Chapter 123 Junior Sister, I didn't have a choice either.
Yan Rui scored 66.19 points, and until the last group went on stage, he and Zhang Mengyi were ranked in the top four, which would have put them in the top ten no matter how you looked at it.
For them, the mission was already half accomplished.
Xia Yuezi watched the two children walk towards the mixed zone, her smile slowly fading. She turned and walked to the backstage warm-up area.
Yang Yiyan's lips were taut, and she calmly did the last set of stretches before the sixth training session.
"Little Yan, how are you feeling?"
Xia Yuezi walked over, squatted down, and placed her hand on her thigh.
"It's alright, I don't feel anything." Yang Yiyan said succinctly.
After the pre-match music chorus, the team doctor examined her ankle, and the ligament strain was gradually becoming more severe.
The coaching team originally wanted her to give up the triple A in the short program, but the girl stubbornly believed that her successful triple A at the Asian Winter Games was undoubtedly a bombshell for female singles athletes all over the world.
In this World Championships, more than one group of female singles skaters entered the 3A configuration in the short program. If she doesn't capitalize on her advantage in the short program and instead saves the 3A for the free skate, the risk will be greater.
Seeing that Xia Yuezi wanted to say something more, Yang Yiyan immediately stopped her: "Coach, I'm the number one female coach in China!"
The top male and female athletes in any country enjoy the resources allocated to them by their country and have an obligation to strive for the best results for their country and to withstand more challenges for the athletes who follow.
Xia Yuezi paused, then turned to discuss with Meng Xin and called her parents to communicate. In the end, she gave Meng Xin a nerve block injection before she went on stage.
The moment the nerve block needle was injected, Yang Yiyan had only one thought.
The coach is right, the pain from the injection really hurts.
In the last group, Yang Yiyan was the first contestant to achieve a 3A. With the help of the injection, she cleaned up her entire setup, and her short program score broke 80 points for the first time.
Although the judges kept the score very tight, only 80.01, many figure skating fans were still deeply moved by the score.
They have all witnessed the progress of the top female contestant. From her relatively rough technique and choreography at the beginning, to her current balanced scoring across all aspects, she has gradually earned points from the judges, which has led to her current achievements.
The coaching staff had no time to care about what the fans were thinking. As soon as the scores were announced, they took Yang Yiyan backstage to sit down and apply ointment to her injury, causing her to miss the exciting competition in the second half.
As expected, Yumekawa Ria scored 3A in the short program, with a score very close to the world record. Then, Polina swept away her performance from the chorus and broke her own world record again, bringing the score to 83.05.
It's obvious to everyone that the Russian Ice Hockey Federation is using the same tactics as last cycle to promote their star player, and Polina's score is really hard to fault.
You could say her program component score is high, but it's still a bit behind top skaters like Claire; you could say her technical score is off the charts, but her 3A is also very beautiful, and her other triple jumps are also quite high, so no one would say anything if the GOE gave her a high score.
In the end, only the top three short program scores were above 80 points.
Chinese ice hockey fans felt a pang of anxiety as they looked at the final overall rankings.
According to the International Skating Union's regulations, for every country that sends three women's singles athletes to the World Championships, the top two finishers are ranked overall, and only those whose combined rankings are within the top 13 can secure the maximum number of Olympic qualifiers.
The combined rankings of China's top two skaters are stuck at 12th. The top skater is injured, and the bottom skater has little experience in the senior group and the free skate is not very difficult. There is actually very little room for error left for them.
Before the men's singles competition started, fans from all over the country were making prayers on the forums, hoping that the competition would go smoothly.
Perhaps the prayers worked, as all three Chinese men's singles players had smooth short programs: Song Ziqi ranked twelfth, Feng Simai ranked eighth, and Lin Ye ranked third.
This ranking is roughly in line with Xia Yuezi's expectations. She has used all the means available to improve her ranking at the World Championships. The only thing she needs to do is go back and have Feng Simai prepare well so that she can maintain her current ranking in the free skate.
However, the most urgent matter right now is Yang Yiyan's foot.
Not long after the competition ended, the effects of the injection wore off. Instead of sitting in the spectator area like the other contestants, Yang Yiyan was iced by the team doctor backstage before returning to the hotel with the other contestants.
She sat on the bed, feeling the pain in her leg, but also trying to make the best of a bad situation. She thought that her right leg would probably turn into a pig's trotter tomorrow, and she managed to amuse herself.
When Xia Yuezi came over with Yan Rui's room key, this was the bizarre scene she saw.
Coach Xia wondered, "Could it be that this kid has finally been driven crazy?"
She walked over to Yang Yiyan and coughed lightly: "Your legs are in this state, and you can still laugh?"
