BEIJING, Nov. 7 -- Despite having touched down with his hand on a quad lutz and turning out of a quad toeloop, local favorite Jin Boyang still got a season best 93.89 points after skating to "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" at this weekend's Cup of China Grand Prix skating tournament.
Thanks to the short program score, Jin, 20, managed to maintain an overall second-place finish after his free skate, albiet with some shaky quads, and was ruled just fifth among 12 men's singles competitors in total.
The Cup of China was the third of six ISU figure skating Grand Prix series events, and the headliners looked to demonstrate their podium potential with the arrival of the 100-day countdown to the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Jin was as eager as his fellow competitors, especially after his one-year older teammate Yan Han, who claimed the country's best result in an Olympics after finishing 7th in Sochi 2017, suffered a shoulder injury and had to go under surgery just seven months ago.
The two-time and current world bronze medalist, assumed to be the most hopeful of China's male figure skaters ahead of the upcoming Pyeongchang Games, admitted that he'd been wavering before deciding on the famous movie soundtrack to accompany his routine.
"We discussed a lot, tried more and turned down all of them, before we agreed to stick to the Chinese style," said Jin.
A Chinese Wuxia movie released in 2000, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was very well received in the Western world, and led to a boost in popularity for this Chinese film form in places where it had previously been little known.
Jin watched the movie twice in order to better understand the soundtrack and to better interpret the program.
"Skills and difficulties can earn high scores in some areas, but raw skills are not enough when more and more skaters can do various quads," said the talented jumper, who is trademarked with a solid quad Lutz, which's more difficult than a quad toeloop.
He also wanted to try on something new, distinct from his former "young boy" style, something slow-paced and with a grander theme, added the Harbin native.
"Jin is not the only one skating to Chinese music," said the Chinese national team's head coach Zhao Hongbo, a retired pairs skater who claimed the country's first figure skating gold medal in the Olympics in 2010 together with now his wife Shen Xue.
One of the leading Chinese pairs, Peng Cheng and Jin Yang, have opted to skate to the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto in their free skate this season.
"We've always believed in the strength of China's traditional culture and arts," explained Zhao.
"After all, there comes the Winter Games and no one's fighting alone on the Olympic stage. Every skater or skier is an ambassador sent by China, and it's our job to do the country proud. That's what really maters at the end of the day," he emphasized.
The opening ceremony for the Cup of China at the Capital Gymnasium was highlighted by a synchronized skating show performed to Beijing Opera.
"Figure skating is a perfect combination of competition and art. We tried to add some local elements to the show, and it turned to be very successful," said Zhao's wife Shen Xue, who is now the vice president of the Chinese Skating Association.
"People loved it! The audience enjoyed it and the foreign viewers learnt more about China through it. This helped us better prepare for hosting the Beijing Winter Games in four years," she added.
The Capital Gymnasium, which has hosted the Cup of China Grand Prix for years, is scheduled to become the Olympic venue for figure skating at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.
麻省理工的新技术:用手势就能控制无人机
螳螂捕蝉之后
请不要破坏生物链
体坛英语资讯:World Mens Curling Championship cancelled due to COVID-19
一角钱的互助
国内英语资讯:China to continue helping Uzbekistan fight COVID-19: Chinese FM
国内英语资讯:China launches new Long March-5B rocket for space station program
最后一只猴子的自述
国内英语资讯:Chinas studies on COVID-19 animal source crucial to the world: WHO expert
国际英语资讯:France to limit intl trips to avoid new wave of coronavirus epidemic: Macron
国际英语资讯:Thousands of Libyans to return home from abroad after closure of borders: official
体坛英语资讯:Boe retains biathlon World Cup title, Fourcade ends career with victory
我国将于2022年前后发射4艘载人飞船
外公赶时髦作文
拼多多现在是全国第二大电商了,公开说要改变市场规则
鲁迅作品综述
校运动会消息
国内英语资讯:Chinas Hubei receives 7.35 mln tourists during May Day holiday
国内英语资讯:China donates masks to Singapore to assist in COVID-19 combat
中学生学习办法
体坛英语资讯:Euro 2020 postponed by 12 months: UEFA
体坛英语资讯:Rolex Shanghai Masters not affected by coronavirus
体坛英语资讯:Ice Hockey World Championship Division I canceled in Slovenia and Poland
My Prize 我的奖品
中学生如何学习
讲刑法的罗翔教授火出了圈,“法外狂徒张三”刷屏B站
疫情迫使奥斯卡奖破例 线上电影也将有参评资格
校运动会
疫情迫使奥斯卡奖破例 线上电影也将有参评资格
体坛英语资讯:Juventus midfielder Matuidi tests positive for COVID-19