The latest Olympic hero for China is not even a gold medalist.Fu Yuanhui is popular for simply being herself -- unafraid to show her unfiltered, wacky facial expressions and candid words.Her smile lit up the deck as she took a victory lap with the bronze medal around her neck for her performance in the 100-meter backstroke. She didnt care that it wasnt gold, even if her country has long pushed athletes to get to the top of the podium.As if to prove the point, she thanked herself.I want to tell myself that ... your perseverance and efforts in the past have not been in vain, Fu said. Though I didnt win first place, I have already surpassed myself.Her candor -- paired with animated facial expressions -- is a rarity among Chinese elite athletes, who have spent so much time in the rigid state sport system that their vocabulary is often robotically limited by the state parlance that puts the countrys honor and national pride first.Just six years ago, a senior Chinese official chided short-track speedskater Zhou Yang for failing to thank the country first and only mentioning her parents after winning gold in the 1,500-meter event at the Vancouver Olympics.For decades, the Chinese public has been obsessed with Olympic gold medals but turned their nose up on anything less than the top spot on the podium. They even were downright cruel to athletes who failed to win gold and considered it a shame to come only second.The adoration piled upon Fu as her followers on social media swelled to nearly 5 million from 56,000 this week, the latest sign that China is moving away from the gold-medal mentality and starting to respect sportsmanship and athletes as individuals.The Chinese society has indeed changed. We still have the collective desire to remain first-class in the world, but we are respecting individual rights, opined the state-run newspaper Global Times -- known for its nationalistic stance -- on Fus soaring popularity.Although Fu Yuanhui is an exception, it marks changes in the generation of younger athletes. The echoing applause by the Chinese public marks a shift in the societal awareness, wrote the editorial, suggesting that Chinas politics is partly to be blamed for the restraints and reservation often exhibited by Chinese athletes.Born in an average family in the prospering eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, Fu began to swim at 5 when her parents hoped the water exercise could improve her health and alleviate her asthma, according to a 2015 Chinese media report. Her talent emerged, and the girl was recruited into the municipal swimming team. Considered a genius in the pool, Fu competed in London but came home empty-handed. Unabashed, she reportedly joked she had drunk enough of the foot-washing water of other swimmers.Fu apparently has not considered the Olympic gold a must in her swimming career, a departure from state athletes who are tasked with winning for the sake of the country.On her 20th birthday in January, she posted this on her social media account: I know for what I live. I know the kind of life I want. Its simple. Joy. Loving Heart. Gratitude.This is what I want. Being outstanding or not, it does not matter.Her parents also put no pressure on her.We set no goal for her, but whats important is to enjoy the process and to be happy, her father, Fu Chunsheng, told local media in 2013. But theres one principle that she should feel no regret when she looks back on this experience after 10 years.It doesnt look like she will. The swimmer claimed she used primordial force in Rio, and the term became an instant meme in Chinas social media. And her exaggerated expression of surprise in learning her speed has gone viral:Incredible. I am that fast? she said. I am very satisfied. Nike Tn Femme Blanche .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. 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Sikki Reddy says that her new partnership with Ashwini Ponnappa was formed with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as the ultimate goal and the Asian Games two years hence as the first step.Sikkis decision to team up with Ashwini came after the latter broke up with Jwala Gutta, three months after they competed at the 2016 Olympics. Jwala has called time on her womens doubles career and Sikki - currently ranked 111 in womens doubles and 23 in mixed doubles - hopes she will be able to take her place in the partnership with Ashwini.One month back, our Malaysian doubles coach Kim Tan Her, Gopi bhaiyya, Ashwini and I had a discussion and we decided to pair up. Of course, 2020 Tokyo was a reason but that is too far away, four long years, and we want to just focus on the smaller events now, Sikki told PTI.We are a scratch pairing so we have no ranking. We have to start with smaller events and make our way up. I hope we can gather some good ranking points and then target the Super Series and big events. 2018 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games will be the immediate targets for us.Sikki and Ashwini will be playing the Scottish Open (Nov 23-27), Welsh International (Nov 30-Dec 3) and Irish Open Dec 7-10) this year before combining again at the Malaysia Masters (Jan 17-22) and Syed Modi International (Jan 24-29) next year..ddddddddddddSpeaking about the partnership, Ashwini said: When I started with Jwala, I had zero exposure to international badminton but it is not the case with Sikki. She is experienced and has done well in mixed doubles. She has played super series events. So I think we will not take much time to gel well.The 23-year-old Sikki is left-handed like Jwala. Sikki said that being left-handed give her an additional advantage.Being a lefty is a big positive as I have got a lot of variations in my strokes. Of course, she has more experience in womens doubles and needs to guide me and believe in me, said Sikki, who had clinched the 2016 Brazil Grand Prix with Pranaav Jerry Chopra in mixed doubles.Asked how different is their combination from her pairing with Jwala, Ashwini said: There are few things which are quite different; Sikki and me can rotate more than before. If I move towards the net, she can cover the back of the court and vice versa.But we need to work on our strengths and weaknesses and it is going to be a great learning experience for the initial year for us, added Ashwini, who will also be pairing up with K Nanadagopal in mixed doubles in the upcoming three events. Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Stitched Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2020 Cheap NFL Jerseys China Jerseys NFL China Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '