Chapter 62 Retreat Due to Injury: This was already a desperate decision...

With the conclusion of the final race, the list of finalists for the Grand Prix Final has been released.

Li Tan sat in his office, browsing the newly updated points rankings on the International Skating Union's official website.

This year, China only has two Grand Prix Finals slots in men's and women's singles. In pairs, in order to ensure that they are in their best form for the Winter Olympics, they did not use the full difficulty level in the preliminary rounds and were placed on the reserve bench with "2+4". As for ice dance, it goes without saying that they only have one event held in their own country and do not have the qualification to compete for the Grand Prix Finals.

Hovering the mouse over the women's singles standings, Yang Yiyan is ranked fifth with "2+2". Zhang Mengyi's development is too affected, she didn't even make it to the stage in two sub-station competitions, and there is a trend that the 3lz+3T combination is about to be lost.

Next is the men's singles event. Feng Simai is ranked fourth with "1+3", while another Chinese men's singles player, Lin Ye, is ranked second on the bench with "2+3".

There are three reserve athletes on the official list for the Grand Prix Finals, but any ice skating fan who has watched a few competitions knows that only the first reserve athlete has a real chance. There are only six spots in the Grand Prix Finals, and it's impossible for half of the skaters to suddenly withdraw.

Lin Ye's opponent is Andrei, who has the same score but a higher total score.

Li Tan stared at the long string of English names on the screen and suddenly remembered the news he had seen not long ago.

Russian media captured photos of their star player entering the hospital. Davir was wearing a mask, leaning back on a bench in the hospital corridor with his hand on his waist for support.

It's common knowledge in the skating world that Darville has undergone three spinal surgeries. When the news first broke, many skating fans were worried about whether he could continue to play this season.

As a former athlete, Li Tan felt deep sympathy for Davil's injury, but as a leader, he also saw great uncertainty in the matter.

He couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Davil's injury was so serious that he had to withdraw from the Sochi Winter Olympics...

A bitter smile immediately appeared on Li Tan's face.

He could think of this, and athletes from other countries could think of this as well. If Dawer really withdraws from the competition at this time, the men's singles podium may be reshuffled. In other words, the top-ranked athletes in the men's singles event may all be able to reach the top of the podium.

When they received the news that Davey had to withdraw from the finals due to injury, Xia Yuezi and Meng Xin were in their office organizing their two children's training plans.

They had just come out of the team doctor's office, still holding the medical examination records of the two children.

Yang Yiyan's health is generally fine, and her body fat percentage increase over the past few months has been relatively normal. She has some minor wear and tear on her knees and a slight scoliosis in her lumbar spine. The exact degree of curvature needs to be determined by a CT scan at the hospital.

Feng Simai has a lot of problems. He has grown taller in recent years, which puts a lot of pressure on his joints. In addition, he did not fully recover from synovitis last year, and there is also the impact of quadruple jumps. For the long-term development of Feng Simai's career, the team doctor hopes that he can rest for a period of time before the National Championships, and preferably not to do too many quadruple jumps in the finals.

His synovitis was discovered last year during his growing pains. When the doctor made the diagnosis, Xia Yuezi went along to listen to his ear and said that the condition was not serious enough to require surgery, and that he could just go back and do physical therapy.

But at that time he had just started doing quadruple jumps and was afraid that after resting for a while, he would not feel comfortable with the jumps anymore. He wanted to stay on the ice, but Xia Yuezi kicked him back with a tough attitude.

If there's anything to celebrate, it's that this kid's growth spurt has finally passed. In less than three years since he joined the training group, Feng Simai's height has increased by 10 centimeters. Under these circumstances, it's really impressive that he can still maintain a 4T rating.

Looking at the diagnosis results, Meng Xin asked, "Will you consider lowering the difficulty level for him in the finals?"

Xia Yuezi looked at her, a hint of worry barely perceptible on her face: "I would like to, but would he be willing?"

Meng Xin thought back and realized that it was probably because she had spent a lot of time with Yang Yiyan that the two children had the same stubborn temperament.

"Moreover, with the finals being held at home this year, it's even less likely he'll lower the difficulty level," Xia Yuezi added, delivering another blow.

Anthony was the representative of the Chinese Cup. He fell on a quadruple jump in the free skate, and Feng Simai won the gold medal by clearing his way out of the trapeze.

Meng Xin noticed before the game that Anthony was playing with an injury. One of the French staff members was a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, and Anthony gave him acupuncture in the locker room after the game.

Even so, many viewers only care about the final result because they don't care about the process, only the final score.

The country is now vigorously promoting ice and snow sports in preparation for the Sochi Winter Olympics. A group of self-proclaimed "know-it-alls" have even appeared on the forum, and their remarks have angered Meng Xin so much that she has reported them dozens of times.

Meng Xin sighed: "What can we do now?"

Xia Yuezi was silent for a while, then suggested a compromise: "We can change it to double 3A, keep the short program configuration the same, and change the 4T+2T in the free skate to 3A+2T."

She clicked a few times on the computer with the mouse, bringing up Feng Simai's past sub-split tables.

