Li Qi (Chinese: 李琪; born 30 October 1983 in Dalian, Liaoning) is a Chinese softball player who competed for China at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics.[1]
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| Born | May 17, 1979 (age 45) Dalian, Liaoning | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Biography
editLi is a left-handed pitcher, which the China Times said made her pitches hard for batters to hit.[2] Her pitches could reach up to 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).[2] She pitched at the 2002 Asian Games softball competition.[3] Li competed for the Chinese team in the 2004 Olympic softball competition, where they finished fourth.[4][5] The Shanghai Morning Post in 2005 said, "Li Qi is currently recognized as one of the best pitchers in China after Wang Lihong."[6] Like the other Chinese women's softball players on her team, Li made a monthly income of ¥1,000 (US$125) in 2006 so needed to be frugal according to the Yangtse Evening Post. The team had a yearly training camp at Haigeng (Chinese: 海埂) in Jinning, Kunming. When each training session ended, Li would ask her Beijing teammates to visit market stalls outside the Temple of Heaven to purchase pairs of softball socks for ¥5 ($1) each on the grey market. Before saying goodbye to them, she would always remind them, "Don't forget to bargain."[7]
Li pitched in the 2008 Olympic softball competition. By striking out 10 batters, she had the third most strikeouts at the Olympics (an American pitcher and a Canadian pitchers ranked before her). Her earned run average (ERA) ranked fifth during the Olympics. Of all Chinese players at the time, she had the smallest ERA.[4] The team finished in sixth place. For her performance during the Olympics, the city of Dalian awarded her a bonus of ¥40,000 ($5,017).[8] Several Japanese softball teams asked her to become a member of their team when she was still on the China women's national softball team but she declined.[9]
Li pitched during 2010 Asian Games softball competition, where her team received a silver medal. She competed for the Liaoning team at the 2010 Straits Cup (simplified Chinese: 海峡杯; traditional Chinese: 海峽盃) in Taiwan, the first time she had visited the country. While pitching against the National Taiwan University of Sport, Li had 10 strikeouts.[9] During the 2013 Straits Cup held in Taiwan, Li defeated the team from National Taiwan Normal University in five innings by striking out nine batters. She lost the championship game to the Taichung team after making numerous defense errors.[2] During the softball competition at the 2014 Asian Games, she was the pitcher and the team received a bronze medal.[10] Li competed at the 2017 National Games of China, 2017 Asian Women's Softball Championship and the 2018 Women's Softball World Championship.[11][12]
References
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Li Qi". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2016-12-04.
- ^ a b c Zheng, Yi 鄭毅 (2013-07-18). "海峽盃女壘賽 地主中市奪冠" [Straits Cup Women's Softball Tournament. Host Taichung wins the championship]. China Times (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ "正视差距来日方长───写在中日女垒比赛之后" [Facing the gap, the future will be long───Written after the China-Japan women’s softball game]. People's Daily (in Chinese). 2002-10-05.
- ^ a b Yan, Ruyu 顏如玉 (2017-11-21). "亞錦女壘／2屆奧運國手李琪領軍中國 聯手王蘭飆球速" [Asian Women's Softball Championship/Two-time Olympic national player Li Qi leads China and joins forces with Wang Lan to increase ball speed]. ETtoday (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ Sun, Jiahui 孙嘉晖 (2007-07-18). "垒球世界杯昨落幕中国队再获第4名" [The Softball World Cup ended yesterday and the Chinese team finished fourth again]. Guangzhou Daily (in Chinese).
- ^ "【中国棒垒球何去何从·调查】 "奥运出局"引发连锁反应女垒拟办联赛自救男棒面临人才流失" [[Where will China's baseball and softball go? Survey] "Olympic exit" triggered a chain reaction. Women's baseball team plans to organise a self-help league. Men's baseball team faces brain drain.]. Shanghai Morning Post (in Chinese). 2005-07-18.
- ^ "中國女壘「窮」得有精神" [Chinese women's baseball team is "poor" but has spirit]. Yangtse Evening Post (in Chinese). 2006-09-05.
- ^ "大连市重奖奥运英雄 其中银牌和铜牌获得者分别奖励20万元和15万元" [Dalian heavily awards Olympic heroes, with silver and bronze medalists awarded 200,000 yuan and 150,000 yuan respectively.]. Peninsula Morning Post (in Chinese). 2008-09-13.
- ^ a b "《海峽盃女壘賽》東北豪速女 李琪記熟台灣地名" ["Strait Cup Women's Softball Tournament" Northeastern's fast girl Li Qi knows the names of places in Taiwan]. LTSports (in Chinese). 2010-12-10. Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2024-01-20 – via Yahoo! News.
- ^ Zhang, Su 张素 (2014-10-02). "仁川亚运会：中国女子垒球队何时能"回归"？" [Incheon Asian Games: When will the Chinese women's softball team "return"?] (in Chinese). China News Service. Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2024-01-20 – via Sohu.
- ^ Yan, Ruyu 顏如玉 (2017-11-21). "世錦女壘／中國砸大錢2度赴美移訓 老牌投手王蘭領軍" [Women's Softball World Championship/China spends a lot of money to move to the United States for training for the second time, veteran pitcher Wang Lan leads the way]. ETtoday (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
- ^ Liu, Xiu 刘续 (2017-09-01). "女子垒球——循环赛：北京队胜四川队" [Women's Softball - Round Robin: Beijing Team Defeats Sichuan Team] (in Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
External links
edit- Li Qi at the Chinese Olympic Committee Beijing 2008 Olympic Games website at the Wayback Machine (archived 2011-08-10)
- Li Qi at Olympedia
