Chapter 93 2017 Four Continents Championships
◎Become a guiding light◎
Because of Ji Tang and his partner's outstanding performance, the leaders rarely interfered with their games and careers, but emotional issues could have a big impact after all, so they still had to be managed. Ji Tiantian also understood this.
In fact, Ji Tiantian didn't care too much about whether it was public or not. During the season, she and Tang Yi didn't have much time to spend together in private.
But she felt that Tang Yi cared a lot. He had expressed that he didn't want to be her lover in secret, so she felt that she had to find an opportunity to "make him right" in public.
"But what kind of good results does the leader want?" Ji Tiantian blinked and looked at Xu Chi.
The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, which is attended by athletes from America, Asia, Africa and Oceania, is a Category A event for the adult group and is usually held at the beginning of the year. The equivalent event is the European Championships, which is attended only by European athletes. Both competitions are very influential.
The Big Goose belonging to Europe participates in the European Championships. In other words, you will not meet Katerin and Ivanov, nor will you meet Big Goose No. 1 Dalia and Nikolay in the Four Continents Competition.
"The leadership hopes that you can continue to beat the North American players like you did in the Grand Prix Finals." Xu Chi said to Ji Tiantian, "If you can maintain your excellent results in the four continents, then you can go public. The people on the team and the outside world will not say much because of your excellent results."
Ji Tiantian's chest rose and fell slightly. The four continents did not have Dalia and Nikolai, who had always been in first place. If they could still suppress the North American players, then it meant that they would win the gold medal.
"However, the leader's meaning is the leader's meaning. I want to know your true thoughts." Xu Chi took a deep breath and looked firmly at the two contestants in front of him. He couldn't help but raise his voice, "Do you have confidence in the Four Continents?"
"Yes!" Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi answered without hesitation.
"Tang Yi and I will work hard." Ji Tiantian looked at Tang Yi, then nodded to Xu Chi, "We will work hard... to win the gold medal."
When the word "gold medal" came out of her mouth, Ji Tiantian couldn't help but clench her hands into fists in front of her chest.
They had never participated in the Four Continents in the past for various reasons, but this time, they were participating for the first time, and their goal was to be at the top.
No one knows what the final result will be, but there is no doubt that she will try her best.
She initially chose ice dancing because of her passion for it, but what has always driven her forward is a sense of mission.
She wants more people to see her dancing on ice, and wants more people to see Asian and Chinese dancing. The passion of dancers merges with the passion of athletes, giving her a strong sense of mission.
"Old Xu, don't worry, Tiantian and I will keep it together." Tang Yi said to Xu Chi.
"I hope you will always remember one thing." Xu Chi patted Tang Yi and Tian Tian's shoulders and smiled, "No matter what results you get, your family and I are sincerely proud of you."
The Four Continents Games will be held in mid-February 2017. According to the schedule, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi will start pre-match sprint training at the national team training ground in mid-January.
Neither they nor their coaches have time to have family gatherings or other New Year-related activities with their families on New Year's Eve.
Taking Ji Tiantian's schedule into consideration, Zhang Lilian and Ji Ze decided to stay in the capital for a few more days, and then pick a day when Liu Hui's family is also free to have another dinner together, just as an early New Year's Eve dinner.
This early New Year's Eve dinner was scheduled at Wei Xiao and Chang Yu's hot pot restaurant. In the past, for various reasons, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi had never been to the restaurant opened by Wei Xiao and Chang Yu, so this time they had a good chance to go.
As soon as she entered the store, Ji Tiantian saw the walls covered with photos of her and Tang Yi.
There were the photos of them standing on the podium of the World Youth Championship to receive the bronze medal, and then the gold medal, the gold medal of the World Championship, the bronze medal of the Winter Olympics, the silver medal of the Grand Prix Finals... Looking at the photos one by one, even Ji Tiantian was a little surprised. Unknowingly, time passed so quickly. In the photos, she and Tang Yi grew taller little by little, and their faces gradually left their initial immaturity. And all of this was clearly recorded by the medals and the podium.
"Why don't you post yours?" Tang Yi asked Chang Yu who was busy in the store.
"Xiaoxiao and I have plenty of photos of us, bunches and bunches, and we're tired of seeing them." Chang Yu waved his hand, "Besides, putting you in the most conspicuous place will make it easier for me to attract business. Handsome men and beautiful women, who can bring glory to the country, who wouldn't be happy to see it."
"Tiantian, you wouldn't be unwilling, would you?" Wei Xiao walked over and asked.
"No." Ji Tiantian smiled a little embarrassedly, "It's good to be able to attract business for you."
