Premature Start Decides the Fate
On the night of September 30, the women's speed climbing final at the Nagoya Asian Games ended with intense emotions and unexpected results. Chinese Zhou Yafei, who had been dominating the event, was disqualified for a false start and finished in fourth place.
Indonesian Desak Made Rita Kusuma won the gold, while her compatriot Deng Lijuan took silver by just 0.002 seconds.
Athletes' Reactions
During the interview, Deng Lijuan couldn't hold back tears. Zhou Yafei struggled to contain her emotion, with a choked voice as she explained what happened.
“My toe lifted before the signal. The sensor is very sensitive and the penalty came immediately,” said the Zhejiang athlete, taking full responsibility for the mistake.
Context and Preparation
Zhou Yafei reached the final after an impeccable campaign, but faced recent difficulties. She had overcome a fever days before the event and acknowledged that her body was not at its best.
Even so, she decided to risk everything at the start, which ended up costing her dearly.
Looking to the Future
The 23-year-old climber highlighted that the mistake will serve as a lesson. “I will adjust my training exactly in this part of the start,” she stated.
She also recalled that there are still many competitions ahead, including world events and the Paris Olympics.
- Train the precision of the start
- Study rivals' techniques
- Maintain confidence through intensive training
Zhou Yafei believes that the current setback can turn into motivation to achieve even faster times in future challenges.