Sun Yingsha: “I'm quite proud of myself being able to be a role model”

 

The 21-year-old world number 1, Olympic team gold and singles silver medallist, opens up about inspiring her peers.

这位21岁的世界第一，奥运会团体金牌和单打银牌获得者，公开了她对同龄人的激励。

 

 

What do you do when at age 21 you've already won Olympic and World Championship team gold medals and become world number 1? Would you embrace your position and the responsibilities that come with it?

That's a question that China's Sun Yingsha has had to answer after finally reaching the peak of table tennis – first for seven weeks in February and March 2022, then again since July this year.

Speaking to Olympics.com via the ITTF, the 2018 Youth Olympic Games gold medallist acknowledged the added attention and pressure her achievements have brought, admitting it came at a level which she was not prepared for.

"It's true that people have paid more attention to me and have expectations for me more than I thought they would," Sun says keenly.

But it's something she has grown into.

当21岁的你已经赢得奥运会和世界锦标赛团体金牌并成为世界第一时，你会怎么做？你会接受你的地位和随之而来的责任吗？

这是中国的孙颖莎在最终达到乒乓球的顶峰后不得不回答的问题--先是2022年2月和3月的七周，然后是今年7月以来的再次。

这位2018年青奥会金牌得主通过ITTF向Olympic.com发表讲话时，承认她的成就带来了更多的关注和压力，承认这是她没有准备好的水平。

“人们对我的关注和对我的期望确实比我想象的要多。”孙颖莎敏锐地说道。

但这是她已经成长起来的事情。

 

Sun Yingsha on being a motivation for her peers

孙颖莎谈成为同龄人的动力

 

For Sun, the biggest impact of her success has been connecting with her peers – so to speak. While Sun has had a life scheduled around her table tennis training regiment, others her age will not have had the same exploits.

Being world number 1 and finding out about her reach, therefore, has been a validating experience for Sun.

"There are times I think some people might pay attention, or might know who I am, but there are probably more people who do than I think," she explains. "They may be the same age as me. Some may be in university, some may be taking exams.

"Sometimes before the college entrance examinations, I actually think even though I'm not in the same career as them, I feel the same pressure and the same tension (from competitions). I actually understand them very well, so I think I'm quite proud of myself being able to be their role model."

Sun admits having seen videos where young adults in her age group are asked about people who inspire them, and hearing herself as the answer – saying that, in turn, motivates her.

"I come across students my age being asked who their idol is or who inspires them and they say 'Sun Yingsha'," she reveals.

"They may say that I motivate them and things like that, and I'm very happy that within my peers and those younger than me, I'm inspiring them, and at the same time encouraging myself more and more."

对孙颖莎来说，她的成功最大的影响是与她的同龄人建立联系--可以这么说。虽然孙颖莎的生活是围绕着她的乒乓球训练计划进行的，但与她同龄的其他人不会有同样的经历。

因此，成为世界第一并发现她的影响力，对孙颖莎来说是一种有效的经验。

她解释说：“有些时候，我认为有些人可能会注意，或者可能知道我是谁，但可能有比我想象的更多的人知道。他们可能与我同龄。有些人可能正在上大学，有些人可能正在参加考试。”

“有时在高考前，我其实觉得即使我和他们不是同一个职业，我也会感到同样的压力和同样的紧张（来自竞争）。我其实很理解他们，所以我觉得自己能够成为他们的榜样，我也挺自豪的。”

Sun承认曾看过一些视频，在这些视频中，她这个年龄段的年轻人被问及激励他们的人，而听到自己的回答--说这反过来激励了她。

她说：“我遇到与我同龄的学生被问及谁是他们的偶像或谁激励了他们，他们说‘孙颖莎’。”

“他们可能会说我激励了他们，诸如此类的事情，我很高兴在我的同龄人和比我年轻的人中，我正在激励他们，同时也越来越鼓励我自己。”

 

Sun's advice for others

Sun对他人的建议

 

Sun – who won silver medals in singles at both the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games behind team-mate Chen Meng and the 2021 World Championships behind another fellow Chinese, Wang Manyu – has settled into being a role model well.

