Wu Haiyan told FIFA that they were not idle before the training. Coach Jia Xiuquan asked the team members to train at home and made plans for everyone.
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 17th, FIFA recently published an exclusive interview with Wu Haiyan, the captain of the Chinese women’s football team. She said that she could not wait to get the tickets for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
At present, the Chinese women’s football team is conducting a four-week training in Suzhou. Wu Haiyan revealed that the training was mainly to help players recover their physical fitness and strength. They carried out some warm-up exercises and attack and defense training.
Due to the impact of the new coronavirus epidemic, health and safety are still the top priorities. Wu Haiyan said: “We always wear masks except for training on the court. Each of us has a separate room. When dining in the dining room, everyone has a separate table to keep the distance.”
Wu Haiyan told FIFA that they were not idle before the training. Coach Jia Xiuquan asked the team members to train at home and made plans for everyone.
She said, “because there may not be perfect training facilities at home, we must make full use of the equipment at hand. For me, I will use all the resources around me to train. For example, weight lifting with a weight-bearing bag or jar. Besides, when there are few people outside, I also go jogging.”
This training is the beginning of the key battle for the Chinese women’s football team to compete for the Olympic tickets with Korea Repubilc women team. The play-off was originally scheduled to be held in March, but the competition affected by the epidemic has been postponed again and again.
Wu Haiyan said: “It’s hard to say whether the delay is good or bad for us. As players, we hope to play as soon as possible, because we can’t wait to qualify for the Olympic Games.”
There have been many episodes in the preparation of Chinese women’s football for the Olympic Games. China originally planned to hold group B competition in the Asian region of the Tokyo Olympic women’s football qualifier in Wuhan in February, but the venue was changed twice and finally held in Australia.
Recalling the experience of the qualifier, Wu Haiyan said: “That time was very difficult. We couldn’t train on the court or in the gym as usual. We managed to do some exercises in the hotel.”
Although there are many difficulties, the Chinese women’s football team still exits from Group B. Wu Haiyan said: “unity and cooperation are always the core of our spirit, and difficulties have brought us closer together. As a whole, we jointly deal with challenges and face difficulties.”