chinese sports delegation recently announced its overall goal for participating in the Hangzhou Asian Games - to achieve both sports results and spiritual civilization.
Jiefang Daily's Shangguan News City Affairs Channel and the School of Journalism and Communication at Shanghai Sport University jointly launched a column titled "Approaching the Hangzhou Asian Games" to experience the five major characteristics of the Hangzhou Asian Games: "Green, Intelligent, Humanistic, Simplicity, and Benefiting the People", witness the charm of Asian sports athletes, and experience the "high school entrance examination rhythm" of Chinese sports soldiers simulating their preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
On September 24th, the seven-a-side rugby event of the Hangzhou Asian Games began. Since officially becoming an Asian Games event at the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998, rugby has entered the sight of Asian people through athletes repeatedly throwing and catching. What is seven-a-side rugby and what is the level of the Chinese national team?
Deep cultural heritage, this is the game of the brave
![Complete the formation!, The Chinese team needs to use smart strategies to hold the ball and run, approaching the Hangzhou Asian Games: the game of the brave](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/721c803aaf65cd754eddd9d5547678af.jpg)
Deep cultural heritage, this is the game of the brave
Rugby began in 1823, formerly known as rugby, also known as English rugby. Rugby is divided into 15 player, 10 player, and 7 player teams in terms of the number of participants. The rugby events of the Olympic and Asian Games both adopt a seven player system. Rugby entered the Asian Games before the Olympics, and the 2016 Rio Olympics was the first appearance of rugby since its return.
Xinhua News Agency
Xinhua News Agency
Since its inception, rugby has been known for its combination of strength, speed, bravery, tenacity, intelligence, and teamwork, making it a highly ornamental ball sport. In China, rugby started in universities in the 1990s and became an official sports event on May 24, 1996.
![Complete the formation!, The Chinese team needs to use smart strategies to hold the ball and run, approaching the Hangzhou Asian Games: the game of the brave](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/24a7740e8935e1f263f95d3e7aa8320c.jpg)
Daily training for Shanghai rugby team. The players gathered in a circle and shouted, "Shanghai! Come on!" Photo by Haishaer
Daily training for Shanghai rugby team. The players gathered in a circle and shouted, "Shanghai! Come on!" Photo by Haishaer
The seven-a-side rugby competition of the Hangzhou Asian Games was held from September 24th to September 26th at Hangzhou Normal University, resulting in a total of 2 gold medals.
The men's and women's representative teams of the Chinese sevens rugby team have successfully entered the main tournament of the Hangzhou Asian Games. The men's team is placed in Group D, in the same group as the UAE and Afghanistan teams; The women's team is divided into Group E, competing with Thailand and Kazakhstan for qualification.
The men's and women's representative teams of the Chinese sevens rugby team have successfully entered the main tournament of the Hangzhou Asian Games. The men's team is placed in Group D, in the same group as the UAE and Afghanistan teams; The women's team is divided into Group E, competing with Thailand and Kazakhstan for qualification.
![Complete the formation!, The Chinese team needs to use smart strategies to hold the ball and run, approaching the Hangzhou Asian Games: the game of the brave](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/5b4cd941c040b41495f1e153a9e42f9b.jpg)
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fei Maohua
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fei Maohua
In 1997, China formed its national rugby team. In 2002, China sent its first rugby team to participate in the Busan Asian Games and achieved fifth place. Subsequently, China's seven-a-side rugby has made significant progress in its development over the past 20 years.
Chinese rugby sevens is on the rise. The women's team won silver at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, and won gold at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games; At the Tokyo Olympics, they defeated the Japanese team with a score of 29-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals, creating the best record in Chinese rugby sevens Olympic history. They gradually established themselves in the first tier of the Asian women's rugby team. The men's team won a bronze medal at the 2006 Doha Asian Games and finished third in multiple Asian Championships.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xue Yubin
![Complete the formation!, The Chinese team needs to use smart strategies to hold the ball and run, approaching the Hangzhou Asian Games: the game of the brave](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/60cc3614e513e58b071e02113e5c4f31.jpg)
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xue Yubin
The development of Chinese rugby sevens is rooted in the soil of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, and is closely related to Hangzhou, the host city of the Asian Games.
In terms of talent cultivation in rugby, Liu Xiaoqian and Gu Yaoyao, who have achieved the best results in Olympic history, are both from Shanghai. They studied at Shanghai Sport University and are currently the main members of the Chinese women's rugby team.