Asked to provide advice for her peers as well as junior table tennis paddlers coming up through the ranks, the Hebei province native readily delves into a monologue of guidance.

"If you really love the sport of table tennis, I hope you can persevere and you will do your best. Don't feel like when you encounter difficulties that you will give up easily. Of course, that's normal and there are people who will think about giving up if they encounter difficulties," Sun begins.

"Of course, it's normal to lose confidence in yourself after you encounter setbacks. But I hope you and persevere."

Sun adds: "When I run into difficulties, the first thing is to calm myself down – whether that's in life, or playing table tennis.

"Of course, in table tennis, there is always someone who loses, and of course they will be in a bad mood. I try to not let one defeat or any small things influence or affect me, or make me think that I'm incapable of achieving things.

"The person you trust most is yourself. Only you can be sure of yourself."

孙颖莎--在2020年东京奥运会上，她在队友陈梦身后获得了银牌，在2021年世锦赛上，她在另一位中国同胞王曼昱身后获得了银牌--已经很好地适应了作为一个榜样。

当被问及为她的同龄人以及正在成长中的青少年乒乓球运动员提供建议时，这位河北省人很容易就进入了指导的独白。

“如果你真的热爱乒乓球运动，我希望你能坚持下去，你会做到最好。不要觉得当你遇到困难时，你会轻易放弃。当然，这很正常，有的人遇到困难就会想到放弃。”Sun开始说到。

“当然，遇到挫折后对自己失去信心也很正常。但我希望你和坚持下去。”

Sun补充说：“当我遇到困难时，第一件事就是让自己冷静下来--无论是在生活中，还是在打乒乓球时。”

“当然，在乒乓球比赛中，总有一些人输了，当然他们的心情也会不好。我尽量不让一次失败或任何小事影响或左右我，或让我认为自己没有能力实现的事情。

“你最信任的人是你自己。只有你能确信你自己。”

 

Who influences Sun Yingsha?

谁影响了孙颖莎？

 

We've heard a lot about how Sun feels being able to influence, inspire, and motivate others – but who played that role for her?

The Chinese player has been given the nickname the "Little Devil" for her style of play, calling to mind another fellow Chinese great who came before her with a similar nickname.

"My idol is Ning-jie (Zhang Yining); reversely her nickname was Big Devil," Sun shares, using a polite honorific meaning "older sister" to refer to the four-time Olympic gold medallist Zhang.

"So I feel I've actually always been learning from her, including her previous competitions – going over her past results, including in big competitions. Since there are now so many video sites, I often watch the matches myself, and study them."

The 21-year-old is appreciative of her nickname, and says she will continue to strive to be like her own inspiration.

"No matter what my fans nickname me, they are showing me their fondness. But I hope I can still be down-to-earth and be as outstanding a player as Ning-jie was."

我们已经听到了很多关于孙颖莎如何感受到能够影响、启发和激励他人——但谁为她扮演了这个角色？

这位中国球员因为她的比赛风格而获得了“小魔王”的绰号，让人想起在她之前的另一位拥有类似绰号的中国同胞。

“我的偶像是宁姐（张怡宁）；反过来说，她的绰号是大魔王，”孙颖莎分享道，用一个礼貌的敬语，意思是“大姐”，指的是四届奥运会金牌得主张怡宁。

“所以我觉得我实际上一直在向她学习，包括她以前的比赛--翻阅她过去的成绩，包括在大型比赛中的成绩。因为现在有这么多的视频网站，我经常自己看比赛，研究他们。”

这位21岁的选手对自己的绰号表示赞赏，并表示她将继续努力，像自己的灵感一样。

“无论我的粉丝给我起什么绰号，他们都在向我展示他们的喜爱。但我希望我仍然能够脚踏实地，成为像宁姐那样出色的球员。”