Guo Yan Lied About Her Injury Hoping To Keep A Place In London

The Chinese Women Team had a rather difficult situation before the Olympics as they had to undergo substitution in the Singles lineup. Guo Yan was replaced by Ding Ning due to an injury.   

"When an athlete faces an injury, he or she is actually helpless. This kind of worry is greater than the fear of losing." Guo Yan said. 

Even before this year's World Team Championships in Dortmund, Guo Yan was already feeling pain in her arm. In fact, looking back, it was quite unexpected that Guo Yan was able to participate in the Closed Training for Dortmund and the World Team Championships itself. 

Despite pain, Guo Yan chose to hide the injury from the team in order to hold on to her chance to play in the championships. However, her actions can only give her a certain amount of benefit. On the other hand, Guo Yan had to endure the pain on her own and act normal in the matches. This actually gave the coaches some kind of confusion. 

"I cannot dare talk to coach Shi but when it was really painful then I talked to coach Yan. Later, coach Yan asked me directly if I was just afraid of losing in the arena that is why I told him about the injury." Guo Yan smilingly revealed. Because of what happened, Guo Yan was able to drag her arm through the end of the Dortmund Championships. 

However, when the team returned to Beijing, Guo Yan had her arm examined and the result was that there was a problem on her tendons and eventually needs to be operated. At this point, Shi Zhihao was already informed about the situation. This eventually led Guo Yan to miss her chance to play in the Olympics as she was replaced by Ding Ning. 

As turning 30 this year, the London Olympics could probably be Guo Yan's last chance. In an interview, Guo Yan said that the Olympics is her dream. Although she still hasn't achieved her dream, the veteran believes that her efforts are all worth it. Because of this dream, Guo Yan was able to experience many things including her ups and downs. At the end of the day, Guo Yan is still thankful for the Olympic Games. 

Photo source: big5.xinhuanet.com