China's young champions more confident and open-minded than predecessors
On Monday, 15-year-old Chen Ye won the men's gold medal in the skateboarding park finals at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, grabbing Chinese national team's first skateboarding gold at a large-scale global competition.
Two days later, 13-year-old Cui Chenxi continued to make history, winning the women's street final to become China's youngest Asian Games champion. The Shandong Province native is also the youngest athlete in the Chinese delegation at the Asiad.
Cui Chenxi in action en route to winning the women's skateboarding street final at the Asian Games on Wednesday.
Apart from their young age, this new generation of future Chinese sports stars, with a broader vision, appear to be more confident and open-minded when facing cameras and media compared to their predecessors.
Senior Chinese sports reporters still recall China's star diver Fu Mingxia creating history by winning the platform-diving world championship in 1991 at the age of 12, becoming the youngest diving champion of all time.
She then earned a gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games in Spain when she was just 13 years and 345 days old – the youngest Olympic champion at the time.
Fu Mingxia won two gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games in the United States.
Fu captured her fourth gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in Australia, joining Americans Pat McCormick and Greg Louganis as the world's only quadruple Olympic diving champions.
But that young Fu was shy and cautious in front of the world's media. Shaking her head and saying "I don't know" were her most common reactions when answering questions during the Goodwill Games – her international diving debut – which was held in Seattle, United States, in 1990.
Some of those questions were quite basic like "Do you miss your parents," or "Do you feel tired in training." Fu's reactions left some foreign media confused.
Her cautious demeanor could be the result of instructions from her coaching team, as their aim was to "protect" Fu, and didn't want the teenager to make any mistake when facing the world.
Fu watches a diving event in China's Hong Kong in 2017.
A few years later, after garnering more international competition experience, Fu gradually found it easier to do interviews.
For foreign media, Fu in a way represented the image of China's reform and opening up. Without restraints, she began to show her own personality.
A few decades have passed, China's young athletes now appear to be much more relaxed and straightforward when taking questions and facing the world. This is even more obvious in a young and trendy sport like skateboarding.
Cui Chenxi celebrates her victory with the national flag.
After winning her gold medal in Hangzhou on Wednesday, Cui ran all the way through the mixed interview area without stopping, much to the shock of waiting reporters.
The little girl shouted while running, "I have to go to the bathroom!" which immediately sparked a round of good-natured laughter.
"I always wanted to win gold at the Asian Games," Cui said after her victory.
"I completed 90 percent of what I'd planned," she added. "That trick I missed was really difficult. But my coaches respect my choice, so it's OK if I fail doing the tricks I want to do."
Cui (center) poses on the podium along with compatriot and runner-up Zeng Wenhui (left) and third-placed Ito Miyu of Japan in Hangzhou on Wednesday.
Cui explained that she started roller-skating at a very young age of 3, and picked up skateboarding only three years ago.
"When I initially started skateboarding, I just felt it was quite fun. It was later that I realized you can suffer a lot of injuries in the sport. But that is actually the spirit of skateboarding."
Cui has already set her sights on next year's Paris Olympic Games in France.
"First I will concentrate on getting there, then I can make a big attack," she said.
