Chinese Skating News, Pt. 3: A long & winding road to Beijing 2022

[hanca]

She said oral meds don't help. Perhaps she tried and it didn't work. PErhaps the care isn't as awesome as what you have in U.K. There is no telling from the quick quotes.

There are different strengths of oral medications. If something doesn’t work, it may not be strong enough. It should have been reviewed. Different medication or even combination of medication should be prescribed if the ones she was using were not working for her. She is not the only elite athlete having a surgery, but we never hear other elite athletes being in such agony after their surgeries. So it makes me think that the problem isn’t the fact that she can’t use them because it might be considered as doping; it seems to me that from some reason it wasn’t managed well by the doctors and that’s very sad! She doesn’t deserve this.

 

[jlai]

There are different strengths of oral medications. If something doesn’t work, it may not be strong enough. It should have been reviewed. Different medication or even combination of medication should be prescribed if the ones she was using were not working for her. She is not the only elite athlete having a surgery, but we never hear other elite athletes being in such agony after their surgeries. So it makes me think that the problem isn’t the fact that she can’t use them because it might be considered as doping; it seems to me that from some reason it wasn’t managed well by the doctors and that’s very sad! She doesn’t deserve this.

We don't know the ins and outs of the operation. Chinese medical care is likely not as good as what you can have in the UK., true enough.

I will say, currently not in China, I usually end up with overly strong medications--the opposite. One time I completely passed out from what I was given.
But that's neither here nor there.

 

[Japanfan]

I read the original article, and do not feel that the linked English translation was particularly clear. Here is the original relevant text:

What is clear is that the final decision was made by a high-level party/government official instead of the athlete herself, or her family, or her doctors, or even her coaching team (who are government employees). There is no transparency or personal autonomy. That sort of thing would just never happen in the West, not even in Russia, where coaches and athletes are fully financially supported by the government. It reflects the patriarchical (both contemporary and historical) culture and social norms/values of China. Perhaps Sui is personally very grateful to the relevant government officials for taking care of her and trusted them to make all the best decisions for her, and had no personal opinion about which surgery would be the best for her.

After all, she didn't express any personal opinion or preference, or hint at having any, in this interview -- but then again, she would probably get into trouble if she expressed any hint of not being grateful or trusting, or having a mind of her own, in a news article. he's referred to as a "young girl" who needs "loving protection", and all the important party/government officials had to come and be named. Did someone working within the relevant government entities with the right kind of "political training" approve this article before it was published? I would be very surprised if that didn't happen. I have seen plenty of articles/photos of all the Chinese figure skating team members (including Sui & Yan) sitting through "political training" classes. As a university professor that gets many Chinese graduate applicants, I see every single one of them takes a community party theory class every semester (which I don't see from any other country which might have have strong top-down imposed political or religious ideology, not Russia, not Iran, certainly not to the same extent).

I have had very many Chinese clients over the years and the one thing I have never experienced is any of them criticizing their government. My sister experienced the same as an ESL teacher to Chinese.

SFAIK people in authoritarian communist countries learn early in life not to criticize their government. Of course there are dissidents, but they often end up in prison or dead.

I remember an interview with S/Z in which they praised and thanked their government for all they had been given. Of course, this was the official line, but it is also true that athletes in authoritarian communist countries do often get well taken care of by their governments.

So, it's possible Sui would have complete trust in those who made the decision about her surgery.

And of course, people in these countries may criticize their governments in private, among people they completely trust.

Adding. . .I'm just that Sui will likely not be at her best for Worlds. S/C were just awesome at 4CCs, and I was so thrilled that they seemed to be back in form.

 

[Marco]

So sorry to hear of her struggles. Hope she is pain-free and gets to rest after Worlds.

 

[Laney]

Congratulations to Sui/Han
I'm soooooo happy for them! I just hope that she'll becomes painfree as soon as possible. For what she goes through with all her injuries it's amazing what great skaters they are. I love them so much!!!!!

 

[skateboy]

They are amazing!

