说明:双击或选中下面任意单词,将显示该词的音标、读音、翻译等;选中中文或多个词,将显示翻译。
Home->News->Sports->
Homing in on Olympic glory
2021-10-18 
World champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong perform en route to scoring 144.21 points in the free skate to win the pairs competition with a total of 223.48 points at the 2021 Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy in Beijing on Friday. WEI XIAOHAO/CHINA DAILY

Figure skaters whet the appetite for Winter Olympics with encouraging performances at Beijing 2022 test event

Although far from perfect, China's top figure skaters got their season off to a positive start at a Beijing 2022 test event last week, suggesting they are on course to taste Olympic glory on home ice next year.

Even with no fans inside the Capital Indoor Stadium, the Chinese skaters were in high spirits as they savored the chance to familiarize themselves with next year's Olympic venue.

Led by the country's top pair Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, Chinese athletes collected five medals, including two golds, at the 2021 Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy-a Beijing 2022 test event which took place from Wednesday to Saturday at the official competition rink for the Games.

With the vocal support limited to operational staff in the arena, Sui and Han put on a show of quality and style, interspersed with some landing errors, to score a combined 223.48 points for their short program and free skate routines to finish top of the podium.

Skating to Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, the music they performed to during their first international title run at the 2017 world championships, Sui and Han evoked memories of those glory days in Friday's free skate.

The pair executed most of their trademark triple-flip throws and difficult lifts to the same caliber as their silver-medal finish at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

But for a pair aspiring to finish a step higher on the podium at next year's home Games, there was plenty of room for improvement.

"It's our first official event for a long time so we were kind of too excited at the start, especially skating in the Olympic rink, and we stumbled on a couple of landings," said Sui, who together with Han, won back-to-back world championships from 2017-19.

"It's definitely not the best we can do, but considering this was just the opening stage of the season we are satisfied to deliver what we've prepared in training at this point," added Sui, a 26-year-old native of Heilongjiang province.

A leg of the nine-stop 2021-22 International Skating Union Challenger Series, the Asian Open was the first international event the Capital Indoor Stadium has hosted since the completion of its refurbishment at the end of last year.

Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu topped the podium in the ice dance competition at last week's Asian Open. WEI XIAOHAO/CHINA DAILY

Sui and Han heaped praise on the 53-year-old venue's new look and smooth rink-prepared by experienced French technician Remy Boehler-and hope to make the most of home advantage next year.

"We feel at home skating here," said Han, 29, who also hails from Heilongjiang province. "It will keep driving us to make progress and challenge ourselves. This is a truly exquisite venue. It shows how much effort our country has invested into being the Olympic host."

"We share the same goal, which is to watch the Chinese national flag fly and hear the Chinese national anthem play at the Winter Olympics," added Sui.

Now both back to full fitness after battling a series of injuries over the past five years, Sui and Han have set their sights on raising the level of their routine difficulty and improving their execution throughout the remainder of the ISU Grand Prix series in a bid to hit peak form by the time the Games open on Feb 4.

In the men's singles, China's Jin Boyang claimed a bronze medal despite not being at full strength as he recovers from a recent appendicitis operation.

Ice dance couple Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu won gold to get their season off to a flying start.

"To compete at the Olympic test event was a very helpful experience for us, even more important than the world championships," said Jin, China's only qualified entry in men's singles for Beijing 2022.

"We got to gauge our current level while further familiarizing ourselves with this venue to get a feeling for the Games."

Zhao Hongbo, head coach of the Chinese figure skating team, declared himself satisfied with the performances.

"More or less everybody was a little bit nervous and perhaps too excited. It's something totally expected for the beginning of the season," Zhao, who won China's first figure skating Olympic title in pairs with his wife Shen Xue at Vancouver 2010, said on Saturday.

Chinese No 1 Jin Boyang finished third in the men's singles free skate competition on Friday. XINHUA

"Overall, they completed their routines with quality. This was a solid first step marching on toward the Olympics."

Having qualified two couples in pairs and one skater each in men's and women's singles, as well as an ice dance team, China is aiming for multiple podium finishes on home ice next year.

Staged roughly 100 days out from the opening ceremony, the test event trialled a series of strict COVID-19 countermeasures, including bubble management, daily testing and health monitoring.

Feedback on the measures was overwhelmingly positive from international athletes and the sport's governing body.

"It's a special feeling skating here because it's the Olympic rink," Swiss skater Lukas Britschgi said after his men's singles short program.

"It's a beautiful rink, it's super good ice, and warm. Everything is just perfect to skate here. Hopefully, during the Olympics there will be an audience who can cheer us up. But it was great to skate here."

ISU vice-president Alexender Lakernik heaped praise on the venue's readiness for the Olympics as well as the host's vigilance against COVID-19.

"China is very experienced with this and everything was strict, but it was necessary and we fully understand the way it was done," Lakernik said.

"In general, I think the best thing at the moment is the arena, its readiness and how it looks. And everything works.

"We'll see how it will be at the Olympics but for the test event, everything was fine."

Most Popular...
Previous:'New start' expands scope of China-Africa trade
Next:Brand takes fashion show on Maritime Silk Road journey