Chapter 9 Agong Pearl Bellman
Xia Yuezi stood in the corridor and knocked on the door.
"Enter."
Li Tan sat in his office, wearing glasses and checking the newly released rules and schedule for Category B competitions on his computer. When he saw Xia Yuezi, he took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and invited her to sit down.
Li Tan got up and poured her a glass of water, saying in a flat tone, "You haven't come to see me very often since you joined the team."
Xia Yuezi took the paper cup and smiled awkwardly, "It's because you've been so busy. Since July, there have been one big meeting after another."
This isn't meant to flatter Li Tan, but Xia Yuezi herself has been involved in seven or eight meetings this month, either regarding the allocation of spots for the next season's youth Grand Prix events or adjusting the team's overall training plan. Not to mention the Youth Winter Olympics this season, where many athletes are eyeing the spots.
Li Tan leaned back in his chair, touching his dwindling hair, thinking about the orders from above. He felt that in a few years his hairstyle would have to match that of the current director of the Skating Association.
"So what brings you here now, when you wouldn't normally visit unless you had a reason?"
Xia Yuezi put down her water glass, straightened her posture, and said, "I want to sign Xiaoyan up for a silver medal match."
The Asian Open, or simply the Asian Open, is divided into adult, youth, and lower, middle, and upper age groups. Because it started early, many Asian players have chosen it as a warm-up tournament in later generations.
Li Tan frowned slightly, somewhat surprised: "I understand that you want Xiaoyan to get used to the youth group competition in advance, but why choose the Asian Games? It doesn't count towards the points."
For each competition, points are calculated based on the athlete's ranking and added to the overall ranking. In some A-level competitions, the order of appearance in the short program is arranged according to the world ranking.
“But it can rack up the lowest skill score, and this year’s Asian Games are being held in Taipei, so there’s no need to deal with the time difference.” Xia Yuezi smiled slyly.
Since 2013, the Asian Open has started to include points in the rankings. Now, the Asian Open not only has few top players, but the judges are also very lenient in their scoring. Isn't this a good opportunity to get the lowest technical score?
Feng Simai had already earned the trophy last season, so Yang Yiyan naturally needed to start preparing as well.
The ISU's A-level competitions have minimum technical score requirements, and each minimum technical score is valid for three years. A-level competitions are strictly scored, but B-level competitions are relatively lenient, especially the World Team Championships, which are known for their entertainment value. Although they are called championships, they are actually a money-sharing party among six countries.
As for the world rankings, Feng Simai is alright, since he has at least competed in the youth group for a season.
However, Yang Yiyan has never participated in international competitions. Even if she starts participating in B-level competitions now, and even makes it to the finals of the Youth Grand Prix, she would only be able to rank second to last in the World Youth Championships at best. It would be better for her to focus on the lowest technical score and difficulty level.
Li Tan hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Okay, I will report her name."
Seeing that the deal was done, Xia Yuezi was about to slip away when she heard Li Tan say, "Xiao Yan and Simai's development has been well controlled recently. Are you interested in sharing this with the other coaches?"
After the summer vacation started, Xia Yuezi's children would come to train every day. Many coaches were envious of their gradually growing thigh muscles. Yang Yiyan started practicing 3F+3LO on the bar after her height growth slowed down, which inspired many young coaches to discuss training methods with her.
They all have girls struggling with puberty. In singles skating, Xia Yuezi hears other coaches complaining about it every day. In pairs skating, many female partners are dieting, and some even deliberately reduce their sleep to suppress their height.
Xia Yuezi's eyes were somewhat complicated; she knew why Li Tan had said that.
“Every coach has a different coaching philosophy, and as a junior, I am not in a position to say anything. But if any coach asks me, I will share everything I know.”
Li Tan nodded and silently watched her leave until Xia Yuezi's figure disappeared in the corridor. Only then did he close his eyes and lean back in his chair.
………………
Xia Yuezi put away her passport, pulled her suitcase with one hand and Yang Yiyan with the other, and walked towards the arrival gate.
Originally, Yang's mother thought that her child was not used to leaving the mainland for the first time to compete, so she wanted to come and take care of him. However, his visa was blocked, so she could only ask Xia Yuezi to keep an eye on him.