 

[Shinsoureijou]

I was absolutely ecstatic when I watched Sui and Han during the free! During the short program, I feared there would be a fall or some mistakes due to Sui being injured, and was glad to see them in 2nd place. They performed two clean programs, and right after Sui was injured too! Goes to show that these two are true champions. Congratulations to this amazing pair for recapturing their world title!!

 

[Japanfan]

I just watched S/H three more times - a no-commentary video.

So that's six times for now. And it still seems only about a minute long.

 

[Shinsoureijou]

I just watched S/H three more times - a no-commentary video.

So that's six times for now. And it still seems only about a minute long.

I've been watching other commentaries on them just to hear what other people have to say about them. Besides watching their past programs, of course.

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting from the Programs/Choreographers thread:

Benoit Richaud recently was in Beijing to choreograph programs for Xiaoyu YU & Hao ZHANG (2nd photo) and He ZHANG (3rd photo): https://www.instagram.com/p/BwdxsNyHxRW/
He also choreographed a Novice SP for Xiangyi AN, the Chinese senior ladies' silver medalist (little girl in the 1st photo), but she is too young for the JGP until fall 2020 (born December 2006).

At the 2nd National Youth Games held in Linfen, Shanxi, 12-year-old Xiangyi AN won the Adv. Novice Girls gold medal.
3 firsts for her at this competition: She landed 3Lz in her short program, included/landed a 3F in the competition and completed 5 different triple jumps in her free skate. She's very talented and a good spinner as well!

SP ("Opportunity" by Sia, choreo. by Richaud): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HYPX5RcopQ
Jumps: 3T+3T, 2A, 3Lz.

FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOXbM7DaWBs
Jumps: 3Lz+2T, 3S, 3F, 3Lo, 3Lz fall, 2A+3T.

I assume this girl won the Senior or Junior Ladies event and maybe we'll see her on the JGP later this year: http://shanxi.chinadaily.com.cn/2019-04/26/c_367965.htm

Cao Qijing, 13, won the first gold medal for women's singles figure skating, part of the 2nd National Youth Games, in Linfen, Shanxi province, on April 25.
Cao, a member of the Taiyuan Longxiang Teenage Sports Club, is one of 34 participants from Taiyuan.
The figure skating competition, which ends on April 28, has attracted more than 350 athletes from 39 teams across China. They are competing in 24 events divided into five categories, including men's singles skating, women's singles skating, and ice dancing.

 

[Sylvia]

Cup of China is scheduled to be 4th in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series and held in Chongqing for the first time Nov. 8-10, 2019 - ISU conducted a site visit this past week, according to the official Twitter account for Beijing 2022 (4 photos): https://twitter.com/Beijing2022/status/1120270422275026944

 

[natsulian]

Those jumps... I think I just fell in love. She has such a good understanding of the music pieces she's portraying and connects very well. Her jumps... are really great, except for like one/two borderline jump(s) in terms of rotation. And the spins... reminds me of Bradie's in how strong they are. A blooming talent for sure.

 

[Seerek]

FYI, Nini An's birth month is Dec. 2006, so her JGP debut would be 2020-21.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Re-posting from the Programs/Choreographers thread:

At the 2nd National Youth Games held in Linfen, Shanxi, 12-year-old Xiangyi AN won the Adv. Novice Girls gold medal.
3 firsts for her at this competition: She landed 3Lz in her short program, included/landed a 3F in the competition and completed 5 different triple jumps in her free skate. She's very talented and a good spinner as well!

SP ("Opportunity" by Sia, choreo. by Richaud): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HYPX5RcopQ
Jumps: 3T+3T, 2A, 3Lz.

FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOXbM7DaWBs
Jumps: 3Lz+2T, 3S, 3F, 3Lo, 3Lz fall, 2A+3T.

I assume this girl won the Senior or Junior Ladies event and maybe we'll see her on the JGP later this year: http://shanxi.chinadaily.com.cn/2019-04/26/c_367965.htm

This little buddy is just lovely.
Her costumes are a bit heavy on her.

Just loved her.

