Beijing, China, April 7, 2022: After being named Chinese Women's Player of the Year, Wang Shuang expressed gratitude to the Chinese women's football team head coach Shui Qingxia, Xinhua News reports.
Last year, Wang helped China qualify for the Tokyo Olympics by beating South Korea in a tense two-leg playoff before leading Wuhan Jiangda to win the Chinese Women's Super League in November.
Despite a disappointing performance at Tokyo 2020 last summer, China bounced back six months later to win the AFC Women's Asian Cup after 16 years through consecutive comeback wins over Japan and South Korea in the semifinals and final.
Wang believes head coach Shui is the key to the team's quick recovery.
"After Shui joined the team, she assisted us to make many psychological adjustments. She was a former football player, so she understood our psychological state following the Tokyo Olympics," Wang said.
Wang was far from 100 per cent fit for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup final due to injury but played through the pain barrier. She said she was very grateful for the trust placed in her by Shui.
"No matter how painful it was, I tried my best to repay Shui with my performance," she said.
"She looks after us like a 'Mother Shui' in addition to teaching us tactics in training," the 27-year-old Wang added.
Besides the Steel Roses' success, Wang hopes that people pay more attention to players who are not on the national team. "I believe it is my responsibility to promote women's football since joining the national team in 2013," Wang said.