Chapter 108 108 Late Bronze Medal
In July, Tan Ling's waist injury relapsed after a training session and she was hospitalized for emergency treatment, casting a shadow on the new season after Pyeongchang.
The hospital's disinfectant had a pungent smell, which made the teammates who came to visit Tan Ling wrinkle their noses.
With a creak, the door of Tan Ling's ward was pushed open.
"Tan Ling, we are here to see you!"
No matter how scary it was, you could tell it was Tang Meng just by the voice.
Tang Meng held a bouquet of flowers that covered her entire face and handed it to Tan Ling who was lying on the hospital bed.
"We bought this for you together. We hope you can recover soon and return to the ice rink!"
"Thank you." Tan Ling took the huge bouquet, pursed her lips, and responded to Tan Ling's blessing, "But if I go back to the ice rink, I may retire."
After hearing this, Bian Jing immediately curled his lips and advised: "Maybe you can hold on a little longer?"
"I can't bear to see you go..." Tang Meng's voice immediately lowered.
"Everyone has to say goodbye to a certain stage of life one day." Tan Ling raised the corners of his mouth in an open-minded manner, "Besides, even if I retire, we can still meet often."
As if she suddenly thought of something, Tan Ling rolled her eyes and said smugly, "Besides, if I retire, I can eat and drink as much as I want. When you guys have dinner together, you can only watch me eat."
"Ahh, damn it!" Tang Meng pouted in protest.
"What did the doctor say?" He Hui got back to the point and asked.
Tan Ling frowned slightly: "New injuries plus old injuries, the doctor said that surgery will be required next week."
"Ah?" Tang Meng frowned, "Then this means that the season is definitely over..."
"It can't be helped." Tan Ling recalled the doctor's warning and repeated it with a relaxed tone, "After all, the doctor said that you don't want to delay treatment and end up paralyzed, right?"
Tang Meng shuddered immediately: "Senior Sister, take good care of your injuries!"
The group chatted for a while, and when they mentioned Ophelia, they expressed some regret, but more of it was congratulations to Tan Ling.
The ward, which was originally filled with a gloomy atmosphere due to the injuries, was now filled with laughter and joy. The young man even watered the lifeless green plant by the window, wiped the dusty bedside table clean, and carefully put fresh flowers in the glass vase.
Tan Ling felt a little embarrassed watching everyone busying themselves.
"Anyway, thank you for coming to see me today and thank you for your congratulations. I received all the blessings."
As soon as Tan Ling said this, everyone tactfully said they wanted to leave.
"No, no, I hope you can recover soon, senior sister!" Tang Meng said.
"We're waiting for you in the team!" Bian Jing echoed.
"Take good care of your injuries and see you later." He Hui offered his blessings, then followed the group of children and prepared to leave.
Unexpectedly, Tan Ling, who was lying on the hospital bed, looked up and suddenly called her: "He Hui, wait a minute."
He Hui paused, turned around with a smile and said, "What's wrong? Are you reluctant to let me go?"
Tan Ling didn't react to He Hui's teasing, but just asked back: "Aren't you going to persuade me not to retire?"
He Hui shook his head, shrugged and replied: "Compared to this, I want to know more about what you plan to do after retirement."
"I haven't thought about it yet. I want to indulge myself for a year or two." Tan Ling was very calm.
She cast her eyes towards the glass window on the left, as if looking at a sparrow that suddenly jumped onto the tree outside the window.
"In the future, maybe I can be a coach." Tan Ling retracted her gaze and looked at He Hui, "You know, I entered university as a sports student. I studied physical education and I don't have any other skills."
He Hui nodded to show his understanding.
"Then, do you want to join my company?" He Hui suddenly extended an olive branch to Tan Ling.
Tan Ling's eyes widened and she asked a barrage of questions: "When are you going to start a company? What type of company? Are you going to retire too? What can I do if I come in?"
"The company is still in preparation. It is a sports company that specializes in figure skating. First of all, we will sign some athletes and help them arrange some business and announcements. Then we plan to set up a professional club, which requires a high-level coaching team, so we would like to invite you."
He Hui answered one by one, laying out an attractive blueprint in front of Tan Ling, "If the first two businesses go smoothly, I also hope to create an influential Chinese ice performance brand and compete with Japan for business."
When He Hui spoke, the look in his eyes was completely different from before. He blinked his eyes sparklingly, seemingly brighter than the sunlight outside the window.
"It sounds great." Tan Ling was impressed by He Hui, but she was not very confident in herself. "But I don't have any coaching experience. Don't mess up your club."
He Hui stared at Tan Ling, his eyes sharp and convincing.
"I think you can definitely become a good coach," she said.
Tan Ling finally understood why many people said that He Hui's eyes were magical. She nodded in agreement almost as if possessed by a ghost.
It was not until He Hui left that Tan Ling slowly realized what was happening.
She had to admit that when He Hui looked at her like that, everything she said seemed to have legs and take root, and must come true.
*
Tan Ling's surgery a week later was successful, but the time required to recover was quite long.
According to the doctor,...
"You have only temporarily avoided the risk of paralysis. If you act recklessly, you may end up in the same situation."
When she thought about the possibility of having to rely on a wheelchair for the rest of her life, Tan Ling immediately obeyed the doctor's orders.