 

[Sylvia]

Last August Brian Orser signed a contract with the Chinese Figure Skating Association to help Chinese skaters prepare for the 2022 Beijnig Olympics. He and his staff are supposed to "visit China periodically, taking part in guiding Chinese athletes and coaching members" - Orser and Tracy Wilson are in Beijing now (his IG photo posted 2 days ago: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwqQ-ksHIRp/ ) and I found these (re)photos posted on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/kattwts/status/1120653172882771968 (Jason Brown is there too)
Working with Peng/Jin (clip): https://twitter.com/kattwts/status/1121395605065146368
https://twitter.com/kattwts/status/1121984147688390656

ETA link to the Aug. 12, 2018 press release: Canadian former professional figure skater Brian Orser to train Chinese athletes

More about last August's press conference with Orser, Tracy Wilson and Xue Shen is linked from this earlier post (#356) in this thread: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...d-to-beijing-2022.100886/page-12#post-5395231

 

[greenapple]

Small correction. Last August Brian Orser and Tracy Wilson signed a contract to work with the Chinese team.

 

[rosewood]

Beijing 2022 twitter account posted info about 'China’s 2nd National Youth Games'. Any further info about the competition?
https://twitter.com/Beijing2022/status/1121712082313834496

We can’t wait to see the results of the #FigureSkating competition at China’s 2nd National Youth Games, which kicked off this week in Linfen, Shanxi! 350 youngsters are taking part in pursuit of 24 gold medals, and the performances so far have been breathtaking! @ISU_Figure

 

[Sylvia]

@rosewood, scroll back up to my post #580 with links.

 

[rosewood]

@rosewood, scroll back up to my post #580 with links.

Thanks! You're the best as always! I love Nini and the program choreographed by Richaud is very nice.

BTW, SIA is kinda new MJ or Queen of this coming season.

 

[rosewood]

Nini Xiangyi An is a floor dancer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caqGUsG8B8g
And she does rhythmic gymnastics, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaPLnX0QU58

Wow She's so much talented! BTW, her name is Nini Xiangyi An, and which one is her family name?

 

[binbinwinwin]

Nini Xiangyi An is a floor dancer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caqGUsG8B8g
And she does rhythmic gymnastics, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaPLnX0QU58

Wow She's so much talented! BTW, her name is Nini Xiangyi An, and which one is her family name?

Her mother puts her in a lot of activities, she splits her time between rhythmic gymnastics and figure skating and then takes dance on the side. Her mother also teaches her English (she is fluent). An is her family name, Xiangyi is her first name and Nini is her "little name" which is basically the nickname everyone calls you by.

 

[rosewood]

Her mother puts her in a lot of activities, she splits her time between rhythmic gymnastics and figure skating and then takes dance on the side. Her mother also teaches her English (she is fluent). An is her family name, Xiangyi is her first name and Nini is her "little name" which is basically the nickname everyone calls you by.

Thank you for the info @binbinwinwin! She's my type as a novice skater. Wish she enjoys whatever she loves. (But hopefully she'll choose skating over gymnastics.)

 

[Sylvia]

I just posted the link to a Patrick Chan article in his fan thread and this translated excerpt was very interesting to me:

... the couple often travel to China to offer seminars and teach young skaters.

"With the Olympics approaching in 2022, China is trying to grow skating. We work with one of the seven private companies that manage young skaters. We were asked to give direction and help them plan a development strategy. At the same time, they will send their skaters to Vancouver for a two-week camp in August."

"Later, we will try to have good relations with the other six companies and perhaps make other camps. This is a new opportunity, and we hope it will grow," concludes Chan.

Does anyone know anything more about how these private companies work?

Luca Lanotte was in China recently to work with Xuehan Wang/Lei Wang and the "Beijing Century Star Team" (Ekaterina Ryazanova is based with them, IIRC?): https://www.instagram.com/p/BwrcRZtHdUt/

 

[Japanfan]

Orser training in China (sorry if this has been posted already. A few glimpses of Xue Shen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWDHlOWTPe8

 

[Sylvia]

^^^ Thanks for the link, @Japanfan. Hongbo Zhao, Sui/Han and Peng/Jin were all interviewed on camera about the benefits of working with/learning from Orser. Jinlin Guan, now 30, who retired after the 2014 season (I remember him as a fairly artistic skater) looks to be continuing his prominent role among the new generation of Chinese coaches.