"Wow, you guys are not the Tiantang duo from Ice Dance!" A square-faced customer looked at the photo, then at Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi who had just walked into the store, and widened his eyes exaggeratedly.
Ji Tiantian smiled and said nothing.
"Ah... you don't know, the store was so lively when you were competing! Many people gathered together, cheering and applauding! The boss is your number one fan!" More regular customers joined the discussion.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm not that happy even when watching a football game! Your show is so great!"
"When is the next game? We all have to come to the store to watch it!"
"Yes! I'm going to bring my wife to watch! To watch the game, just for the fun!"
Listening to the regular customers talking to each other, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi's eyes fell back on Wei Xiao and Chang Yu. Wei Xiao and Chang Yu did not seem to tell the customers that they were also ice dancers.
"Hey, nothing else matters." Wei Xiao seemed to be able to read the eyes of Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi. He smiled and said, "What do you want to order? I'll go prepare it."
The Ji and Tang families sat down to order. Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi signed for the regular customers around them. After a while, Chang Yu and a waiter came over to serve them a table of dishes.
Athletes have to control their diet, so their table is just a soup base without any ingredients, and the dishes are mainly raw materials. Ji Tang's family has already adapted to this way of eating, so they don't think it's a big deal.
Xu Chi and Liu Hui ordered some extra wine, and they started drinking it. Zhang Lilian and Ji Ze also drank a little, and Ji Ze's eyes started to widen after just one drink. Ji Tiantian looked at her father silently.
"I just suddenly thought that Tang Yi seemed to be the same..." Ji Tiantian noticed Zhang Lilian's gaze and spoke in a low voice.
"Oh, then you have inherited your mother's vision." Zhang Lilian smiled and touched Ji Tiantian's head, "Then you must not have made a mistake in choosing someone, and you will definitely be happy in the future!"
Ji Tiantian couldn't help but smile, and there was a hint of sweetness in her smile.
"Chang Yu, have you and Wei Xiao decided on your major life events?" Xu Chi was in high spirits after drinking, so he turned to talk to Chang Yu. Chang Yu and Wei Xiao were about seven years older than Ji Tiantian, and according to common sense, this was indeed an age to consider major life events.
"Let's wait until the business is stable." Chang Yu touched the back of his head, with a sad smile, "A lot of restaurants have opened nearby recently, and the competition is fierce. I can't spare any extra energy for the time being."
"Hey, you guys better hurry up! Be careful not to be overtaken by the younger generation." Xu Chi said with a smile.
"It's not that I've been surpassed a long time ago, I've gotten used to it." Chang Yu paused, and suddenly realized, "Wait, you're not talking about grades? Could it be that Tiantian and Tang Yi..."
Liu Hui reached out and pushed Xu Chi. "I don't know, I just drank too much!" Xu Chi said nothing more.
"Okay then." Chang Yu smiled and turned to talk to Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi, "Then I wish you a happy new year in advance. Keep up the good work next year!"
"Come on, come on!" The regular customers around also responded.
With the blessings of the guests, the early New Year’s Eve dinner ended grandly.
Afterwards, Ji Tiantian's parents returned to South City, while Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi successfully completed their respective university final exams and entered into a tense pre-race sprint.
Their schedule was almost filled with physical training, land dance training and ice training. In order to get a higher score for the program content, they invited teachers from the dance academy to give them guidance and further refine their dance moves.
Even a seemingly simple action like raising your hands or legs has to be honed repeatedly to present the best posture possible on the field. When Ji Tiantian is training, one nerve is always tense in her mind.
She knew that at this time, Rita Thompson of the United States and Judy Jayne of Canada must be doing the same thing as her, repeatedly honing their skills in the hope of performing better on the court.
Without the strong big goose players in the four continents, everyone wants to fight for the top. No one wants to miss this opportunity.
Therefore, there must be no slackness at all.
Once when practicing footwork on the ice, Ji Tiantian suddenly felt an unbearable pain in her knee. She couldn't help but bend down and cover her knee. Tang Yi saw it and immediately hugged her and left the ice.
Afterwards, the team doctor conducted a detailed examination of Ji Tiantian's injury.
"Ligament injury, take a rest." The team doctor sighed and said to Xu Chi, "Injuries accumulated over time cannot be healed, but rest can alleviate the injury."
Ice dancing requires the knees to control the legs and use the blade flexibly. Long-term training will more or less cause knee problems.
Ji Tiantian was a little depressed for a while. She had been prepared for all kinds of physical pain, which was not unfamiliar to her. However, she did not expect that her body would suddenly have problems, just before the game where she was expected to win the gold medal.
