Chapter 102: Team Battle
The first half of Sergeyeva's performance was filled with spins and steps, and her own expressiveness was relatively weak. After she finished a few movements, people just felt empty.
But the sudden change in the rhythm of the music in the second half perked everyone up.
Sergeyeva's jumps were very powerful. The first jump was the same 3Lz+3Lo as Tan Ling. The difference was that she could do both jumps well and both were done cleanly and beautifully.
This made the atmosphere on China's social media platforms tense instantly -
"I feel like my first place is not secure..."
"The real-time goe of this jump has surpassed Tan Ling, help!"
Sergeyeva still used 3F in her second jump, seemingly trying to take a slim chance of not being caught.
The person on the field suddenly jumped up, looking like he really wanted to suppress the inner edge.
But for many things, the more you care about them and the harder you try, the easier it is to fail.
For example, when Sergeyeva lost her balance when landing on the ice because the axis of her jump was crooked, and she relied on her strong core strength and control of her body to stand on the ice, He Hui didn't even feel surprised at all.
"But, is this blade used correctly?" Tang Meng asked He Hui uncertainly.
"If you swing the blade, you will be caught." He Hui replied.
Unless, unless the technical referee chooses to favor the Russian players and tells lies with open eyes.
But the probability of this happening in Pyeongchang is too low. The technical referee is Canadian, and even if there is bias, it is obviously not in Russia.
If you take a closer look at the list of referees for the women's singles, you will find that there is only one Russian referee.
He Hui subconsciously glanced at Tan Ling on the other side. Tan Ling looked calm on the surface, but the beads of sweat on her connected palms betrayed her nervousness.
Bai Ying: "Sergeyeva completed the final tano 2A. There were some flaws in the skating of this jump, but overall it was done very well."
Tan Ling sighed beside him: "It's hard to say the result."
Sergeyeva completed her final spin on the field. I don't know if the three consecutive jumps had a certain impact on her physical fitness and condition, her rotation axis shifted significantly, and the rotation speed also decreased compared to the beginning.
"This classification is not very good." Tang Meng saw it more clearly, "It's shaky and looks very unstable."
At this point, Sergeyeva's short program ended.
Just looking at her expression as she sat there, which was quite serious, made the atmosphere of the entire Russian and Austrian delegation seem very low.
He Hui kept calculating in his mind. To be honest, Sergeyeva's performance today was slightly inferior to Tan Ling's. But the result was in suspense for a second, and everyone's heart was raised for a moment.
Bai Ying in the commentary booth swallowed unconsciously, his eyes fixed on the system and the screen.
Tan Ling looked up at the audience, suddenly closed her eyes, and leaned her head on He Hui's shoulder.
"What's wrong?" He Hui asked softly.
"Nothing." Tan Ling's tense muscles completely relaxed. "I'm just a little tired."
He Hui smiled lightly: "You are quite strange. Others care most about the scores."
"I care." Tan Ling still didn't open his eyes, "I'm listening."
The host's voice answered: "Lana Sergeyeva of the Russian Olympic delegation scored 75.98 points in the short program."
Tan Ling sat up straight, opened her eyes to confirm the number on the screen, then turned to stare at He Hui.
"I heard it and saw it." He Hui guessed her thoughts and replied.
"I really got first place." Tan Ling's smile deepened, and his eyes curved into a rainbow. "It really is first place."
Tang Meng and Bian Jing were the two most excited friends in the Chinese team. They had already left their chairs and were jumping up and down there, waving the small national flags in their hands wildly and throwing a few handfuls of streamers at the same time.
Tan Ling was enveloped in an atmosphere of joy and happiness.
The same was true for the Chinese commentary booth. Bai Ying felt that all the annoyance that had accumulated in her chest was swept away, and she was overwhelmed by the huge surprise.
"Congratulations to Tan Ling for successfully retaining the first place title, and congratulations to the Chinese team for winning ten points again!!"
The rankings of the qualifying rounds were displayed one by one on the screen, and the English code CHN representing the Chinese team firmly occupied the first place.
"The Chinese team scored 37 points after the qualifying round, the Russian Olympic delegation and the American team tied for second place with 33 points, Canada was one point behind with 32 points and took fourth place, while the Japanese team barely qualified for the final with 25 points."
