What does Li Meng look like? She never hesitated to shoot on the court, whether it was against the wind or against the wind; Life on the court brought all kinds of sharpening, and her smile never disappeared. Strong, lovely, beautiful and tough are all Li Meng.
The bright performance in the women’s basketball World Cup made people more curious about Li Meng. At the end of the game, the smoke of smoke dispersed. At this time, she finally had leisure to sit down and chat with China and new sports about what she saw and felt during the World Cup trip.
Stadium
Women’s Basketball World Cup 1/4 final, China team against France. As one of the world-class strong teams, the French team is not a good opponent, and in this game, their luck seems to be particularly good, and they frequently throw into the extremely difficult immortal ball, winning the first place in the opening stage.
The first knockout match started like this, which is undoubtedly a big challenge to this Chinese women’s basketball. At last year’s Tokyo Olympics, China women’s basketball, who also performed well in the group match, lost to Serbia in the 1/4 final and missed the top four. In the last World Cup, Chinese girls also failed to break into the top four.
At the critical moment, Li Meng stood up. She scored continuously in the second half of the first quarter, helping the Chinese team to reverse the situation on the court. Then, in the face of the opponent’s counterattack, she and her teammates did not hesitate and finally held the victory in their hands. In this game, Li Meng scored 23 points alone.
From the performance on the court, Li Meng seems to have endless energy. But later people realized that she almost relied on perseverance to support the match.
For Li Meng, this is the most unforgettable match in her whole World Cup. In addition to helping the team achieve breakthroughs, but also because of the bad physical condition at that time. After a continuous high-intensity competition, Li Meng began to have a fever, and his body temperature even exceeded 39 ℃ at the most severe time.
“The physical discomfort really made it hard for me to focus on the field, but I still held the belief of winning and did it.” Li Meng said that such a painful experience impressed her deeply.
Whether he had suffered serious injuries twice or such a painful moment with illness, Li Mengdu gritted his teeth and survived. Her smile was cheerful, not because she had never suffered pain, but because she could overcome it.
Team
After defeating France, China will face Australia in the semi-final women’s basketball. However, Li Meng’s high fever has not retreated. She had dreamed that countless opportunities were near her eyes, but in order to protect Li Meng, the team decided not to let her participate in the following competitions.
This is a big blow for Li Meng and the whole team. Li Meng said that it was undoubtedly a pity that she could not participate in the competition, but her teammates made her feel very warm.
“Before we set off in Australia, teammates came to me and asked me to give them energy. They said to me, ‘you can rest assured to get sick, and leave the rest to us and trust us. ‘Let me feel the warmth of the collective. After the match, they all came to my room and said to me, ‘we won’. Everyone is very excited.” In retrospect, Li Meng still smiled happily.
On the evening of September 30, Beijing time, in the semi-finals of the 2022 Women’s Basketball World Cup, China defeated Australia women’s basketball 61:59 women’s basketball and stood on the final stage of the women’s basketball World Cup again after 28 years.
In the unfavorable situation of Li Meng’s absence, China won the opponent by two points women’s basketball and entered the World Cup final. The last time China entered the World competition finals women’s basketball, it dates back to 28 years ago. At that time, many players in this women’s basketball were not born yet. It was a glorious history they had never experienced, but there was always something that lasted across history.
“Fearless, I think this word is a reflection of the spirit of Chinese women’s basketball. No matter under what circumstances, women’s basketball has always been fearless, not afraid of any difficulties, not afraid of failure, and we are not afraid of strong enemies.” This is what Li Meng sees as China’s women’s basketball.
In the end, China lost to the US team in the final women’s basketball and won the second place in the World Cup. After the final, Li Meng wore a white T-shirt with the names of all the teammates who participated in the training.
Li Meng said that the last person standing on the podium was 12 players, but everyone women’s basketball made his own contribution during the preparation process. “Although they can’t stand on the podium in person in the end, I also want to let them feel the collective power in this way.”
On October 1, Beijing time, the 2022 Women’s Basketball World Cup ushered in the final decisive battle. After four battles, the more powerful US women’s basketball won the competition 83:61, and China won the second place women’s basketball.
Future
After finishing the World Cup journey, Li Meng got a full rest and her body had basically recovered. She was still Li Meng who always hung a smile on her face.
After chatting, she was cheerful and lively, sincere and frank. She is no different from other girls in doing beautiful manicure and wearing pink clothes. The difference is that Li Meng and her teammates shoulder the expectations of Chinese fans.
Breaking into the final of the World Series again gives fans more room to imagine the future of China’s women’s basketball. Li Meng also believes that China’s women’s basketball hopes to impact better results. “Because we have reached a very mature time in terms of age structure and techniques and tactics, and we are also approaching the world’s top teams. We will try our best to create our own history.”
When it comes to the mountain that needs to be climbed over in the United States women’s basketball, Li Meng is also gushing. Obviously, the girls have not less research on this powerful opponent.
“Through these two matches with American women’s basketball, we can feel the gap with the world’s top teams, not only in physical confrontation, but also in the competition for ball rights. Women’s basketball in the United States have strong personal ability, balanced personnel strength in all positions, and strong bench depth. We are different from them in terms of technical and tactical literacy.”
Li Meng’s outstanding performance in the World Cup made many fans look forward to her landing in a high-level league in the future. Being able to fight against powerful opponents is also Li Meng’s dream. But at present, she chooses to be down-to-earth and slowly go to the distance.
“After the World Cup competition, I found a lot of things that I need to strengthen, and I will train my personal ability on these issues in a targeted manner. I think we should do ourselves first.”
(Text/Zhongxin sports reporter Wang Hao)