"His 3A stability is better than 4T, and his goe score is also higher. If executed well, the total score may not drop too much. As for the repeated jumps, they can be adjusted."

Meng Xin pondered for a moment and replied, "That's good too. At least we can maintain the completion rate and minimize the harm to the body."

Xia Yuezi released the mouse, then looked up at Meng Xin: "The problem is, which of us should talk to him?"

There was no response from the room for a long time; neither of those two were easy to deal with.

"How about..." Meng Xin tentatively suggested, "We play rock-paper-scissors, and whoever loses goes."

………………

In early December, Beijing not only welcomed the finalists but also experienced a heavy snowfall.

Feng Simai stood in the backstage warm-up area, putting on an ankle brace on her right foot, with a pair of ice skates next to her.

Standing next to Xia Yuezi, Meng Xin asked curiously, "What exactly did you say to him? Why did he suddenly agree?"

Meng Xin had been pressing Xia Yuezi for almost a week about this, but Xia Yuezi stubbornly refused to answer. When pressed, she would even roll her eyes at Meng Xin.

Xia Yuezi watched the child putting on his ice skates, getting ready for the sixth training session, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly: "I just told him that if he pushes himself too hard now and ruins his body, then his chances of competing with other athletes on the ice will also decrease."

This is only part of it. Xia Yuezi also tricked him, saying that if he could behave and rest well, she might take him to practice 4S after he recovered.

As for when his health will improve, that's up to her, as his coach.

I used this trick when I was teaching him to practice 4T, but I didn't expect this kid to be so trusting. He was fooled by her in no time.

Meng Xin looked at Xia Yuezi suspiciously. She already knew her partner a little and felt that things shouldn't be so simple, but since the matter was already done, she didn't investigate further.

Among the Chinese athletes in the stands, besides Yang Yiyan who came to compete, were other athletes from the Beijing provincial team who had some free time.

Zhang Mengyi and Jiang Shuyu arrived together. Yang Yiyan had found seats in the stands in advance and sent them a message.

Zhang Mengyi was wrapped in a thick down jacket, holding a hand warmer. She curled up into a ball as soon as she sat down. Yang Yiyan sat next to her and could see that the back of her hands were bluish-purple from the cold.

She rarely saw Zhang Mengyi during this period, but she heard a lot of news. The two main pieces of news were about her university admission quota and that she was considering switching groups. It was said that she had a very unpleasant falling out with her current coach.

Yang Yiyan hesitated for a moment, but still voiced her question.

Zhang Mengyi chuckled lightly, tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and spoke casually, as if it weren't her own business: "Yes, it's just a difference in philosophy with the coach."

It wasn't just a difference in philosophy, but a major disagreement over training methods.

Zhang Mengyi witnessed Yang Yiyan, who was also a speed-type jumper, continuously increasing her strength during puberty and achieving 3A, while she herself kept dieting, causing her bone density to gradually decrease, and she could no longer support high-difficulty jumps.

This contrast filled her heart with pain. What was most agonizing was facing her parents every time she went home and saw them eating the same food as her to accommodate her feelings. Her mother even skipped dinner like her to keep her going.

Even so, Zhang Mengyi could clearly feel that her career was going downhill. She wanted to try a different approach and asked her coach to help her build muscle.

Unexpectedly, Wang Can reacted extremely strongly. He first criticized Xia Yuezi's ideas, and then mentioned Yang Yiyan, saying that she had not truly entered puberty and it was hard to say what her future would hold.

Thinking of this, Zhang Mengyi glanced apologetically at Yang Yiyan. She had seen what Wang Can had done to her when they were in the same group before, but at that time she didn't have the ability to help her.

On the ice rink, the announcement that the sixth practice session was over came on, drawing the attention of the ice skating fans.

While Yang Yiyan's attention was focused on the ice, Jiang Shuyu turned her head and whispered, "Is he not going to let you go?"

They were in the same group, and both of them knew what kind of person the coach was.

Zhang Mengyi gave a wry smile and placed her hand on the back of Jiang Shuyu's hand. Jiang Shuyu could clearly feel the coldness and trembling of Zhang Mengyi's fingertips.

Neither of them spoke, their hands clasped tightly together, until the music for the first contestant started, and Jiang Shuyu heard her say, "I'm prepared to train at my own expense."

Jiang Shuyu peeked at Yang Yiyan, then lowered her voice and asked, "If you really want to leave, how are you going to deal with the trouble that follows?"

Athletes' guaranteed admission spots are determined by their performance. Zhang Mengyi's contributions are undeniable. If anyone were to tamper with her guaranteed admission spot, the skating fans would be so angry they could drown the skating association.

But Wang Can has connections. If Zhang Mengyi insists on leaving, he can use some underhanded tactics elsewhere, perhaps even stopping the domestic subsidies and reducing her benefits.

Jiang Shuyu felt her hand gripping tighter and tighter, until it hurt a little. She couldn't help but reach out her other hand and touch the protruding bone on the back of her hand.

Feeling the warmth of her hands, Zhang Mengyi's lips curled up slightly as she looked towards the ice rink, her eyes filled with a faint hope and determination.

"Don't worry, this was a desperate decision to take, and I won't regret it whether it succeeds or not."