Chapter 13 Referees: On the field, athletes only need to be true to themselves...
The news that Chinese men's and women's singles skaters made it into the top three at the Latvian event delighted figure skating fans for a long time, and the number of people watching the free skates through VPNs skyrocketed.
The men's singles competition followed the pairs skating competition, and when the competition started, the director kept interspersing backstage training footage.
Feng Simai was wearing his team uniform, and you could see the red kneecaps peeking out from underneath. He found a secluded and open spot to jump rope, keeping his leg muscles taut.
Fujiwara Yoshino sat on a yoga mat in a split position, stretching his legs with a massage gun beside him. He successfully completed all the jumps, including the 3A, in the short program, earning a technical score of 43 points. Unfortunately, his program component score was poor, and the two were ultimately separated by less than three points.
The two were almost a room apart, but it was clear to everyone that the battle for the championship had already begun. This was especially evident during the sixth practice session, when one of them put all his effort into jumping 3A, while the other, not to be outdone, jumped 3LZ+3T with his hands raised.
One has good performance skills, and the other has a high level of difficulty. It depends on who performs more consistently on the field and who the referee is more willing to support.
Although Feng Simai couldn't quite figure out what the referee was thinking, he could guess what the coach was feeling. Xia Yuezi was standing at the entrance of the ice rink, arms crossed, watching him coldly.
Feng Simai shrank his neck and went over, but Xia Yuezi gave him a sharp rap on the head without any mercy: "You've really grown up. You dare to raise your hand as soon as you found the axis. Are you really not afraid of falling?"
When hitting Yang Yiyan, Xia Yuezi would hold back a bit, and after a few words, she would know when to stop. But when dealing with Feng Simai, she would not hold back. Boys are tough and thick-skinned; they won't learn their lesson unless they are beaten.
Fujiwara Yoshino stood to the side, and as soon as he put on his team uniform, he saw the Chinese female coach, who looked very gentle and capable, turn into a grumpy lady. He silently looked at the balding coach next to him and suddenly felt that his own coach was not so bad.
Japanese law stipulates that no adult can beat a minor, but that doesn't mean they can't reprimand them. Sometimes, when emotions run high, Coach Yamada will also yell at people.
Feng Simai rubbed her head and, mimicking Yang Yiyan's coquettish manner, said, "Coach, I know I was wrong. There are so many people here."
Coach Xia didn't even glance at him, and said with an iron face, "There are usually a lot of people training, and I've never seen you embarrassed."
Can they be the same?
He trains with athletes from the provincial team, so even if he makes a fool of himself, the story won't get out of the system. But this is an international competition with so many cameras in front of him, so he still has his pride.
Looking at Xia Yuezi's expression, Feng Simai felt that if he continued talking, he would definitely get another flick on the forehead, so he silently walked to the side and stood still, waiting to go on stage.
His free skate was taken from the seventh act, "Fire Dance," of the famous Irish dance drama "Riverdance." It is based on tap dance and incorporates flamenco. The entire dance drama is also a common choice for figure skaters.
For a performer like Feng Simai, this piece doesn't offer much room for self-expression, but its distinct rhythm helps to create a lively atmosphere and makes it easier to immerse the audience.
The bright red color was very eye-catching on the ice rink. Feng Simai relaxed his body, put his hands behind his back, and stood with his legs crossed.
As the music began, his gaze shifted from the ice to the stands, and he slowly raised his hands, like a revered figure standing on an altar, praying to heaven.
Feng Simai waved his arms, lifted his right leg and lightly brushed the ice surface, landing with a 3LZ, then skating backward. After circling half the ice, he did not prepare to gather strength, but instead used the speed of the skating to jump out with a 2A+3T.
His body was spread out in a wide arc, pouring all his passion into the show, transforming him into a true member of the ancient Irish people, using his body to demonstrate the power and charm of the sun god.
Fujiwara Yoshino was momentarily lost in thought, but the audience's applause brought him back to reality. By then, Feng Simai had already completed the "Sword-Raising Swallow" move, and the following section incorporated elements of tap dance, gliding and stepping on the ice.