At the end of the video is this translation on screen: "There will be six training seminars with the Orser team, to help the Chinese better prepare for the 2022 Olympics. The next seminar will be held from May 20-24."

Jason Brown was interviewed in China after his participation as a demonstrator for Orser/Wilson and mentioned will be returning to China in June (video link is posted in his fan thread).

 

[Sylvia]

At the end of the video is this translation on screen: "There will be six training seminars with the Orser team, to help the Chinese better prepare for the 2022 Olympics. The next seminar will be held from May 20-24."

Joseph Phan and Ekaterina Kurakova are in Beijing for the 2nd training seminar.

Han Yan is skating to La Land Land for his FS according to his Fan Van account (4T+2T ): https://twitter.com/HanYanFanVan/status/1130336439160279040
Back in January it was reported he was "working with Yuka Sato & Kurt Browning for new free program": https://twitter.com/HanYanFanVan/status/1084395160392237056
ETA that this was posted on December 31, 2018 in this thread:

Yan Han is coming back next season according to Jian Tong, he has recovered quite well and is jumping the 3A again. In 2019 he will go to USA to get a new SP/FS (finally no Lori!) and he will start with some domestic competitions next season. Source

 

[Sylvia]

Looks like China has formed 2 new senior dance teams that currently are training in the USA and are registered to compete at the Chesapeake Open club competition in Maryland next month - link to the competition thread I've started in the Kiss & Cry section: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...cl-dance-camp-june-19-22-in-laurel-md.105662/

Linshu SONG "Kitty" (she previously skated with Zhuoming SUN: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00101814.htm ) & Alexander Prachanov (previously competed as a junior for RUS if same guy, spelled Prachnov here: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00015096.htm )
Practice clips posted on her IG:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxBkYQAHWZk/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxQxbzvHwOw/
Photos with Christopher Dean, Ben Agosto and Katherine Hill in Colorado: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx5goDop3w8/

YuHan FENG (she previously skated with Mingyang JIAO; S6 in 2017) & Ilya Yukhimuk (BLR), 22 (qualified to skate at 2017 U.S. Nationals with Heidi Washburn but they did not compete)
His IG also has photos with Dean, Agosto, Hill: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx5GdiXFUGK/

 

[rosewood]

Here is a Chinese article about team Orser's second camp there. It also includes a video he showed during the seminar for explaining the textbook axel jump technique (actually it's 3A) of Rika and Mao (and it has a capture of Hanyu's too) as well as another video of 夏小雨 (sorry but I don't know how to spell her name correctly. Her name in Chinese character has a beautiful meaning　"summer drizzle", BTW.) working on 3Lz to finish it.

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=Mz...411&idx=1&sn=4c5a3b6a8d1b00ed630004b6c2d60563

ETA:
This time we can recognize the team included Coach Estrop Aistrop , too.
Google translation:

Second is the different teaching lineup
In addition to coaches Brian Osser and Tracy Wilson, who coached the previous two training camps, Peggy Estrop, who has 27 years of teaching experience and trained many world champions, has also joined. In the team of Oser's compound, Coach Estrup is known for his rotation, and he also has extensive experience in jumping skills and athlete communication management.

 

[Sylvia]

Thanks, @rosewood. Paige Aistrop is a coach and spin specialist at the Cricket club who made the trip to China this time.

Joseph Phan and Ekaterina Kurakova are in Beijing for the 2nd training seminar.

 

[rosewood]

Thanks @Sylvia! I searched Estrup(Estrop) on google but couldn't find. The google translation "Coach Estrup is known for his rotation, and he also has extensive experience in jumping skills and athlete communication management." sounded like Aistrop is a jump specialist but the truth is she's a spin coach.

So the team had at least 3 coaches and 2 students from the Cricket club? Sounds great. I'm looking forward to seeing how fruitful the 6 seminars will be for team China. Hopefully the ladies field will be improved by these seminars since China haven't had promising star in the field for a while.

And also thanx for the good news about HanYan @Sylvia. Wish all the best for his comeback! I wish he could have participated in Orser's camp as well.