Yang Yiyan looked at the coach's hand, gently touching her swollen ankle, and maintained her smile: "I'm better off smiling than crying, right?"
The light above the bed was very bright, reflecting in Yang Yiyan's resolute eyes, almost blending into the light that shone in them.
Xia Yuezi sighed softly, not letting the child's words sway her. Instead, she gave her a mental heads-up: "With your leg like this, you'll definitely need to get an injection for the free skate. If it doesn't go down, the pre-competition chorus will be a problem, and you might even need another injection during the competition."
Yang Yiyan's smile remained unchanged. She slowly leaned against the pillow, tilting her head back to look at the coach.
Even though nothing was said or anything changed, Xia Yuezi could still see a hint of helpless relief in Yang Yiyan's micro-expressions.
“Then I didn’t have a choice,” she said.
The two were silent for a moment. Xia Yuezi looked at her, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
This child, whom she raised single-handedly, had a personality that started with falling on the ice and enduring the pain without crying, no matter how much it hurt.
At that time, Xia Yuezi had no experience and was training other students as well. By the time she came to her senses, Yang Yiyan had already treated her wounds herself with red eyes.
In an instant, Xia Yuezi seemed to have returned to the state of helplessness she had when she first became a coach.
Perhaps the fans were right: the feeling of being the "first" is different, and one will unconsciously devote all their energy to her.
"Yan Rui's setup has already been discussed with her. As long as she can maintain her free skate, the difficulty level of other skaters with similar treatment to her will not be as high. She and Meng Yi will also try their best to reach the top eight."
So you can change your setup for the free skate and don't have to push yourself so hard.
Yang Yiyan's smile widened: "I understand, I won't let them down."
Xia Yuezi's smile vanished instantly. She took a deep breath, staring at the girl on the bed. She didn't know if the girl was deliberately misinterpreting her meaning to annoy her.
………
Yang Yiyan's foot still has a day to recover, but the men's singles competition starts directly on the second day, and for many jumpers, the rest time is simply not enough.
For Yang Yiyan's health, the coaching team canceled her choral performance the next day. Yan Rui, who shared a room with her, volunteered to stay in the room with his senior sister after the choral performance to keep her company and help her pass the time. This touched his senior sister so much that she almost cried.
Despite being right at the competition venue, Yang Yiyan, who was chasing after the game with her tablet, complained but ordered her junior sister around more than anyone else.
She held a freshly washed apple in her left hand, bent her left leg and placed the tablet on it, watching her junior sister use tape to tie an ice pack to her ankle. Finally, she sat down next to the bed and watched her senior brother's game with Yang Yiyan.
They weren't watching the CCTV broadcast; they were directly clicking on the ISU's live stream link, so the commentary was all in English.
To facilitate synchronization with off-site coaches, there is a small box in the lower left corner of the player's replay, which will display the coach's expression in real time.
They found their coach here, but it was the contestant before Feng Simai. Xia Yuezi and Meng Xin were standing to the side nodding, seemingly commenting on the performance of other contestants.
However, when Feng Simai came on, the two coaches' expressions became serious.
"Senior sister, do you think Brother Simai can handle it?"
Yang Yiyan took a bite of her apple, then glanced at Yan Rui casually: "Don't worry, your senior brother's stability is among the top in the world."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Rui saw Feng Simai stagger and reached out to steady him.
Not only did Yang Yiyan forget to swallow the apple in her mouth, but even the two coaches on the field had their hearts pounding.
Xia Yuezi was far away and could only see that Feng Simai's jump axis was fine, but she couldn't tell the other reasons.
Fortunately, Feng Simai quickly adjusted his form and made up for the missed consecutive jumps in the next 4T.
What just happened?
As soon as the contestant left the arena, Xia Yuezi handed him the scabbard and took the opportunity to ask him about his mistake earlier.
Feng Simai sniffed: "It's nothing, just a slight pain in the back of my knee, it's an old problem."
His knees and ankles have always been severely damaged, not to the point of needing surgery, but like rheumatism, they are very annoying when they flare up.
The only good news is that most of the problems occur during training, and rarely during matches.
Xia Yuezi couldn't help but frown, and took out her phone to send a message to the team doctor: "I still need to do physical therapy when I get back, but if the recovery period for surgery is short, I'll do it during the off-season, otherwise it's like a ticking time bomb."
Feng Simai pouted and looked at Xia Yuezi, but didn't respond.
He also consulted a doctor, who said the injury was mainly to the ligaments, and if surgery was needed, the recovery time would be about one to two months.
Men's singles players all over the world are now pushing the limits of difficulty. Yang Yiyan lost her triple A jump for so long after undergoing ligament repair surgery. He can't imagine how long it would take for him to regain his quadruple jump if he had the same surgery.
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