Team China

[Yatagarasu]

Who will get to PC?

 

For the men, providing Han Yan recovers well, it seems like a no- brainer. Boyang is progressing well (it was really interesting to hear how long he trains during the day) so since he seems to be keeping the SP, there's just the FS to consider.

The ladies though, now there I have no idea. Zijun seems to be in a tough spot with the Fed, her PCS during the WCh were a crime, so how all of that is going to be untangled, I have no clue. Chinese Fed may simply decide to push for a younger lady due to 2022.

Sui/Han, I would say, probably their biggest gold chance next season.

[CupidsBow]

Han Yan seems to be recovering okay but idk, he's going to have a lot of his practice time cut.

Boyang is showing good progress, he has the jumps and it's a good sign that he's working on his weaknesses in PCS to be a bit more well-rounded. If he is keeping his SP I just hope his FS is something that compliments his personality.

Zijun is plated so dirty and I don't understand it. Justice for Zijun.

[PomeloPooh]

For the men, pairs & dance I think things seem pretty settled. The number of clear tops in each discipline matches the respective spots they've got.

 

The situation with the ladies is really complicated & awkward. At first when Zijun was removed from the list for Worlds, I was as indignant for her as pretty much everyone else was. But then after the season ended, words got out about how that happened and she's... far from innocent. It's sad considering how much potential she showed years ago. But nonetheless, if we look only at competition results, Zijun had some really hard times at the most important events, and it's hard to tell if her comeback at WTT will continue. Meanwhile, though Xiangning had a promising debut season of steady rising, she's not yet surpassed Zijun completely. The fed will have a really hard time picking one of them for Olys. Personally, I would wish next season one of them have clearly superior GP series results and the spot be given to that person. To avoid drama and pulling strings, which have happened before in this discipline.

[Eclair]

@ PomeloPooh So what happened and what where the things that came out? I've been looking for ages about what might have happened but there're just so many untrustworthy sources saying all different things that I still got no clue what the issue was!

[PomeloPooh]

@ PomeloPooh So what happened and what where the things that came out? I've been looking for ages about what might have happened but there're just so many untrustworthy sources saying all different things that I still got no clue what the issue was!

 

(The information is from a major FS forum in China. Relevant posts were deleted during Worlds, but after the season ended the moderators allowed people to discuss. The thread drew a lot of attention. These are from posts on a forum, of course, so take them with a grain of salt. Though I personally deemed them probably credible, because competitive figure skating is a small world in China, and if the posts were made up, people could tell easily.)

 

Before Worlds Zijun refused to take a spot check, for unknown reasons. The fed people got nervous and arranged a separate doping test for her when she came back to China. But she rejected again, then left the training rink in Beijing and went back to her home city. The fed didn't dare to send her to Worlds, so they replaced her with the only other ladies' single skater Ziquan, who had already ended her training for the season. (Ziquan has some injuries and some say she took a numbing injection to go to Worlds.) But when the list was shown, people couldn't understand and all spoke up for her on the internet, because she'd always had better competition results than Ziquan. Things got more intense when she posted on Weibo & instigram hinting at conspiracy against her. The fed couldn't handle the pressure from the public and her father (who's a very powerful man), and put her back on the team, removing Ziquan again. However, because Zijun stopped training for 12 days, she performed poorly at Worlds. (During those 12 days she posted pics of hanging out in town, but deleted them after the list was announced.) Then at the day of the drawing for LP, she didn't show up, nor did she ask for a leave in advance. Later she said she went to take a doping test, but none of the team was notified at the time, so it caused some trouble for the coaches.

 

Nobody knows if there ever was a drug problem, but some say she was just throwing a tantrum at the fed. She was given the best resources because she'd been the best for years, but she couldn't get along with any of the coaches and always requested a change. At last the fed agreed to send her abroad for training, but her relationship with the fed was never really mended. There were feuds with past skaters that were brought up too, things like she kept them from training since her father owned the city's ice rink. But the above is basically everything about Worlds 2017.

 

Many of us are having mixed feelings about all these. After all she had been the only hope of our ladies' single for years, but never realized her potential. Now it seems she's doing fine with Mishin, maybe she still has a chance.

[Eclair]

Hi PomeloPooh, thanks for your long reply!

 

I agree with you, that we should take this information with a grain of salt. First, because it's an anonymous forum poster who posted this. Second because at least one of his facts is wrong: During the 12 days Zijun was removed from the entry list, I daily checked her Weibo and instagram, and she definitely didn't post photos of her hanging around in town! She posted exactly two photos, one where she was outside just days BEFORE she was removed from the entry list. That was followed by a few posts without photos where she hinted her disappointment and intrigue. Then she posted one photo of her in a cafe where she said, that she'll be forever thankful for those who're at her side during this difficult time. To sum that up as 'posting photos of her hanging around in town' is very misleading! And makes me assume, that the poster's intend was not to make Zijun look good.

 

Apart from that, I'm just glad that all doping assumptions are cleared. She went to worlds and got tested there and obviously didn't fail.