In other words, as long as the Chinese team continues to maintain this momentum, the championship is not an illusory delusion.
Everyone looked at the score, and rushed forward to surround Tan Ling and put her in the center of the hug, with countless congratulations echoing in their ears.
Tan Ling felt that the breathing around her was a little difficult, but she still accepted the overflowing love from her teammates.
*
The first match of the qualifying round and the final was played consecutively, except that the five teams that did not advance to the next round were sent off.
Friends from the five national teams waved and left the field amid the audience's gaze, while the other five teams turned their attention back to the competition.
Parting and reunion are intertwined on this field.
"Dear audience members, please don't leave. After a short break, the free skating of the pairs figure skating team final will begin soon."
Twenty minutes later, the second round of competition officially began.
The Chinese team was the last to play. Before that, the Russian Olympic team narrowly defeated the Canadian combination by 0.87 points, while the American team was ranked third and Japan fourth.
The atmosphere in the box remained high under the leadership of Bian Jing and Tang Meng, and this enthusiasm reached its peak when three-time Winter Olympic veterans Shang Yuqing/Yu Feiguang took the stage.
"Oh oh oh! Charge, Chinese team!!" Bian Jing's roar was transmitted through the screen to the Chinese audience.
"I am so amused. Bian Jing doesn't need to play today. I feel like my whole life is full of energy!"
"But in fact, the competition started early in the morning, and Bian Jing is still so energetic. He really has unlimited energy."
"To be honest, with the Shang Yuqing/Yu Feiguang combination on the field, I think the 10 points are also secure."
During the three Winter Olympics, Shang Yuqing and Yu Feiguang have been partners for almost three quarters of their lives. They are so tacitly in sync that they even take off their coats in the same way when waiting on the sidelines.
The veterans' performance on the court was perfect. They had practiced jumping, lifting, throwing, spinning, and every step you could imagine countless times.
There was constant applause on the field...
"Congratulations to Shang Yuqing/Yu Feiguang for winning first place in the pairs free skating."
As the undoubted champion, the Chinese team once again won 10 points, firmly sitting on the first throne in the team competition and widening the gap bit by bit.
"Tang Meng, don't be nervous tomorrow." Shang Yuqing patted Tang Meng on the shoulder after the scores came out, "We are your solid backing."
Tang Meng's eyes became red again as she felt the reliable love from her senior.
"I'll try my best too." Guo Yufei hurried to catch up.
"Me too." He Hui joined in with a smile.
Tang Meng's eyes were filled with tears: "Wow, you guys are so nice."
The second day of the team competition came to an end. The Chinese team, like other teams, stood up and wanted to evacuate.
"Um...we have to pick up all the trash, right?" Tan Ling pointed to the ribbons on the ground that matched the ribbons above her head and sighed.
“Oh yeah…” Bian Jing touched his head.
So, when other teams said goodbye to the audience and left in a relaxed manner, everyone on the Chinese team bent down and picked up trash frantically.
As the instigator of the current situation, Bian Jing was almost pierced through by Tang Meng's sad eyes.
"Tell me, why do you do all this fancy stuff?" Tang Meng was just moved, but now she is furious.
Bian Jing argued: "You already have a way, so it's reasonable for me to make some ribbons."
Tang Meng: “…”
*
At the Gangneung Ice Arena in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the third day of the figure skating team competition kicked off the final.
"Today, we will bring you the men's singles free skating, women's singles free skating and ice dance free dance competitions. I am your old friend Bai Ying." Bai Ying arrived as promised, "but in the studio, we also invited a special guest."
The camera cut to a panoramic view, and the special commentator revealed his true face.
"Hello everyone, I am Lv Nanfeng, a female singles player of the national figure skating team." Lv Nanfeng waved cheerfully at the camera, "I am very happy to meet you all here today!"
The competition in the Chinese women's singles was fierce. Although Lu Nanfeng also had all five triple weeks and an advanced triple-three reserve, she was unable to make the Winter Olympics roster due to problems with stability and completion.
