Interview ｜ Prototype Kong Linghui made a rare appearance, and ＂China Ping Pong＂ was awesome!

Special feature of 1905 film network From the extension of the Spring Festival to the re-release, just as the movie poster wrote, I pursued my "comeback against the wind" with the attitude of "not being optimistic".

It’s not easy to make sports movies, and it’s even harder to make them well.moreoverChina Ping PongWhat I want to tell is the story of China’s competitive sports "Ace Teacher" and the world table tennis overlord. Follow the characters to "cross" back to the moment of preparing for the World Table Tennis Championships 30 years ago, starringTimmy Xu、Duan Bowen、Cai Yida、guansen dingIn an exclusive interview with the 1905 film network, I admitted that, like most viewers, I couldn’t imagine where to start writing, which was enough to match the glory of China men’s table tennis.

Cai Yida, Timmy Xu, Duan Bowen, Ding Guansen (from left to right)

In the end, the "Five Tigers" met in the trough before the Jedi counterattack: failure, regret, injury and doubt … … Competitive sports has never been an overnight success. Why can China table tennis become the "strongest king"? They gave the answer with the 1995 World Table Tennis Championships.

Before becoming the "big devil"

The average age of the "Five Tigers" in "China Table Tennis Fight Back" was less than 30 years old when shooting, among which Dong Shuai was even "After 05". Compared with the training in ball skills, it is more important for them to find their own fulcrum close to the role from the real events and prototype characters of the year more quickly and accurately.

At that time, the Five Tigers were a special group of "representatives" of China men’s table tennis. They were not only the strongest players in the whole system, but also the hope and "undertaker" of China table tennis. The five men are different in age and style of play, each with its own characteristics, but the ultimate goal is only one: to help the men’s team play a "turnaround battle" in the shortest time before the World Table Tennis Championships.

It was the most difficult period of table tennis in China. On the one hand, compared with the fast-moving European rivals and the "old rivals" in Asia, our talents had a certain "broken file"; On the other hand, the targeted research on China in tactics by countries all over the world has also made our traditional dominant "first three boards" technology gradually lose its leading position.

The backwardness in concept, experience and training means has made China men’s table tennis fail many times. It was at this time that the "Five Tigers" were assembled by the new coaching staff from all echelons.

Duan Bowen, who plays Huang Zhao, is unanimously recognized as the most similar prototype in China Ping Pong. In order to achieve this effect, he needs to gain 30 pounds while doing a lot of exercise. However, being fat is more than just pursuing superficial "looking like". In the director’s view, this weight has become the "soul" of this role to some extent.

Duan Bowen revealed that Wang Tao played raw rubber backhand, and this time his practice in the film was mainly based on fast break of raw rubber backhand. Nowadays, this technology is not used much in the field, but Wang Tao fought against opponents from all over the world with backhand raw rubber. It is precisely because of "fat" that he has a strong enough core strength to support his own play, and the speed of backhand has become the main "killer" of Huang Zhao in the film.

The similarity between Duan Bowen and the prototype has been recognized by one of the "Five Tigers" and Ma Wenge, the technical director of China Table Tennis. Having really experienced the "lowest period" of China men’s table tennis, the former champion was particularly excited to see this story put on the big screen.

It is an unforgettable and valuable experience for Timmy Xu, who plays this character, to have a prototype directed by the crew at close range.

Before the film was released, his "face-changing" makeup was once on the hot search list, and "I can’t recognize Timmy Xu" became the feeling mentioned by the most viewers. Pull out eyebrows and apply black powder … … However, compared with making an issue of "face", Timmy Xu wants to be closer to the characters from the point of view.

"The change of appearance is only the most basic. The athletes at that time were actually in a different mood from the young people today. I was more (thinking) about feeling their spirit at that time. "

Seeing the "1995 World Table Tennis Championships" again on the set, Ma Wenge, as the technical director, felt that several actors really had the "Five Tigers" status and momentum, and he seemed to recall the feeling of winning every ball in that year. This is the most emotional game: there is excitement in front of the people in my hometown, tension in the face of the final "life and death", and pressure to fight a turnaround for many years.

However, for the actors who experienced this historical moment for the first time and the audience who saw the past behind the Wesling Cup through the lens for the first time, the "Jedi counterattack" presented in China Table Tennis has far exceeded the victory itself.

Looking at this "dream team" that dominates the world, we always have the confidence that "China table tennis will not lose". But at that time, it was more like an endless road and a group of "underdogs" in front of the "Five Tiger Generals". No one knows whether the result of hard work is to win or fail again, so before becoming the "big devil", be an invincible "Xiaoqiang".

It’s never "can’t lose", but it’s not afraid to lose or admit defeat. "If others have practiced for 1000 times, we will practice for 10,000 times", which is the China table tennis spirit that people are most proud of.

Today’s "Ma Long",is the answer of China table tennis for 30 years.

"How far are you from the world champion of the real national team?" During the filming of Ping Pong in China, Ding Guansen, who played the role of Liu Guoliang as the director of his youth in the film, chatted with the members of the second national team who assisted in the filming.

"In my heart, they are already one in a million," Ding Guansen recalled, "but he said,’ Guansen, I tell you, I play with Malone, and you play with Malone, and the result is the same. "Can only score by Malone’s mistakes.

When hearing this sentence, Ding Guansen admitted that he and several other teammates "stood up": "I really realized how cruel competitive sports are. And why can China table tennis be so powerful? Because there have been layers of people trying to go up. "

Ma Wenge, the technical director, including Ding Song and Kong Linghui in the "Five Tigers", once recognized the technical movements of several young people after watching them hit the ball: "The curve and speed of the ball are really real, and the playing posture can’t be exactly the same, but it’s not easy to achieve this level in a short time."

However, during the interview, several young actors "denied" their training achievements for more than 8 months in unison: Do you want to imitate any "killer" in front of the camera?

What I have learned in these months is just the fur in the fur.Through actual combat and training, they actually felt the "China table tennis" inside story, and they also had a completely different understanding of competitive sports and China sports "dream team".

"Director Deng Chao often says that this is not a story about success, but this film is about how to face failure." At the beginning of receiving the project invitation, Timmy Xu, like the vast majority of the audience, could not imagine where the glory of China table tennis should be most convincing.

The special "trough period" 30 years ago became the most suitable entrance.Every word is brilliant, but every word is brilliant: "Only this turnaround in 1995 laid a good foundation for the decades after (China table tennis)." Kong Linghui, who was still a "young player" in the team, said this after learning the story of China Ping-Pong.

Up to now, China has won the Wesling Cup 22 times. In the last 10 World Table Tennis Championships, the China table tennis men’s team has never let this honor fall by.

"Why is table tennis in China prosperous now? It is because so many predecessors were sweating and bleeding at that time, casting our last Great Wall. This history is worth being understood by more people (through this film), and they are the only ones who have table tennis in China now." Ding Guansen regrets.

Competitive sports has never been a smooth sailing "cool article". "When you choose to be an athlete, you choose the most difficult road."

"China Table Tennis" is a complete core of China sports "Dream Team" with its hard work on the field and cruelty outside the field. Now, the success of "Malone" is the most satisfactory answer to China’s ping-pong spirit.