Not only was the 2018-2019 season completely ruined, Tan Ling had to lie in bed for nearly half a year before he was able to slowly resume basic training.
After another three or four months, Tan Ling gradually resumed his practice on land and ice, starting with adaptive training and gradually increasing the amount under the supervision of a doctor.
In this season when Tan Ling is recovering from injury and undergoing rehabilitation training, in addition to He Hui who continues to win championships in international figure skating, more and more young skaters are beginning to challenge more types of quadruple movements, and the competition in free skating is gradually increasing.
The dust settled on Ophelia's doping case seemed to be just a brief episode.
——"Ophelia's appeal failed, and her medal stripping and four-year ban are set to be final!"
The news wrote:
On the day the verdict was announced, Tan Ling's phone kept ringing with messages. Congratulations were pouring in, along with occasional messages of concern for her comeback.
Only He Hui's news was a little special.
He Hui: "A Winter Olympics bronze medalist joins the Comet Club. Do you think I can make headlines?"
Tan Ling: "Comet Club? How did you name it?"
He Hui: "It seems that this is not the focus. I just registered not long ago. Comets are such a special astronomical phenomenon. Are they not suitable for me?"
Tan Ling: "Why did I hear that comets are bad omens? Unlucky stars?"
He Hui: "China in the 21st century doesn't believe in superstition! I heard from Sister Lin that you mentioned retirement to the team, so how are you thinking about my proposal?"
The two were chatting animatedly, but at this point, Tan Ling's typing hands paused.
He Hui didn't urge her, because she knew that Tan Ling might still need to think clearly about many details of the future.
*
Tan Ling's last stop before retirement is scheduled for the 2019 China Cup.
The previous station in Canada was Tan Ling's first station after waist surgery, but she did not perform well. In the era of the rise of quadruple jumps, Tan Ling's triple triple jumps are precarious and her stability is not as good as before.
This retirement in the China Cup was unexpected but reasonable.
"It's a pity, but Tan Ling's career has been quite successful."
"One person wrote in blood! Can you return Tan Ling's Olympic medal to her in a grand manner? Although I can't give her the same ceremony as in Pyeongchang, I hope there will be some sense of ceremony. After all, it's her retirement ceremony, I really hope there will be something!"
"Two people write in blood!"
“+1+1!!”
And this time in the China Cup, I was quite obedient.
Before the women's singles competition began, the Huaguo Cup arranged a special session:
A medal awarding ceremony for the women's figure skating event at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
With a snap, the lights on the ice rink went out, and a surprise was brewing.
Amid the cheers of the Chinese audience and the host’s introduction, this special supplementary teaching ceremony, which was full of a sense of ceremony, began.
There was only one spotlight on the entire ice rink, following Tan Ling closely. She walked on the red carpet that had been laid out in advance by the staff, and came to the center position like the focus.
Snap——
Another spotlight came on the field.
The circle of this lamp was smaller, and it was projected onto a velvet box standing at an angle right in front of Tan Ling.
Inside the box was a bronze medal with a blue ribbon printed with the words PyeongChang2018, symbolizing the Olympics.
Tan Ling saw the medal reflecting a special luster because of the light, and the surging emotions in her chest surged upwards.
The moment she saw the award presenter, Tan Ling could no longer hold back her tears, which flowed down her cheeks.
The person opposite had gray hair, but was full of energy and had a kind smile on his face. He took off the medal and slowly walked to Tan Ling.
That is a face familiar to every Chinese. She is Gu Qiong, China's first-generation female figure skater and a hero. She once won a precious World Championship bronze medal for the Chinese team.
At this moment, Gu Qiong was hanging the Winter Olympics bronze medal around Tan Ling's neck, handing a bouquet of flowers to her, and giving her a warm and long hug.
Tan Ling bent down subconsciously, accepted the bouquet in a daze, and then welcomed the hug in a daze.
The applause from the home crowd almost never stopped as they applauded and cheered for Tan Ling's special moment.
She knew about this segment before the competition, but she didn't expect that it would be Gu Qiong who would present the awards.
After Gu Qiong moved the belated bronze medal, she smiled and encouraged her: "The Chinese figure skating community is really lucky to have you."
"Thank you." Tan Ling quietly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
*
The result of the China Cup was not surprising.
The new rules restrict the unbalanced choreography of unlimited jumps in the second half. After the way to extra points is blocked, everyone's program has a better sense of rhythm.
Two athletes who had just been promoted to the junior group chose to challenge the quadruple jump in the Huaguo Cup, but they did not pose a threat to He Hui. First, they did not perform enough quadruple jumps, and second, their performance skating was a little immature and could not really make a difference.
He Hui seemed to be tied to the championship, continuing her dominance in the Pyeongchang cycle. Tan Ling's performance was not very good, but considering her injury and upcoming retirement, the audience was more tolerant.
Her last performance will be at the Huaguo Cup exhibition skating event, and the repertoire will be the short program of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, which is of great significance.
After a dance on ice, Tan Ling bowed deeply, so much so that almost every area of the audience had a unique thank you. Then, she knelt on her knees on the ice, crawled down, and kissed the ground.
That night, He Hui received new news from Tan Ling.
——"I've thought about it. Let's work together to push the development of figure skating in China towards a better future."
He Hui replied immediately: "Okay!"
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