"I don't know why I was suddenly moved. Everyone who has worked together has come together in a different way at the Winter Olympics, which is held every four years. Ahhhh, this is so meaningful!"
"Looking at Lu Nanfeng's Weibo, I feel that he is a very interesting person. I wonder if he will contribute some interesting commentary later, hehe."
"The first competition is the men's singles free skating competition." Bai Ying is still in control of the scene. "The first to go on stage is the Japanese team player."
This trend started by the talented player He Hui also had a strong driving force on the men's singles arena.
Bai Ying: "Now the top men's singles free skaters have four quadruple jumps or even five quadruple jumps. The competition is actually quite fierce. We can see that the five skaters who entered the finals all started with three quadruple jumps."
Lu Nanfeng nodded: "But currently no men's singles player can use 4Lo in the game."
"Indeed, at present, only He Hui can do this for four weeks."
Bai Ying's response made Lu Nanfeng's mouth curl up unconsciously, and he was happier than when he was praised himself.
"I'm dying of laughter. This sentence means that men's singles is not that good. I understand~"
"I didn't expect that all the national team members would be so arrogant! Hahahahaha."
Although the men's free skating appears to be extremely difficult on the surface, in actual execution, falling and missing jumps have become the norm.
The Russian Olympic team fell one of their three quadruple routines, which was a pity, but compared with the Canadian team who fell two of the four quadruple routines and survived one, they were very stable.
As the Canadian guy skated on, even Lu Nanfeng, who was always in charge of the atmosphere, fell silent.
"......" Lu Nanfeng decided to skip the conversation if he couldn't say anything, "The next player to play is American player Hodgson Martin. He is 20 years old and has five quads. He has won two consecutive championships and the finals this season."
"Guo Yufei's biggest opponent in this game is Hodgson-Martin, the two-time world champion." Bai Ying added his title.
Every era has its own dominant players. For men’s singles, if it was Takuya Shimokawa in Sochi, it was Hodgson-Martin in PyeongChang.
He is very popular in South Korea and received extremely warm applause as soon as he came on stage.
Bian Jing listened to the cheers in his ears, his face turned pale, and he looked at the man on the field who was smiling and waving with eight teeth showing, and pouted: "He is showing off!"
"You have five quadruple sets, and you can still act so cool." Tang Meng's finishing blow was late but arrived.
Bian Jing: “…”
But Hodgson-Martin did have the capital to show off. He was not affected by the previous players' falls, and completed all the required movements with quality and quantity, and obtained a high score far exceeding everyone else's.
This put a lot of pressure on Guo Yufei. You know, he only had four quads and was not at an advantage in terms of technical points, not to mention that as a rookie, he lagged behind in terms of content points.
The team leader's instructions to Guo Yufei before the game were "Ranking is not important, just do your best and work hard to improve your appearance and score points."
But looking at Guo Yufei's sharp eyes now, he probably still isn't willing to give in.
"Guo Yufei's opening jump combo is 4Lz+3T, which is of very high quality." Bai Ying suddenly asked Lu Nanfeng, "Nanfeng, it seems that since He Hui came up with this jump combo, everyone in the national team has been able to do it one after another. Do you have any stories to share?"
Lu Nanfeng became very interested when talking about gossip.
She raised her voice: "Yes! In fact, before He Hui could complete a quadruple move, she would be trained by all kinds of people. Later, the team leader saw that everyone was enthusiastic about learning, so he simply opened a training class for He Hui, demonstrating and explaining the key points to everyone!"
In a blink of an eye, Guo Yufei on the field had completed another 4S, and the quality was maintained very well.
Then 4T and repeated 4Lz, all good.
......
At the end of the song, Guo Yufei made no other mistakes except for the unstable landing on the last 3A in the second half.
"A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. Guo Yufei's free skating showed the momentum of the new generation." Bai Ying praised.
But the final result was just as everyone expected, he failed to surpass the top player Hodgson-Martin.
In response to this, Guo Yufei off the court touched his head a little embarrassedly.
He apologized to Tang Meng: "I'm sorry, I only got second place."
Tang Meng: “?”
No, looking at Guo Yufei's eyes, does he seem to be seriously reflecting on himself? !
"I hate you Versailles people, huh!"
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