Besides Yang Yiyan, the Chinese athletes participating in the Asian Open include one women's singles player and one ice dance pair, all of whom are competing in the junior division.
The women's singles player is Yin Yunrong. Xia Yuezi felt quite sorry for her when she saw her. This girl has good talent. At her peak, she could go toe-to-toe with Zhang Mengyi. It's just that her birthday wasn't good. Otherwise, she could have made it to the senior level before her developmental stage was dragged down.
The ice dance pair is from Jilin and just moved up to the junior group this year. Their coach is a middle-aged man with a beer belly. It is said that he had represented the country in competitions before retiring, but his partner retired due to injury, so he also retired.
The organizers arranged for someone to pick people up at the airport and take them directly back to the hotel.
Xia Yuezi looked at the registration information on the website. Most of the participants were second-tier contestants from Japan and South Korea. The only one that caught her attention was Park Young-ri, a contestant from South Korea.
Park Young-rye competed in the adult category. Two years ago, she moved up to the junior category and won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships. However, she experienced a dramatic resurgence in her development, going from a prodigy praised by the media to a player abandoned by the coaching staff. But she made a comeback at the All-Korea Championships before the Sochi Winter Olympics, not only securing a ticket to the Sochi Winter Olympics but also remaining South Korea's top female player until her retirement.
Although Park Young-rye doesn't have any super-C reserves, her resilience in falling from the top to the bottom and then climbing back up is enough to make many skaters and fans remember her.
The ice dance competition started first, and in the women's singles on the second day of the competition, Yang Yiyan was drawn as the third to last in the last group to compete.
Since it was her first time participating in an international competition, Xia Yuezi had prepared many relaxation methods in advance. Just as she was about to let the little girl try them out, she discovered that the girl had left a note and gone to the venue to watch the competition with the ice dance coach.
Seeing Xia Yuezi expressionlessly trying to drag her back, Meng Xin stopped her: "It's the child's first time competing, it's fine to let her go and see. Yunrong went with her too, nothing will happen."
Xia Yuezi sighed: "It's not about watching the competition. This child has been trying to lose weight recently, and when he sees food, he looks like a wolf with eyes that light up."
Yang Yiyan is already 155 cm tall, which is considered tall for her age, and her weight is also increasing accordingly.
If female athletes have too low body fat, it will affect their menstrual cycle. In addition, Yang Yiyan will gain more fat later, so Xia Yuezi can only have her diet and increase her training volume to control her weight.
Meng Xin also went through this phase; she couldn't resist the food at the cafeteria window.
"Then you'd better keep a close eye on it. Eating carbs can help you train, but I'm worried about it eating something it shouldn't."
When competing in international tournaments, one must be prepared for doping tests at any time. If any problems arise, a ban of several years can ruin half of a female singles player's career.
Even before registering, Xia Yuezi had told Yang Yiyan about the seriousness of the issue, and reminded her again at the hotel, effectively eliminating the girl's desire to go shopping.
Xia Yuezi sighed, "Never mind, I'll deal with her when she gets back."
On the second day at the competition, many people saw a little girl being tightly held by a woman with a dark face. If they hadn't both been wearing Chinese team uniforms, staff members probably would have gone up to question them.
Xia Yuezi put the bag on the ground, and a corner of the snack packaging bag was exposed where the zipper was not zipped up properly.
Yang Yiyan didn't dare to say a word the whole way, and consciously took her jump rope to the corner of the room to start warming up. Who would have thought she would be so unlucky, getting caught by the coach while hiding in her room eating a strawberry cookie.
Yin Yunrong was the second to appear in the group. Meng Xin had brought her here early to warm up, and she was now waiting on the sidelines.
By the time Yang Yiyan took the stage, it was almost noon.
The last group of contestants consisted of two from South Korea, two from Japan, and one from Kazakhstan.
Park Young-rye sat listlessly in the stands, holding a South Korean flag in her hand, watching her junior sister perform a 3T with her hand raised on the ice, seemingly showing off her skills.
When she represented the country in competitions before, she would call her "senior sister" so sweetly. Now that her results have improved, she has gradually stopped taking her seriously.
