Chapter 1423 Li Dan

"The next gymnast to compete is Li Dan from mainland China, the "Prince of World Gymnastics"!'

'At this Asian Games, he has already won two individual gold medals and one team gold medal, and now he is aiming for a fourth gold medal!'

'...'

At Xia Yu's home, the slightly excited voice of the commentator came from the TV.

Xia Yu, who was taking care of her baby, and her family couldn't help but pay more attention.

From September 20th to October 5th this year, the 10th Asian Games were held in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

According to statistics, a total of 4,797 officials and athletes from 27 countries and regions participated, with athletes competing for 269 gold medals in 25 events.

From the end of September to the beginning of October, there are usually not many major entertainment events in Xiangjiang. Coupled with the fact that in recent years, under the leadership of Xia Yu, the atmosphere of advocating sports in Xiangjiang has been soaring.

This time, Xiangjiang has also sent the strongest lineup ever to participate in the Asian Games.

Therefore, Global TV has obtained the broadcasting rights of the Asian Games and created a great atmosphere, which has made the people of Xiangjiang pay great attention to the Asian Games.

Irene and the others who are at home naturally will watch the Asian Games to eliminate some of the irritability of taking care of the baby for a long time.

Global TV belongs to Xia Yu, and as the Macau delegation was not excluded, the focus of Global TV was naturally on the Hong Kong and mainland delegations.

During the live broadcast, the commentators often mentioned the historical achievements of the athletes competing.

So after watching the competition for so many days, it was natural for Elena and the others to know that Li Dang was one of the most outstanding athletes in the mainland.

In the past, Li has won gold medals in the men's team, individual all-around and floor exercise events, and is currently ranked second in the individual gold medal standings, behind India's sprinting queen Usain Bolt.

Of course, if Li can win another gold medal in the rings competition, he will be tied with Usain Bolt for first place in the gold medal standings.

With such a background and Li's popularity, the ratings for this competition are extremely high!

"Honey, do you think Li can definitely win the gold medal in the rings?'

Kumiko Sumito asked Xia Yu, her eyes twinkling as she held her daughter Siqi in her arms.

'Of course he can. The rings are his strong suit, and the International Gymnastics Federation has named several difficult moves after him.'

'The other day, the newspaper even had a sensational headline: 'As soon as Li Dang appears, even if God were to come to the gymnastics arena, he would only win, never lose.

'Haha...'

Xia Yu chuckled, and his gaze returned to the television screen.

Sure enough.

Li Dang performed his signature move directly, scoring a super high score and leaving the second place far behind.

Ten minutes later...

'Li Deng has won. With absolute dominance, he has once again won the gold medal in the rings event, after the 9th Asian Games in 1982!'

'At this Asian Games, Li Deng won 3 individual gold medals and 1 team gold medal, tying with India's sprint queen Usha for first place with 4 gold medals!'

The excited voice came from the television.

Xia Yu and the others all smiled.

After that, there was naturally the award ceremony, with the five-starred red flag raised, the national anthem played, and the staff presenting him with the award.

Even Xia Yu was moved by this scene.

However...

When he saw Li Dan wearing the gold medal, the logo on his chest made Xia Yu subconsciously frown.

'Honey, what's wrong?'

Li Qian, who was looking at Xia Yu, noticed Xia Yu's abnormality and asked with concern.

'It's just that I saw the uniform of the Chinese national team, and the logo on it is from Nike USA.'

Xia Yu's brows relaxed and he spoke slowly, but his mind was racing with thoughts.

In the field of sports, he really lacked a sporting goods company.

Although there is Nanshan Health Technology Co. in the field of sports equipment, it focuses on sports equipment and has not ventured into sporting goods such as clothing and footwear.

And the well-known marathon supply chain in Asia is also just a retailer of sporting goods, not a manufacturer.

Recalling further, the uniforms of the Hong Kong delegation participating in the competition were sponsored by Umbro, the most famous British sportswear brand.

It really doesn't make sense that a country as big as China, with a market of one billion people, doesn't have a single decent sportswear brand.

Xia Yu looked at the TV screen again and saw Li Deng's figure disappearing after he came off the field. He couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

On 5 October, the Asian Games in Seoul officially came to a close.

This time, the gold medals were almost all won by the mainland, South Korea and the island countries.