With the applause and shouts of the ice skating fans all around him, Xia Yuezi kept an eye on his feet and counted the beats, afraid that he would be distracted by the fans and lose his rhythm, causing him to fall.
The boy on the ice rink had already attracted everyone's attention, but Xia Yuezi's eyes held a hint of worry.
Feng Simai's physical fitness is a major issue. He has always placed the combination jumps and high-difficulty jumps in the first half of the routine, but this time he added a combination jump to the second half. Even if he doesn't make any mistakes when the music starts, there's no guarantee that an accident won't happen on stage.
Feng Simai lifted his left foot and slid backward a short distance, quickly touched the ice, and then lifted his left foot again to touch the ice.
With the successful landing of 3S+3T, Xia Yuezi could see Feng Simai grinning from a distance, his smile impossible to hide.
There's a saying that goes, "Extreme joy begets sorrow." The next second, Xia Yuezi watched helplessly as he tripped and fell flat on his face.
There was no jumping, no footwork, but the left foot tripped over the right foot.
The photographer skillfully switched the camera to the coach, and a woman with a face full of black lines appeared on the big screen above the ice rink.
Yang Yiyan slapped her forehead, thinking to herself, "Oh no, my junior brother is going to get scolded again when he gets back."
Coach Yamada silently took a few steps back, distancing himself from Xia Yuezi, afraid of being caught in the crossfire. When he was an athlete and came to China to compete, he had the misfortune of witnessing Chinese women arguing and fighting, a scene he still vividly remembers.
After falling, Feng Simai immediately adjusted his condition and completed the next two single jumps with a very high degree of skill. He stood on the ice and paid tribute to the fans in all directions. He dragged his feet and reluctantly returned to the ice rink exit, not daring to look at his coach's face.
Xia Yuezi handed him the coat expressionlessly, stood beside him like a bodyguard, and helped Feng Simai to the waiting area.
Many ice skating fans saw the image of the grumpy girl and the little quail waiting to be divided on their computers, and couldn't help but laugh, so they took a screenshot of the picture.
With a technical score of 69.83 and a program component score of 67.53, a point was deducted for a fall in the free skate, resulting in a final score of 136.36. Including the short program score, the final score is 210.02, currently placing him in first place.
Little Quail lowered his head even further. He made a mistake, and his score was immediately lowered by the judges. Even his P score dropped a level, so he definitely couldn't compete with Fujiwara Yoshino for the top spot on the podium.
Xia Yuezi pulled him to a secluded spot backstage, patted him on the shoulder, and recalled the words other coaches used to comfort the men's singles players. She mimicked their tone and said, "You're already on the podium, one foot in the finals, so why are you still unhappy?"
Feng Simai looked up, her eyes filled with tears, her voice choked with emotion: "Coach..."
Xia Yuezi took out a tissue from her bag and placed it in his hand. She then grabbed another tissue and smeared it on his face, stopping him from saying anything more: "Don't be so dramatic and say anything apologetic to me. On the field, you only need to be true to yourself."
Athletes are not idols; their strongest source of confidence is their achievements. From obscurity to prominence, and finally standing on the podium as a household name, they have always relied on their own hard work and dedication. Perhaps the support and help from coaches, parents, and fans are indispensable, but those are only one aspect of their motivation.
Feng Simai held the paper on her face, and you could see through her fingers that a small part of it was already wet.
Xia Yuezi sighed, pulled the person down to squat on the ground, and comforted them gently: "Let's remember the lesson from this T. It's good that we can do consecutive jumps in the second half, but don't get too carried away in the next competition."
She was speechless. She hadn't expected that Feng Simai was such a crybaby when he was a child, even more so than Yang Yiyan. It turned out that his emotional expression was stronger in this kind of situation than on the ice.
After appeasing Feng Simai, she rushed to the stands to find Yang Yiyan and bring her back to prepare for the evening's free skate.
