Sleepless night in China

[cashew]

Checked out Weibo (Chinese version of Twitter) and it's filled with people suffering from insomnia after the terrible day of losses left and right, with the loss of mixed doubles in table tennis capping everything off as the shittiest loss for the day.

The poor athletes are obviously suffering the most, especially since they desperately wanted to win this, as this was the first time mixed doubles entered the Olympics and they're nearing the end of their competitive career. This was their only chance at getting the mixed doubles Olympic gold. They'll have to settle for silver.

Just you wait, Japan. In three years, we're coming back for that crown and you'll eat dirt. (ﾉಥ益ಥ)ﾉ

Meanwhile, misery loves company, and I'm feeling better after reading how everyone is having a rough time dealing with the loss.

Comments

[tanithryudo]

o_O sounds like too much stress for me to follow. I am glad I haven't been watching... I will just get the summary after everything is over.

Also, if this was a Cnovel, it is probably a supernatural story where the Chinese team is plagued by bad luck due to foreigner voodoo jinxes. =P

[cashew]

At this point, I'm willing to buy into the conspiracy theory that Japan was fucking around with the arena to try to win, which the Chinese coach complained about. (In reality, I can't tell if he's trying to deflect blame or if there really is something weird about the arena that's throwing the players off.)

To be more objective about things, there were two new rule changes that really affected the Chinese athletes: 1) no blowing on the ball; 2) no touching the table during down time. The Chinese athletes use these two methods to de-stress and I think the sudden removal of these relaxation methods really fucked with their mental state.

[tanithryudo]

I'm guessing those new rules are COVID prevention related? From that end, it does make sense. It's easy to say the athletes should've found a more hygienic way to destress, but I would guess habits are hard to break and easy to relapse under pressure.

[cashew]

I'm guessing those new rules are COVID prevention related?

That's the idea, I imagine. Not that the Olympics are very effective at containing COVID since there's been 127 cases as of the 24th, with more to come in the next week.

And yes, ritualized habits are very difficult to break, especially with athletes where the habits serve a key neurological function of priming the brain. Anyone who's tried to not touch their face during this pandemic should feel deeply how difficult it is to change habits.

Edit to add: We're up to 153 cases of COVID in Olympics as of Monday.