Chapter 417: Raising the National Flag and Singing the National Anthem

Chapter 417: Raising the Flag and Singing the National Anthem

The judo team, and indeed the entire Weightlifting, Wrestling, and Judo Center, had great confidence in Meng Fan’s abilities. They might have held back a bit before assembling his team, but afterward, their faith was absolute.

If there was anyone in the world who could stop Meng Fan from winning the gold, after much deliberation, it would be the French legend Teddy Riner—a nine-time world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist with a decade-long unbeaten streak, the undisputed king of the event. In the eyes of the Weightlifting, Wrestling, and Judo Center, he was the only one who could pose a threat to Meng Fan.

When the draw was announced and Meng Fan was placed in the same group as Teddy, the coaching staff grew tense. This meant one of them would inevitably be eliminated in the semifinals and miss the final.

To be honest, before Meng Fan emerged, the men’s judo team would have celebrated just having a competitor reach the quarterfinals in the heaviest weight class. But after Meng Fan appeared, even a bronze medal would feel like a disappointment.

Of course, no matter the regret, if he actually won a bronze, it would still be a cause for celebration. Meng Fan had already made history by reaching the quarterfinals.

Now history was advancing, and by a huge leap. In the semifinals, Meng Fan defeated Teddy Riner, the strongest ever in the heaviest weight class, in less than a minute, advancing to the final!

A silver medal—at the very least, a silver medal!

He had skipped straight past bronze!

Yet, once the referee declared Meng Fan the winner by ippon, everyone knew that no matter who emerged from the other half of the bracket, they couldn’t stop Meng Fan from taking gold!

If even Teddy Riner was crushed by an overwhelming advantage, who could possibly stir up any trouble under Meng Fan’s hands?

The answer was clearly no one!

Both the men’s and women’s heaviest weight classes had entered the Olympic finals—something Chinese judo had never even dreamed of before. The women’s team had always had the strength to win medals, but the men’s team had never made it past the quarterfinals.

This time, two silver medals were already secured. The chance of winning one gold and one silver was very high, perhaps even certain. Winning two golds was also possible, especially since Yu Song was in excellent form for this Olympics.

However, winning the women’s gold was still a challenge. Yu Song’s opponent was already confirmed—another French athlete. French judo had become incredibly strong since Teddy Riner’s rise, with a clear advantage in the heavier weight classes, for both men and women. If they produced a couple of strong competitors in the lighter classes, they could even threaten Japan’s dominance!

Of course, that wasn’t happening in this Olympics. Japan, as the host nation, already dominated the sport, and with home-field advantage, their edge was even more pronounced. So far, Japan had won six golds, two silvers, and two bronzes, taking ten medals from the twelve completed events—a testament to their terrifying strength!

In the women’s heaviest weight class, Japan’s advantage wasn’t as strong, and they were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Otherwise, they could have placed their home athlete in a weaker half of the bracket, just like in the men’s event.

In the men’s event, there was a chance to compete for medals. The silver medalist from the previous Olympics was Japanese, but this time, Japan sent Kato Taro, a different athlete in peak form, instead of the previous silver medalist. His half of the bracket was relatively weaker, especially since the strongest king and the strongest dark horse were both in the other half. With his strength surpassing that of the previous silver medalist, after Meng Fan’s half finished, he easily advanced to the final, securing a silver medal.

Speaking of Teddy Riner, after he got up from the mat and his defeat was announced, he shook hands with Meng Fan with a smile on his face, though it was a complicated one.

“You’re really someone who makes me both love and hate you! I was planning to retire after this Olympics, but it seems I have to keep going!”

Teddy said this to Meng Fan as they shook hands, his tone carrying a strange, inexplicable pride, not caring whether Meng Fan understood.

Meng Fan, with his smart translator, understood perfectly and responded with a smile: “I hope you won’t leave me lonely for too long.”

That tone was more than a little proud.

Amid the applause and cheers of the audience, the two left the mat.

“Well done!”

Judo head coach Xiao Yunlin had a lot to say, but could only manage that one phrase.

After defeating Teddy, Meng Fan felt a sense of relief despite his pride. He, too, had considered Teddy the biggest obstacle to winning gold, but he had underestimated the power of his own advantage. Relaxing a bit, he joked to Xiao Yunlin: “Why are you crying? If you’re crying now, what will you do when I win the gold?”

Over this period, both Hu Cunyong and Xiao Yunlin, these two old men, had been quite endearing. As for Director Zhan, his hearty laughter every day was infectious, even to Meng Fan, who had a magical smile himself.

“You little rascal!”

Xiao Yunlin, tears in his eyes, gave Meng Fan a punch and laughed: “If you win the gold, you can throw me around all you want!”

Meng Fan smiled: “I’ll try to go easy.”