Although South Korea has a strong senior-junior culture, she didn't dare to do anything openly, but she never stopped using underhanded tactics, and the coach turned a blind eye.
She has already discussed it with her parents, and she will switch teams after this season ends.
Park Young-rye leaned forward, bent over and played on her phone for a while. When she looked up, she saw a girl wearing a light blue kautensil doing four triple jumps on the ice.
She looked her over carefully, making sure she didn't recognize her.
After the sixth practice session, the girl skated towards a coach wearing a Chinese national team uniform, and Park Young-rye watched as the coach slapped the skater on the head.
"I told you not to jump so much, what if your legs go weak later?"
Yang Yiyan covered her head, looking aggrieved, and said, "They're all showing off their skills, and I don't want to be outdone."
Xia Yuezi, her face darkening, put her arm around Yang Yiyan and walked towards an open space. She lowered her voice and said, "You can put some pressure on your opponent during the sixth training session, but don't let your emotions affect the later matches."
Yang Yiyan nodded, but it's unknown how much of what she said actually came to mind.
When Yang Yiyan took the stage, the highest score on the field was 53.97, achieved by a Japanese athlete.
She stood by the barrier, her hands held by the coach. Xia Yuezi lowered her head and instructed, "Don't be nervous, just treat it like a regular training session."
Yang Yiyan blushed slightly, but smiled and said, "I'm not nervous, it's the coach who's nervous."
Xia Yuezi couldn't help but laugh out loud. She instinctively wanted to pat Yang Yiyan's head, but looking at the ice rink behind her, she suppressed the smile in her eyes.
She pressed her forehead against Yang Yiyan's and squeezed her hands: "Keep going."
The moment the heat on her forehead disappeared, it was as if a newborn child had severed all ties with her and rushed to her own battlefield.
She watched Yang Yiyan's receding figure, her hands clenching tightly under her coat, her gaze calmly fixed on the ice rink.
Yang Yiyan's short program this season is Debussy's "Clair de Lune". Unlike Beethoven's piece, this piece emphasizes the depiction of the scene, showcasing the gentleness and tranquility under the moonlight.
As the piano music began, Yang Yiyan slowly opened her closed eyes, her gaze following her left hand as it rose and moved upwards.
Park Young-rye straightened up and sat upright in the stands, her eyes fixed on the girl on the field.
The first jump was 3F, and the skates left a long arc on the ice upon landing.
Xia Yuezi draped Yang Yiyan's coat over her elbow and clapped along with the audience on the sidelines.
The music depicts a shimmering lake at night, with fragments of moonlight scattered across it, and Yang Yiyan is a dancer bathed in the moonlight beside the lake.
She bent backward, one leg bent at the knee and the other straight, gliding on the ice in a lunge position, her head almost level with her waist, her arms outstretched as if embracing something, then quickly stood up and directly executed a 2A without any cushioning.
Meng Xin sat in the stands with Yin Yunrong and couldn't help but exclaim, "Although this 2A jump wasn't very high, the transition with the bogey step should add a lot of goe."
As the program entered its second half, during a break in the music, Yang Yiyan, with her legs in an X shape, used her waist to jump 3lo, and then jumped 3lo again as she landed on the ice.
Next to the South Korean coach stood a girl who had taken off her team uniform. She was jumping around on the sidelines to keep herself warm.
After completing her third round, Yang Yiyan didn't look back at the ice rink, but the cheers from the audience put a lot of pressure on her.
At this moment, the cheers from the stands reached their peak, and she couldn't help but look down at the ice. A girl was performing a bent-over spin, seemingly preparing for a Biellmann turn, but her head was almost level with the skate blade she was lifting to her hip with one hand, before she slowly pulled herself up with both hands.
Park Young-rye's previously calm face was now filled with shock. Pearl Bellman's move requires a very high degree of flexibility and is very damaging to the back; so far, only one American-Chinese female singles player has ever performed it.
She never imagined that someone in the women's singles junior group, who pursues high levels of difficulty, would be able to replicate this move.
Park Young-rye's gaze gradually shifted to the South Korean coach and his students on the sidelines, a barely perceptible sneer appearing in her eyes.
The plan to use this gold medal to secure a spot in a Grand Prix event is likely to fail this time.
A note from the author:
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