"Is it serious?" Xu Chi asked the team doctor.
"A little bit." The team doctor sighed softly, "If this continues, they might need surgery. Let the players rest for a few days and stop skating."
Following the coach's repeated instructions, Ji Tiantian stopped going on the ice, but she still had some practice on the ground.
In the dance studio, Ji Tiantian stepped on Tang Yi's shoes barefoot and held his hand face to face. They danced to the free dance music, following the same dance steps as on the ice. In this way, they replaced the practice on the ice. With Tang Yi leading the steps, Ji Tiantian's joints could also get an effective rest.
"Tang Yi, I'm thinking, if one day in the future I get seriously injured and can't compete, then you should quickly find the next dance partner and don't give the medal and the quota to others." Ji Tiantian leaned on Tang Yi's shoulder, her eyes bright, "If you get injured, I will do the same thing. We have an appointment now, so we won't be too entangled in the future."
After she finished speaking, Tang Yi was silent for a while and did not respond immediately. But his feet were still dancing with her.
"Victoria and William retired because of old leg injuries." A moment later, Ji Tiantian heard Tang Yi's deep voice ringing in her ears, "They didn't retire immediately after winning the Sochi gold medal. They probably thought they could last another Olympic cycle. But later they realized that they couldn't hold on any longer, so they chose to retire."
Tang Yi lowered his eyes and looked at Ji Tiantian in his arms, revealing a faint smile: "I believe you are that kind of person too. Unless you really can't skate at all, you will definitely try your best to stand on the ice. Because you know that is your stage."
Ji Tiantian couldn't help but smile. She didn't know since when, Tang Yi had become better at understanding her than she was.
"If you need to rest, I'll wait for you. If you can't slide, we can practice in other ways. As long as you don't give up, I'll always be by your side." Tang Yi continued.
Ji Tiantian couldn't help but look up at Tang Yi's pair of extremely dark and deep eyes. Tears couldn't help but overflow from her eyes.
"We agreed to retire after the age of 30." Tang Yi grabbed her hand tightly, his voice as firm as his action, "We will go through the next 10 years together."
Tears suddenly fell. Ji Tiantian sniffed and nodded vigorously: "Okay."
She and he maintained the quickstep grip, looking forward together, and continued practicing.
In the busy practice, time slipped by quietly. Unconsciously, 16 years have passed, and the Four Continents Championships officially kicked off in early 2017.
Generally speaking, in the Four Continents Competition, one country can send three pairs of athletes for one event. However, the Qin Nian team that was originally going to participate was unable to attend due to a temporary injury, so only the Ji Tang team and the Lin Aili team participated in the ice dance event.
They traveled to Gangneung, South Korea, where the competition was held, with other figure skating team members.
As soon as they entered the designated hotel, many ice dancers from Asian countries swarmed over and surrounded Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi. They were eager to take photos with Ji Tang and wanted Ji Tang to leave his autograph.
For many Asian players, Ji Tang, who has repeatedly created miracles, is no different from a hero.
The next day, Ji Tang and other athletes took the hotel bus to the stadium to draw lots. As soon as Ji Tiantian got off the bus, she saw the familiar competition venue and couldn't help but smile with emotion.
It can be said that she has a special fate with Gangneung, South Korea. In the spring of 2011, she participated in the international competition for the first time in the same venue, officially starting her international ice dance journey.
At that World Youth Championship, she and Tang Yi won the bronze medal together. She believed that this familiar venue would give her endless courage and luck.
As soon as she stood still, she saw the players of the American team getting off the bus they were riding on. After the head coach got off the bus, he greeted a fat white old man warmly. Ji Tiantian found that the white old man looked a little familiar. After thinking carefully, he seemed to be a North American referee. In the past major competitions, these North American referees often gave their own people P points.
Ji Tiantian lowered her eyes slightly. Although they won the silver medal in the finals, it did not mean that they would have an easy time in the four continents competition. They had to stay alert and try their best to have good footwork, so that they could defeat the high P score combination.
Ji Tang and his coach walked into the venue to draw lots. This year, there are 30 pairs participating in the Four Continents Ice Dance event. The 30 pairs are divided into 6 warm-up groups, and the top 20 pairs in the short dance will enter the free dance.
The short dance groups were divided according to the contestants' historical performances, and then a draw was conducted within the groups to determine the order of performance. Ji Tang was drawn to be the first pair to perform in the sixth group. The contestants from the four continents who entered the Grand Prix Finals were in the same group as them.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the ice dance short dance competition.
Feifei, Ni Chuan, and many other Chinese audiences sat anxiously in the audience seats.