Xu Hui, a rugby coach at Shanghai Sport University, has over 20 years of experience in English rugby. He utilized unique tactical thinking and coaching philosophy to cultivate more than 40 national level athletes and more than 20 national team members for our country. Shanghai is becoming an important transportation hub for Chinese rugby talents.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li He
![Complete the formation!, The Chinese team needs to use smart strategies to hold the ball and run, approaching the Hangzhou Asian Games: the game of the brave](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/e2fe69d0f1d77a94acd0c31f0d08aa61.jpg)
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li He
At the strategic level of rugby development, Hangzhou established the Rugby Sports Association as early as 2016. The first Rugby Development Seminar in 2018 was held in Hangzhou, with the core theme of "Hangzhou Rugby Future Base on Campus". The aim was to establish a college rugby league and encourage more young people to participate. Afterwards, fun football summer camps, football training centers, and football training camps emerged one after another, and talent cultivation and industry chain standardization gradually and gradually laid the foundation for the long-term development of Hangzhou rugby.
On June 2, 2023, the three-day "Charm Hangzhou" National English 7-a-side Rugby Championship kicked off at the Cangqian Campus Stadium of Hangzhou Normal University. This standardized 400 meter comprehensive track and field field, covering an area of 56000 square meters, has attracted 19 teams from various provinces and cities across the country to participate. 395 athletes and 45 technical officials experienced the field firsthand, and the west side audience seat, which can accommodate 12000 spectators, has been opened. This competition is the final test of the Asian Games rugby tournament and a confident display of the achievements of Hangzhou's rugby development over the years.
On September 24th, the group stage competition for the seven-a-side rugby event at the Hangzhou Asian Games began. The schedule is tight, and on the morning of September 25th, the men's group's round of 8 knockout stage will begin, while the women's group will directly participate in the semi-finals on the afternoon of September 25th. The final two gold medals for this project will be determined on September 26th.
![Complete the formation!, The Chinese team needs to use smart strategies to hold the ball and run, approaching the Hangzhou Asian Games: the game of the brave](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/6dd6eb3870102348025e24f587ccddb6.jpg)
Competing in the Asian Games is a comprehensive game
Xinhua News Agency
On July 8, 2020, Chinese women's rugby team members underwent warm-up training. On that day, a simulated match preparing for the Tokyo Olympics was held at the Jiangning Football Training Base in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. The Chinese women's rugby team trained at the base defeated the Jiangsu men's rugby youth team with a score of 27-12.
Xinhua News Agency
On the first day of the game, the Chinese men's team will face a single day double match, playing against the Afghan team and the United Arab Emirates team, which is a severe test of their physical reserves and tactical accumulation. The UAE team is an old rival of China's men's football team and also the main competitor of China's men's team at the Hangzhou Asian Games. The Chinese team only achieved a record of 1 win and 3 losses against the UAE team in the 2022 season. The UAE team drew with the eventual champion Hong Kong team in the group stage to a score of 19-19, and their strength cannot be underestimated.
![Complete the formation!, The Chinese team needs to use smart strategies to hold the ball and run, approaching the Hangzhou Asian Games: the game of the brave](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/e07ce711fd08e96fabe9ce12c2397a04.jpg)
The Chinese women's team also made their debut on the first match day of September 24th, facing the Kazakhstan team; Then on September 25th, they faced another opponent in the group stage, the Thai team. As for the group stage, the Chinese team faces less pressure to advance, and the biggest highlight of the competition may still be the multiple "China Japan showdowns".
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xue Yubin
On July 30, 2021, Chinese team player Tang Minglin played in a match. On that day, in the women's quarter finals of the rugby sevens at the Tokyo Olympics, the Chinese team lost to the French team.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xue Yubin
In the lineup of the Chinese women's team, there are several experienced veterans worth paying attention to. One is Chen Keyi, who excels in fake movements and sharp breakthroughs. She had a brilliant performance at the 2022 Rugby Seven World Cup, leading the Chinese team to a 21-19 victory over the host South African team and being named the Most Valuable Player of a Single Match. She will undertake the task of "destroying cities and removing strongholds" for the Chinese team.
![Complete the formation!, The Chinese team needs to use smart strategies to hold the ball and run, approaching the Hangzhou Asian Games: the game of the brave](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/76d34e2fba72c8fefcae4c87900b20f5.jpg)