The two chatted and laughed as they left the venue with the technical advisors, heading to the rest area. On the way, Meng Fan naturally waved toward the Meng and Wu families, as well as Zhang Wei and the others.

“Uncle! Uncle!”

Little Nanshan, seeing Meng Fan wave in their direction, shouted even louder. But the distance was far, and the surrounding noise and applause were overwhelming, so Meng Fan definitely couldn’t hear him. Of course, the little guy knew that, but he couldn’t help shouting anyway. His voice was getting a bit hoarse today.

The other family and friends nearby were equally excited. Wu Ji was there too, explaining the situation on the mat and who the opponent was—a wild, impromptu commentator who knew more than the professionals.

The Chinese audience in the Nippon Budokan was in high spirits. From morning until now, every time Meng Fan and Yu Song stepped onto the mat, they erupted with the most intense screams and applause, as if they were about to exhaust all their passion in that moment. Yet, they kept it up for the next round.

During the two women’s bronze medal matches, the Chinese audience finally got a chance to rest. Then they got excited again, because the women’s heaviest weight class gold medal match was about to begin—Chinese athlete versus French athlete.

Yu Song was in remarkably good form. Even against her old rival, who had beaten her in all three previous encounters, she was full of confidence and fought aggressively. Within the first thirty seconds, she forced her opponent to receive a shido penalty, and then another at 1 minute 28 seconds. This forced the French athlete to break her usual rhythm and adopt a more aggressive approach. If she couldn’t score a waza-ari within the next two and a half minutes, she would lose by points and settle for silver.

The women’s match lasted four minutes.

The contest became thrilling, with both athletes launching attacks, their techniques wide and open, making for a highly entertaining spectacle.

Around 2 minutes 40 seconds, the French athlete seized an opportunity to execute a tomoe nage on Yu Song, scoring a waza-ari and taking the lead on points.

But just after the three-minute mark, Yu Song tripped the French athlete with a ko-uchi-gari, and the French athlete, in turn, pulled her down, starting a ground fight.

Based on past performance in ground techniques, Yu Song was definitely inferior to the French athlete, who excelled in this area. However, things took an unexpected turn. Yu Song gained control and applied osaekomi, and the timer on the screen began counting.

5 seconds!

10 seconds!

15 seconds!

20 seconds!

Just past 20 seconds, those familiar with the rules stood up. Even if Yu Song didn’t hold for 25 seconds to win by ippon, she would still get a waza-ari. With one waza-ari and two shido penalties against her opponent, and little time left, Yu Song’s chances of winning were very high.

24 seconds!

25 seconds!

In the end, the French athlete couldn’t escape Yu Song’s hold. At 25 seconds, the ippon condition was met!

“Ah!”

Hearing the referee’s whistle, Yu Song released the French athlete, knelt on the mat, raised her arms, and roared. Her expression was more intense than tears of joy. She wasn’t crying from happiness; she was so excited that she forgot everything. She just wanted to scream, to pour out all her strength until she was breathless, to let her mind go blank and savor the moment.

She had waited so long for this gold medal!

“We won! We won!”

Yu Song’s women’s coach jumped up from the sidelines, embracing the technical advisor and Xiao Yunlin tightly. Xiao Yunlin was crying again.

After Yu Song’s roar and the referee announced the end of the match, Yu Song shook hands with the French athlete. Her coach rushed onto the mat first to hug her and celebrate the victory.

Then came the award ceremony and the flag-raising ceremony.

Just this scene alone was enough for the Chinese audience watching. There was no need for sentimentality—most people, hearing their national anthem and seeing their flag rise in the Olympic arena, felt one thing: tears. Two things: pride. Three things: proud tears.

To be honest, most people had come for Meng Fan, hoping he would lead them to see the flag raised and hear the national anthem sung together. But Yu Song had brought such a wonderful surprise, staging this moment ahead of schedule!

After watching, listening, and crying, it was time to rest. During the two men’s bronze medal matches, they took a good break, because there was more excitement to come.

If they could sing the national anthem twice in the same day at the Olympics, that would be a story to tell for a lifetime!

“Thank you!”

Yu Song returned to the rest area with her coaching staff. She was emotional and grateful as she hugged Meng Fan. During the base training and pre-competition preparation, Meng Fan had given her a lot of guidance and advice. Before the match and during breaks, he had constantly encouraged her. His words and voice had strengthened her resolve and boosted her confidence, putting her in unprecedented form.

Well, from a certain perspective, Meng Fan had also acted as a psychological counselor. The infectious power of his voice had that effect. Of course, the prerequisite was that Yu Song had the strength to contend for gold. Meng Fan just helped her dispel the psychological shadow of three previous losses to her opponent, giving her a mental spa to smooth her path to victory.

(End of chapter)