Work became increasingly busy, and Feifei had originally not planned to attend the Four Continents competition. However, the competition was held in Jiangling, which was very close to her, and she could not resist the temptation and came.
"The Big Goose Band, which has firmly held the number one spot, is not here this time. Can Tiantang win the gold medal?" Anxious discussions were heard in the audience.
"Tiantang's skills... must be good enough!"
"Yeah, it depends on whether the referee is good enough!"
"Ooooooh, so nervous!"
"Come on, sweetie!"
"The game is about to begin. Please take your seats. The referee team will be introduced below." An announcement came from the radio.
After the technical experts stood up and waved, it was the turn of the nine judges responsible for GOE and P points to be introduced.
The names of the nine referees were broadcast one by one on the radio, and as the broadcast sounded, the nine referees stood up one by one.
Ji Tiantian found that there were many more Asians in the judges' booth. The judges from Japan, South Korea, and China stood up one by one, smiling and waving to the audience from all directions.
"Unlike the Grand Prix and World Championships where white referees dominate, the Four Continents Tournament uses a different team of referees. Among the four continents, Asia occupies a relatively important position, and there are more Asian referees. This time, there seem to be especially many." Xu Chi talked to Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi, "It is said that before the game, the referees held a small meeting together, the intention was to curb the current situation of North American players' blindly rising P points and pave the way for players from other continents to move forward."
"The history of the European Championships is longer than that of the Four Continents. The European Championships came first, and then the Four Continents Championships came to compete with it. Initially, the Four Continents Championships was established to allow the relatively weaker figure skating athletes from the Four Continents to obtain priority rankings in a fair scoring environment and have the motivation to keep moving forward." Jiang Lin smiled at Ji Tang and continued, "I believe this competition will be more fair than before."
"Come on, many people are looking forward to you!" Xu Chi patted Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi on the shoulders.
The competition officially began, and soon it was the turn of the second to last group to warm up.
After the warm-up, Lin Aili's group went to the competition and successfully completed their short dance program. This time, Lin Aili's group's pattern dance key points were all correct, the pattern dance part was level 4, the pattern dance derivative steps were level 2, and the connecting steps were level 3. Other technical movements were level 4. The technical score was 34.73, the program content score was 33.32, and the short dance score was 68.05. It was the best short dance score in their career.
Lin Aili was very happy to get this score. After the performance, she hugged her dance partner Brother Bianzi excitedly.
"Very good, the pattern dance is not wrong, and the P score is also higher than the last time." Xu Chi clapped his hands with satisfaction, and a smile appeared in his eyes. "From this point of view, we may be able to look forward to Tiantian and Tang Yi."
Jiang Lin sighed softly after hearing this.
"What's wrong?" Xu Chi asked.
"I was just thinking that if Tiantian and Tang Yi achieve good results, the burden on them will be even heavier. Behind these titles, the Asian Miracle, the Light of Ice Dance, are responsibilities and missions, and many people's expectations of them." Jiang Lin spoke softly, "I just feel sorry for them. They are so young and should be enjoying their prime years, but they are suffering from injuries and can't even talk about love happily."
"If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight." Xu Chi looked at Ji Tang who was about to go on stage, "There are some things that only they can do. But I think they have already realized it."
Finally, the second-to-last group finished the competition, and it was the turn of the penultimate group, which Ji Tang was in, to warm up.
"Tiantian, are you okay?" Jiang Lin asked Ji Tiantian. If Ji Tiantian suddenly felt unwell on the spot, she would prefer to let Ji Tiantian leave. Health is the capital.
"It's okay, I can make it through the competition." Ji Tiantian nodded.
After a few days of rest, the knee injury has improved a lot. Although there are still bouts of dull pain, it shouldn't affect the game.
Ji Tiantian smiled and extended her hand to Tang Yi, who firmly took her hand. Amid cheers, they walked towards the ice together.
Soon, the five-minute warm-up was over. The other players slid off the ice one by one. Ji Tang stood at the exit waiting for the announcement.
"The next ones to play are Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi from China." Accompanied by the bilingual Korean and English broadcast, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi skated to the center of the ice together.
Just like in the Grand Prix Finals, Ji Tiantian looked up at the audience with a bright smile. Then she clenched her fist and raised it high.
Ni Chuan jumped up and raised his fist towards the ice. Then many Chinese spectators followed suit, standing up and raising their fists high in defiance.
Other Asian spectators also stood up and raised their fists. On the ice, Lin Aili's team, Suzuki Kotani from Japan, and other Asian players also raised their fists.
