Chi Lizhong: Strong psychological qualities help Olympic athletes perform well

Xinhuanet, Beijing, August 9th. On the 8th, the 17-day 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games came to an end. The Chinese sports delegation achieved an excellent result of 38 gold, 32 silver and 18 bronze medals, achieving a double harvest of sports achievements and spiritual civilization, and won honor for the motherland and the people.

In addition to placing extremely high demands on athletes' skills, tactics and physical fitness, fierce sports competitions also put great tests on athletes' psychological qualities and psychological control abilities. Chi Lizhong, deputy dean of the School of Psychology at Beijing Sport University and doctoral supervisor, said that participating in the Olympic Games is far more meaningful than individual sports events. Therefore, participating athletes and coaches need to face and endure greater psychological pressure and challenges during preparation, training and competition. Facts show that my country's Olympic athletes fully demonstrated psychological qualities such as self-confidence, calmness, tenacity, and concentration in the competition, as well as superb pressure adaptation and coping abilities, which are inseparable from the psychological quality training that athletes receive on a daily basis.

Chi Lizhong said that the pressure that athletes who prepare for and participate in the Olympic Games may face usually comes from: fear of failure, worry about possible negative social evaluation, competition anxiety caused by uncertainty in the situation, and psychological adaptation difficulties caused by disruption of routines. In addition, compared with previous Olympic Games, the Tokyo Olympic Games have received more attention, and the preparation and participation process contains greater uncertainty. In addition to the postponement of the competition schedule and other event arrangements, there are also some adjustments in the competition procedures and rules that need to be adapted. Therefore, it takes more energy and professional guidance to enhance the psychological quality of athletes and improve their psychological regulation ability.

In the process of preparing for the Olympics, the mental state of athletes may fluctuate as the competition date approaches and their competitive state changes. Chi Lizhong said that on the one hand, athletes and coaches can make adaptive adjustments or changes based on their own experience and actual training and preparation; on the other hand, they can also rely on the support and help of sports psychology professionals. The competition is thrilling, and pre-match preparation must also be meticulous.

Coaches attach great importance to the adjustment of athletes' psychological state in both pre-match preparation and during the game. Chi Lizhong said that before the game and during on-the-spot command, coaches not only provide technical and tactical guidance to athletes, but also provide psychological support and guidance to athletes to help them build confidence and reduce stress; during the game, coaches will also cheer off the court and use the pause time to give athletes guidance, encouragement, and tips.

As a sports psychologist, Chi Lizhong combined his own experience and said that when providing psychological support services, the following work is usually carried out: holding a series of psychological lectures to help athletes understand the knowledge and methods of confidence building, stress coping strategies, attention control, etc.; carrying out psychological skills training, such as guiding and leading athletes to conduct imagery training, relaxation training, suggestion training, mindfulness meditation training, etc.; carrying out group and individual psychological counseling or consultation to help athletes solve group or individual psychological problems. In addition, the staff will also teach some commonly used self-psychological adjustment methods, such as self-suggestion, psychological drills, attention control, breathing relaxation, etc., for athletes to choose to use according to their own situation, and to adjust themselves psychologically as needed during the competition. In addition, when preparing for major events such as the Olympics, psychological workers will assist in formulating competition plans, establishing psychological coping strategies, and preparing operational plans for problems that may be encountered in the competition.

Chi Lizhong said that the implementation of these works has played a very important role in helping athletes prepare for the game and adjust their psychology during the game. Through multiple aspects and forms of psychological training, athletes can achieve comprehensive psychological growth and become strong players with a "big heart". When athletes encounter emotional fluctuations on the field, they can use some professional psychological adjustment methods they have mastered to adjust their psychology in real time. For example, when athletes feel nervous during the game, they can relax themselves through abdominal breathing or stretching; they can vent their nervousness, motivate and mobilize themselves by clenching their fists, waving their arms and shouting, and running; they can calm themselves down, take a break and relieve tension by calling a timeout to drink water and wipe sweat; they can use psychological hints to prompt relaxation and stability; in addition, they can also recall the key points of the action and focus on the action to deal with the situation where the action does not feel good when they are nervous, etc.

The outstanding performance of athletes in this Olympics also further confirmed that strong psychological quality can help athletes perform well in competitions and tap their potential. A "big heart" is an important "accessory" for athletes to break through themselves.

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