The men's singles awards ceremony will be held in the evening, after all other events have concluded. The women's singles free skate is the last event of the day, and it is scheduled to end at 9:30 PM in Latvia.
Li Tan yawned in his study, a few physiological tears welling up in his eyes from sleepiness. A middle-aged woman in pajamas pushed open the door and entered, carrying a cup of hot milk.
"The results will be out tomorrow, why do you have to sit here so late to watch them?"
The visitor spoke reproachfully, but there was no dissatisfaction on her face. She placed the milk on the table and looked at the screen with Li Tan.
Among the six players on the field, only one was Asian. Zhao Shuhua pointed at Yang Yiyan and said, "Is this the child you think can succeed you?"
Li Tan responded, picked up the milk and took a slow sip, then asked, "What do you think of her?"
Zhao Shuhua started as a pairs figure skater and was once the top female skater. After retiring, she worked as a pairs skating coach in the team. After having a child, she couldn't manage so many students, so she switched from coaching to judging competitions and has been working hard for international events. In July, she even participated in the ISU judge assessment.
She had watched videos of Yang Yiyan's competitions and had also seen Yang Yiyan train a few times from afar in the provincial team. She knew that Li Tan's attention to her was second only to Zhang Mengyi, so she spoke very tactfully.
"Apart from the hook shot, her technique is almost flawless, but we'll have to wait until she turns 15 to see what the future holds."
Li Tan smiled knowingly, watching the contestants slowly leave the field after the sixth practice session, then turned and asked, "How did Lu Ying's exam go?"
Zhao Shuhua took a chair from the bookshelf and sat down next to Li Tan. After a moment of silence, she said, "I've already passed the domestic referee exam. If all goes well, I'll be able to go to the National Championships."
Not to mention Li Tan, even Zhao Shuhua initially thought she was hallucinating when she heard Lu Ying's future career plans.
They had assumed that Lu Ying would return to university to pursue a master's degree after retiring, since the university had offered her a position. However, she unexpectedly returned to become a referee, just like her teacher's wife.
Li Tan almost spat out her tea, wondering if she was possessed by something. Being a figure skating judge isn't exactly a desirable job; if you give an unfair score, you'll be bombarded with criticism, and if you hesitate to score, you'll also be questioned. Most importantly, the factional infighting among judges can be even more severe than among coaches.
Li Tan saw how much Zhao Shuhua was scolded and how many white people she was scorned by the referees, but he couldn't help her.
Lu Ying is considered one of the most hardworking and accomplished women's singles players in China. As a teacher and coach, she occasionally brings her students into the spotlight, allowing figure skating fans to reminisce. However, if she were a referee, and her mistakes outweighed her achievements, Lu Ying would be forever branded as a disgrace in the hearts of figure skating fans, never to recover.
He really couldn't understand why Lu Ying would give up a respectable job and go out of her way to be scolded.
The room fell silent, with only the narration and applause coming from the computer.
As the steam from the milk gradually dissipated until it disappeared, Li Tan's eyes showed a hint of weariness as he leaned back in his chair.
He looked at the yellow-skinned girl standing on the ice, ready to go on stage, and his voice lowered a few decibels: "Forget it, since she's made up her mind, let her do it. If she wants to retire someday, whether it's the team or the club, as long as she's willing, they won't treat her badly."
Zhao Shuhua silently placed her hand on Li Tan's shoulder, her gaze fixed on the girl gesturing to the audience on the screen. As a fellow pillar of the project, she could understand Lu Ying's thoughts to some extent.
In this sport where European and American skaters have a clear advantage, Asian skaters have suffered greatly. Pairs figure skating, as China's flagship sport, has been the target of countless unfair criticisms, and Zhao Shuhua is one of them. Seeing the rising stars behind her, she is willing to be the one paving the way.
Women's singles has also been on the rise in recent years, with promising talents emerging from the three northeastern provinces. Their scores in the National Championships have been increasing year by year. Perhaps the girl she watched grow up has also embarked on the same path as her.
A note from the author:
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