This was almost an involuntary action. No one said anything, but the action was enough to show everything. Ji Tiantian looked at the shocking scene in front of her, and her eyes couldn't stop getting hot. She smiled with tears in her eyes. At this moment, she knew very well that they were not the only ones who were looking forward to a shining gold medal.
Many Asian countries and Asian athletes are looking forward to them, hoping that they can win the gold medal and become a guiding light.
At this moment, she wanted to win desperately. The dancer's cells and the athlete's cells screamed in her body.
Since she couldn't scream, she let her dancing on the ice express her feelings.
She closed her eyes gently, took a deep breath, and immersed herself in the game. Soon, their blues music started playing.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi held hands and entered the first technical action, the pattern dance. Although they had skated the pattern dance many times in their usual practice and on the field, when they were about to skate to the critical point that might cause demotion, Ji Tiantian couldn't help but tense up, hoping that she would not be affected by the pain.
The first key point required the male and female partners to do the difficult steps of 3 turns together, which Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi completed successfully. The second key point was the steps of Tang Yi's male partner, which Tang Yi completed successfully.
Finally, the female partner's 12th and 13th steps, floating legs cross twist two times. The sliding legs of these two steps just landed on the leg with the injured knee. Ji Tiantian tried her best to maintain a smile on her face, while tightening her body and began to do the key points. The floating leg went backwards, and then lightly rotated, completing the three key points perfectly.
She smiled and looked at Tang Yi, then continued with the next step of pattern derivation.
"In fact, I think Tiantian and Tang Yi's derivative steps can get a level four in the finals. The difficulty of the steps is rich enough and there are no mistakes. The grip is also switched very well." Jiang Lin stood at the edge of the ice, watching Ji Tang's skating and talking in a low voice.
"It may be a problem of ice surface coverage. The speed is still not fast enough. But I remember that in the finals, Russia's No. 1 had a very good derivative step, without any flaws, but he did not reach level 4. Maybe the Skating Federation does not want someone to get level 4 as soon as the derivative step comes out." Xu Chi said.
"Yeah, we have to leave a challenge." Jiang Lin nodded.
Ji Tang had already finished his derivative steps on the ice, and the music switched to their hip-hop music, "Hot Wind". Clean, clear drum beats echoed across the ice.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi skated on the ice face to face, while waving their fists vigorously to the beat of the music.
Fine beads of sweat soaked Ji Tiantian's hair at the temples due to the intense exercise, but her eyes were burning with fire.
At this moment, there was only one thought in her mind, and that was to win, win, and win.
Light a guiding light at competition venues on four continents.
The audience, along with the players on the ice, pumped their fists and cheered rhythmically to the music. Mia and many other excited players also jumped and danced to the music.
With the strong rhythm of the music, Tang Yi picked up Ji Tiantian and started to do a twist and lift. Ji Tiantian stretched out her arms amid cheers and clenched her hands into strong fists.
They began to spin rapidly. The skates flew across the ice at high speed, creating flying pieces of ice flowers, and they turned into firm and powerful sculptures in the ice flowers.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi completed several kneeling ice BREAKING dance poses together, and then froze on the ice as they stepped to the end of the music.
They knelt on the ice, facing the referee. Ji Tiantian's forehead was covered with sweat. She had a knee injury, so kneeling on the ice was more strenuous than usual, but fortunately, she completed it successfully.
When the last note fell, she and Tang Yi looked up together and raised their fists high to complete their short dance program.
"Tiantang! Tiantang is the best!" Cheers broke out in the stadium.
Amidst the applause, Tang Yi quickly stood up, then pulled Ji Tiantian up with both hands. Ji Tiantian gave him a reassuring smile, indicating that she was fine, and then they saluted to the audience and skated off the ice.
"It was smoother than the finals, and the audience was very cooperative, so the effect was even better." Xu Chi hugged the two contestants and spoke with satisfaction.
Ji Tiantian nodded and went to the equal area accompanied by her dance partner and coach. She panted and waited for the score.
"I don't know how it will go this time!" Many people in the audience stretched their necks, staring at the score display screen, anxiously waiting for the score to come out.
"All the technical moves seem to be correct! It's smoother overall than the finals!"
"Yeah! But I think it might have something to do with the atmosphere on the scene? There were more Asian audiences this time, and everyone was more cooperative with Tiantang, and they also understood the spirit of their performance better!"
"I think so too! This performance was even more touching than the one in the finals!"
After a while, Ji Tang's short dance score came out.
The technical score was 41.23, the program content was 38.13, and the short dance score was 79.36. They once again got the best short dance score of the group this season.
"Great!" Feifei couldn't help but exclaimed amid the applause, "Our P score has finally gone up!"
The author has something to say:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
