Zhoushan teen wrestler strikes gold at China's Youth Games

Zhang Yifan, a 17-year-old wrestler from Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province [Photo/WeChat account: zhoushanwanbao]

Zhang Yifan, a 17-year-old wrestler from Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, recently won the gold medal at the men's international wrestling 71kg preliminary (Group B) of the second Youth Games of the People's Republic of China, which is the first national gold medal that any Zhoushan native has bagged in the sport of wrestling.

The games, held every four years, acts as qualification for the following year’s Olympic Games, which, in this case, is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Coming from Baiquan town, Dinghai district, Zhang was picked out by Ge Haiwei, a wrestling coach at the Zhoushan Youth Sports School when he was about only seven years old. 

Zhang was later selected into the provincial wrestling team and now participates in the training of the national team. 

"He is called 'Little Cannon' by others as he shows fierce strength in matches," said Ge, adding that watching Zhang wrestle in action is an enjoyable experience. 

Young as he is, Zhang has already bagged five gold medals in provincial wrestling competitions.

"He has huge potential in the wrestling field, considering that he will be only 18 when the Tokyo Olympic Games take place and 22 even when the next one comes round," said Ge.

Zhang Yifan wins the gold medal at the men's international wrestling 71kg preliminary (Group B) of the second Youth Games of the People's Republic of China. [Photo/WeChat account: zhoushanwanbao] 

The Zhoushan wrestling team has cultivated many outstanding wrestlers since it was reshuffled in 1998, and grabbed the public’s attention when Jiang Yuan, a team member, took home a wrestling championship at the sports championships of Zhejiang province in 2010. Many local parents have been sending their children to the team ever since.

"There are now more than 20 members in our team. With another training gym of our school to be built soon, we will have two such gyms. I hope more and more children will come to love wrestling," said Ge.

The Zhoushan wrestling team takes part in the 2018 Zhejiang Sports Championships [Photo/WeChat account: zhoushanwanbao]