"Come on Li Qiaoqiao! Come on China!" At 2 pm on October 5, the cheers were louder and louder than ever in the Hangzhou Linping Sports Center Gymnasium, where the Hangzhou Asian Games Karate Women's Kumite-68kg competition was held. Li Qiaoqiao, who was trained and sent by Taizhou, represented the Chinese team and passed all the way from the quarter-finals, and finally defeated Laura Alikul of Kazakhstan 4:0 to win the championship.

In the first three games, Li Qiaoqiao won overwhelming victories of 5:0, 3:0, and 9:0, respectively. At 2 minutes and 56 seconds into the semifinals, Li Qiaoqiao knocked down her opponent and hit an effective hit, taking the lead in reaching an 8-point margin of victory, ending the game early. In the final, Li Qiaoqiao faced Kazakhstan's Laura Alikul, who won 7:4 and 5:1 in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively.

At 5:30 pm, the gold medal game officially started. At the beginning, the two sides were in a stalemate and testing each other. At 58 seconds, Li Qiaoqiao forced her opponent into a corner and hit her in the head with a lightning strike. At 1 minute 23 seconds and 1 minute 34 seconds, during the confrontation, Li Qiaoqiao found the opponent's flaw and scored another 2 points! At 2 minutes and 11 seconds, facing the opponent's violent attack, Li Qiaoqiao looked for the gap while moving flexibly and punched again, 4:0!

"3-2-1" As the countdown ended, the audience burst into thunderous applause. Li Qiaoqiao once again blocked the opponent and won the karate women's kumite-68kg championship!

After the game, Li Qiaoqiao ran around the field excitedly wearing the national flag. "I'm very excited. Everyone is shouting my name, which makes me very powerful!" This is not only Li Qiaoqiao's first Asian Games gold medal, but also the first gold medal won by the Chinese team in karate. Talking about the record, Li Qiaoqiao said that winning was not as easy as it seemed: "In fact, we encountered old opponents today. We all know each other's tactics, so we have to use our strengths and avoid weaknesses."

“Qiaoqiao has a good figure, 1.8 meters tall, has longer punches than ordinary players, and has strong long-distance control ability. When she is close, she can kick and throw. The throwing method is relatively rare in women's karate. She can often catch her opponent by surprise. This is her nuclear weapon. "Li Qiaoqiao's coach Hong Junwu said.

In order to prepare for the Asian Games, Li Qiaoqiao participated in major domestic and foreign competitions this year and achieved excellent results. In April, she won the women's kumite - under 68 kg championship at the 10th East Asian Karate Championships and the International Women's Karate Open in Torrelavega, Spain. In July, at the Asian Karate Championships, she won the silver medal in the women's kumite - under 68 kg category. In September, in the 2023 World Karate Super League, Li Qiaoqiao reached the top eight of the world and defeated the Japanese team's important opponent, which increased her confidence in winning the Asian Games gold medal.

The Asian Games gold medal is just the first step for Li Qiaoqiao. "I hope to achieve good results in the World Championships in more than ten days." Li Qiaoqiao said.

Li Qiaoqiao was a javelin thrower on the track and field team of Wenzhou Longgang Middle School and loved sports since childhood. In December 2016, the "provincial team jointly organized" Zhejiang Provincial Karate Team settled in Taizhou. When Hong Junwu, coach of the national karate team, head coach of the provincial karate team, and coach of the Tiantai County Youth Sports School, was selecting talents across the province, he took a fancy to her potential and recruited her under his command. Li Qiaoqiao became a member of the training team of the Zhejiang Provincial Karate Team. In more than a year after being selected for the provincial karate team training, Li Qiaoqiao's performance improved by leaps and bounds, and she continuously won the championship and runner-up in various national karate competitions.

Source: Tide News

Editor: Zhou Hao