 

Together with her 'intrigue' posts, personally I still wonder when exactly she allegedly refused those tests and if that 'separate doping test' was the intrigue she was speaking of. There're other rumors out there too, e.g. that her fed has already decided to give the olympic spot to xiangning li, no matter how Zijun skated.

 

Also, third, the portrayal of Zijun being someone who throws a tantrum and always requested changes for coaches is not true either. There is only one coach Zijun refuses to work with - Li Mingzhu - who is the one who restricted her water intake in her 2013-2014 season. She separated amicably with the coach but against the fed's intend in 2015. Then this season (early 2016) the fed again wanted her to train with Li Minzhu. She refused to be coach by her again (with good reason!) but describing that as 'she couldn't get along with any of her coaches and always requested a change' is again misleading. She gets along very well with all her other coaches: her Chinese coach who coached her in 2015, as well as Frank Caroll and Mishin.

 

Thanks a lot for providing me with those news, but I kind of doubt the poster's credibility/ intend.

[xeyra]

Mishin seems to have a really lovely relationship with Zijun. I liked his interactions with her at WTT, asking for photos at the Banquet.

[Eclair]

Yes, Mishin and Zijun seem to really get along very well. He even brought her eggs and said that she should eat well to gain strength. Also, he supports her and wrote her messages, that if she really feels down and if she must, she can cry on his shoulder and then go out again and fight again (something along that line).

[PomeloPooh]

whole post

 

Reading your post made me feel better about this. Maybe things are after all not so bad! (But that would mean things are worse from a different perspective, er...) I didn't follow Zijun closely myself, only checking her weibo once in a while. The information from the Chinese forum is from multiple posters, some of them old members, but I guess it could be like what happened in GS that led us here, one-sided opinion dominated.

[yuzuangel]

Why does Zijun get such low PCS? Is it her lack of speed/poor stamina? Because she lands her jumps but she still looks slow across the ice, but I didn't expect her to get a 102 at Worlds with 7 triples (2 UR'd)...

[Yatagarasu]

Thanks a lot for providing me with those news, but I kind of doubt the poster's credibility/ intend.

 

Same here. The Li Mingzhu thing is pretty well known and all I can say is hats off for refusing to train under her. Limiting water intake is insanity and I don't even want to think about her food policies then.

 

The doping thing is also very dodgy. If she had refused a doping test, she would be in hot water. You cannot just refuse one, willy nilly and get away with it, let alone two of those. She would be at least under investigation, never mind that consequences would probably be a sure thing.

[Gio]

Why does Zijun get such low PCS? Is it her lack of speed/poor stamina? Because she lands her jumps but she still looks slow across the ice, but I didn't expect her to get a 102 at Worlds with 7 triples (2 UR'd)...

 

People who saw her live usually say she is quite slow...and her programs are quite empty after all. It's hard to judge when it comes to "performance", I do think she's not bad when it comes to interpretation. She definitely deserves a bit more, but how much more?

 

She's a lovely skater, but she definitely has her weak points there.

[yuzuangel]

Why does Zijun get such low PCS? Is it her lack of speed/poor stamina? Because she lands her jumps but she still looks slow across the ice, but I didn't expect her to get a 102 at Worlds with 7 triples (2 UR'd)...

 

People who saw her live usually say she is quite slow...and her programs are quite empty after all. It's hard to judge when it comes to "performance", I do think she's not bad when it comes to interpretation. She definitely deserves a bit more, but how much more?

 

She's a lovely skater, but she definitely has her weak points there.

 

Yeah I did see her live and she is slow. Her skating really lacks any power. But I agree...if she lands 5 triples and 2 > triples, she deserves more than 102 ...

[Gio]

Why does Zijun get such low PCS? Is it her lack of speed/poor stamina? Because she lands her jumps but she still looks slow across the ice, but I didn't expect her to get a 102 at Worlds with 7 triples (2 UR'd)...

 

People who saw her live usually say she is quite slow...and her programs are quite empty after all. It's hard to judge when it comes to "performance", I do think she's not bad when it comes to interpretation. She definitely deserves a bit more, but how much more?

 

She's a lovely skater, but she definitely has her weak points there.

 

Yeah I did see her live and she is slow. Her skating really lacks any power. But I agree...if she lands 5 triples and 2 > triples, she deserves more than 102 ...

 

I think it'd be less evident [the underscoring] if the judges weren't ready to throw PCS candies to many others. I would definitely score her a bit higher, but as of now with PCS it's hard to find a skater that is judged fairly.

[OmNom]

Can I just say sth superficial? I LOVE Zijun's bare shoulder and upper arms. Those collarbones are to die for (speaking from a woman's perspective)

I think she has the most delicate figure in the field, she's slim but not scarily so (I'm always uncomfortable looking at Zhenya's ever thinner legs) :cry: And don't forget her face is pretty too!

Ideally speaking, when she manages to fix all her skating weaknesses, I dare say she'll be the most beautiful and gorgeous lady on ice :yes: