CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Wednesday, July 28, 2021 | 19 SPORTS OLYMPICS Thorny issues abound for Steel Roses Dutch demolition condemns women’s team to humiliating exit in Tokyo as inquest begins into squad’s sharp decline By SHI FUTIAN Team China star Wang Shuang,
[email protected] once dubbed ‘Lady Messi’, made global headlines in 2018 when she Team China’s humiliating elimi- transferred to French giant Paris nation from the Olympic women’s Saint-Germain. soccer tournament on Tuesday Wang showed she belonged at the proved the squad’s reliance on its highest level by becoming the first old-school hard-work ethic is Chinese to score in the UEFA Wom- nowhere near enough to cut it at the en’s Champions League. highest level anymore. However, after a year-long stint in A shocking 8-2 thrashing at the Europe, she returned to the Chinese hands of the Netherlands sent the Women’s Super League with Wuhan ‘Steel Roses’ crashing out of Tokyo Chedu Jiangda, whom she helped to 2020, and underlined just how far the domestic title last year. Chinese women’s soccer has fallen She remains Team China’s stand- behind the game’s elite nations. out performer, as illustrated by the Fans reacted to the team’s capitu- 26-year-old’s four-goal haul in the lation with dismay online, with the draw with Zambia last weekend. hashtag “Feel sad for Wang Shuang” “During the match with Zambia, trending on social media, referring Wang Shuang only needed 17 min- to China’s star playmaker.