The mainland won 94 gold medals, 82 silver medals and 48 bronze medals, totalling 222 medals, ranking first in both gold medals and medals.

Next came the host country, South Korea, with 92 gold medals, 55 silver medals and 74 bronze medals, totalling 221 medals. South Korea came second in terms of gold medals and total medals, but the difference was not great, and you could tell that the South Koreans were feeling the pressure.

The island country came third, with 58 gold medals, 76 silver medals and 77 bronze medals, totalling 211 medals.

It is worth mentioning that Hong Kong won 4 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 5 bronze medals.

It ranked 6th in the gold medal standings and 9th in the total medal standings!

This is a historic achievement, living up to the contributions to sports made by Xia Yu, Huo Yingdong and Bao Yugang, and the Hong Kong government's tilting of resources towards the field of sports over the years.

Naturally.

After returning to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong team enjoyed supreme glory.

In order to further stimulate the sporting enthusiasm of the people of Hong Kong, at Xia Yu's behest, the Hong Kong government stepped in to present the returning athletes with wreaths and distribute bonuses.

Gold, silver and bronze medalists were awarded bonuses of 200,000, 100,000 and 50,000 respectively, which were not to be sniffed at!

This huge sum of money not only stimulated the athletes, but also changed the public's perception of them.

It can be predicted that in the future, more people will enter the field of sports. Four gold medals will not be the pinnacle, but a new starting point.

Just as Hong Kong was celebrating,

Li Dang, who had just returned from Seoul to the mainland and received praise from the leaders of the sports department, hurriedly boarded a plane to the south to Pengcheng, Guangdong Province, under the leadership of Wei Min, deputy director of the State Sports Commission and head of the delegation.

The two of them did not rest in Pengcheng before going to Hong Kong without stopping.

Of course, it was Liu Zhihe, head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, who led Wei Min and Li Dan to Hong Kong.

As the ship crossed the sea, Li Dan, who was only 23 years old, still felt a buzz in his head, wondering who this Mr Xia was that Wei Min and Liu Zhihe had mentioned almost a hundred times.

To him, Wei Min and Liu Zhihe were both very high-ranking leaders, but now they were being rushed to Hong Kong by the two leaders because Mr Xia from Hong Kong had mentioned that he wanted to meet them.

In fact, not only him, even Wei Min, as the deputy director of the International Sports Committee, was still a little confused at this time.

He was a former male athlete, and even though he has now entered politics and reached the top of the sports department, he is still very isolated in terms of information and is not sure about Xia Yu's energy.

But he was able to get the word from above that this trip is an important political task, and he must pay close attention and cooperate fully.

Such a serious tone put him under enormous pressure.

'Director Liu, tell me again, just who is this Mr Xia?'

'What exactly did he want with Li Dang this time?'

Wei Min asked Liu Zhihe again for advice.

Liu Zhihe said to him with a serious face, 'Director Wei, Mr Xia's identity is very complicated. Let me briefly explain.'

'In Hong Kong, his word is law, and the Governor of Hong Kong has to listen to him.'

'He is also the most outstanding Chinese in the world and the most reliable friend of our party. Overseas, his influence is comparable to that of a president, and he is also a guest of honour at the tables of the leaders of countries such as Britain, France and the United States.'

'He has made a huge historical contribution to our country.'

'Do you understand?'

Wei Min's eyes widened, and he subconsciously swallowed, a little afraid and apprehensive, he said, 'Director Liu, this Mr Xia is so powerful, will his temper be?'

Seeing that Wei Min was scared, Liu Zhihe's expression relaxed and he revealed a smile, saying, 'You can rest assured about that. Mr. Xia has a very good temper, and as long as I'm here, you don't need to feel any pressure.'

After speaking to Weimin, Liu Zhihe also kindly said to the stunned Li Dang, 'Li Dang, you too, don't be stressed. Mr Xia specifically asked to see you. This is a great honour. There are billions of people in the country, and not many of them can get Mr Xia's attention. This is definitely a life-changing opportunity for you.'

'Oh, okay,' Li Dang hurriedly nodded in response.

Liu Zhihe couldn't help but smile when he saw his appearance.

He also wondered what Xia Yu wanted with Li Dan.

Just then, the ship was about to dock, and Liu Zhihe didn't have time to continue pondering. He told the staff to get their things ready and prepare to go ashore.