In the Beijing time zone on July 29, the women's soccer team's match against Haiti has been down for 24 hours, but one figure has been overlooked in the midst of the revelry.
The forgotten hero is none other than women's soccer defender Yao Wei. Her heroic performance deserves our appreciation - facing the opponent's shot, she successfully blocked the goal with her face. Her eyes were red and swollen during the post-match interview.
Zhang Linyan was undoubtedly the star of the game, receiving praise from opponents and coaches, while Wang Shuang was honored as the Most Valuable Player. However, whenever the stars in the spotlight are praised, there are always players who quietly give their best who are forgotten. Yao Wei is one of them.
Let's not forget Yao Wei's feat of clearing the ball with her face. In the 62nd minute, with the score deadlocked at 0:0, the Chinese women's soccer team was in danger of conceding a goal. Goalkeeper Zhu Yu and attacking players failed to arrive in time, leaving Yao Wei alone at the back. Facing a barb shot from the opponent's core 6, she bravely blocked the ball with her face.
Yao Wei clearly sees that her body can no longer dodge in time, so she chooses to meet the attack with her face. We saw that her right eye was red and swollen, and her forehead and nose were also red from the kick. Not only is her face injured, but her eyes have also suffered serious injuries.
Once upon a time, the men's soccer team had similar behavior of dodging the ball, and Fu Huan and Zhang Linpeng did so more than once. And now, women's soccer players are proving their bravery with their actions. Women's basketball, soccer and volleyball teams always touch us, and rightfully so.
Even though 24 hours have passed, not many people are paying attention to Yao Wei. It's human nature to choose to dodge a flying ball, but Yao Wei deserved that national team jersey. At the time, she even received a yellow card for that action. You can imagine how serious the damage was to her face. Theoretically, women should pay more attention to their appearance, but when facing a strong opponent, her instinctive reaction was to use her face to fend off the goal. So, if it was the Chinese men's soccer team, would they have the same subconscious action?
Looking back at the performances of Fu Huan, Zhang Linpeng and Wang Shenchao in the national team, especially Fu Huan's dodgeball move, we cannot help but wonder why Yao Wei's efforts failed to attract widespread attention for so long. It is necessary to focus once again on this feat by the Chinese women's soccer team and reflect on the previous shortcomings of the national team in dodging the ball.
