#boyang jin

Translations of some of Team China’s interviews from the 2018 National Grand Prix. Photo: iSkating

CCTV5+ News Clip

Jin Boyang after his SP: “The flamenco (FS), we just thought we’d try it, and after choreographing part of it I thought, oh it really suits me, so we continued choreographing the rest. The rock n’ roll (SP) was like, I was crazy, and Lori was crazy too, I came up with a lot of the movements and Lori thought they were really good and we thought we could add them in. The part during the step sequence where I play the guitar, that was my idea, and we added it to the step sequence.”

Jin Boyang after his FS: “This year I have to decide firmly to cherish these two programs and add many more movements/elements [to be ready] for international competitions in a month; there is still a lot of time, after the national competition I will continue to work hard.”

Peng Cheng after the FS: “To be honest we don’t have a set plan that we must have this kind of style or that kind of style, we hope to try many different styles, and before 2022, decide which style suits us the best. Every year we gain more experience.”

Jin Yang after the FS: “Because of injury we haven’t practiced as much, this time she was determined to try the triple salchow, like ‘If I don’t practice it now, in future competitions we won’t have as many opportunities to practice.’ I think we still gained something [from our performance today], at least we know which areas we still have weaknesses and can immediately try to fix them, and hopefully give better performances at the Grand Prix events in Canada and Japan.”

CCTV5 News Clip

Jin Boyang after his FS: “I think my programs this season are two very good programs.” “After five quads, there are two triple axels, so all triples have been removed [from the program]. I think this program is very physically demanding /…/ but with hard work and determination, nothing is impossible.”

Xie Zhong after the FS: “For [Xiangning], pairs is still full of unfamiliar elements, so for her to master every element in six minutes is a very big challenge. But I think she did pretty well.”

Li Xiangning after the FS: “Sometimes I still feel a little nervous, and the elements may fail, but we will try to find the reason.”

Peng Cheng after the FS: “Many athletes are very good but have no outstanding points; this whole time we have been trying to find such an outstanding point. We hope that in some way we can stand out or give people a feeling that grabs them.”

Jin Yang after the FS: “Even with the pop (on the salchow), even though both SBS jumps were not successful, I think our fighting spirit was good, I think we gained something [from this performance].”

Post-SP NetEase Article

Peng/Jin on their SP: “The program is about a rich, successful man whose business failed, but he loves a materialistic woman, and even though he knows they have no results, he is still determined to treat her well. But the woman is actually using her materialistic side to stimulate the man, hoping he will be able to energize himself and continue to fight for his company.”

Peng Cheng on being the top Chinese team on the Grand Prix: “Suddenly we’ve become old athletes. We should take up this responsibility, pick up this burden, it is a necessary process. We will work hard!”

Li Xiangning: “I was very nervous, before going on the ice I even forgot how to skate the program, I had to keep asking him.”

Xie Zhong: “All of my previous partners already had pairs experience, Xiang Xiang transferred directly from ladies’ singles. When we first teamed up we would fall apart while skating, sometimes I would turn around and she’d be gone. It has only been one month since completing the choreography of the program, at first Xiang Xiang felt she couldn’t control the music style, but now there has been a lot of improvement.”

Post-FS NetEase Article

Boyang on his FS: “Since returning from the ice show in Japan (The Ice) I have only practiced properly for about two weeks, many details are still not in place. The rules have changed this season, now my free skate doesn’t have any triple jumps anymore. My breathing after the jumps has not been adjusted properly. This year I actually have higher expectations for myself, [after this competition] I must carefully polish these two programs.”

Boyang on his programs: “These two programs are my best programs so far, they suit me really well and can express my inner feelings. The short program is a bold attempt, the process of choreographing it was crazy, I was crazy, Lori was crazy. The free skate is a flamenco; I’ve skated a tango before, these two styles are similar, but the artistry of the flamenco is a little deeper.”

Boyang on his gold blades: “They’re more imposing, aren’t they, very domineering, I’m very satisfied. Wearing them just feels different!”

Peng/Jin Post-SP Interview

Who came up with the heart on Peng Cheng’s costume?

Cheng: (laughs) The coach did.

Which coach?

Cheng: (laughs) …[They thought] it looked very good.

What do you think?

Cheng: Well, at the competition in Thailand (Asian Trophy), after I put on the costume in the dressing room and looked in the mirror, I was like… When I went out I thought the coach would have a problem with the costume, but the coach just said, “Eh, pretty good,” and it really cheered me up, like if the coach thought it was good, then there should be no problem, right?

What do you think about your new hairstyle?

Cheng: Don’t really have any thoughts, just… Well I’m young, should try new things, mess around. I’ve realized that the more I mess around with my hair, the worse it gets, I’m really despairing.

What does Jin Yang think?

Yang: When she’s getting her hair done she is full of self-confidence, thinks it will be so beautiful, but when the hairnet’s off the truth comes out. It’s actually fine, her hairstyle hasn’t changed that much, it used to be pretty straight but now there are some curls … When you first got it done there were huge curls, isn’t it better now?

Cheng: When I went home [Little Sui?] said it looked like her paternal grandmother and Yang Yongchao said it looked like his maternal grandmother and I was like, what does my hairstyle really look like?! Then a coach said it looked “pretty wild” and I just don’t understand, is it wild or…?

THERE 2 ARTICLES WITHIN THIS POST

Dec 11 Article:

The Chinese Figure Skating Association has published their list of entries for the Chinese Figure Skating Championships. Sui Wenjing/Han Cong appear on the list, this will be their season debut. Something else to note is that the figure skating talent Beverly Zhu who just joined the Chinese training team in September, is also listed as a participant.

This year’s National Championships will be held 12/29-12/30 in Harbin, China with all of the main domestic skaters participating. Sui Wenjing/Han Cong were on the list of participants. After the Pyeongchang Olympics, Sui Wenjing withdrew from all their international competitions due to injury, this will be their first appearance of the season.

Right now Sui/Han are training in Shougang, they will be bringing brand new programs to Harbin. The head choreographer, Lori Nichols, says that one of the programs has a very modern feel. Sui Wenjing also shared that they made a program with a Chinese feel. “It will have a lot of new, distinctive choreography, I hope everyone will like it.”

In addition to Sui/Han, Peng Cheng/Jin Yang who just won silver at the Grand Prix Final are also set to compete. Also, Yu Xiaoyu/Hao Zhang who are currently training in Beijing are also bringing brand new programs to Nationals, however they are only here as a test.

Jin Boyang and Zhang He will be leading the mens’ competition with 11 other men, in comparison with the ladies where there are way more entries. The list of entries include An Xiangyi, Cheng Hongyi and many other young competitors. A notable entry is Zhu Yi (Beverly Zhu), the 2002-born Chinese American figure skating talent who will be participating in her first domestic competition.

At US Nationals earlier this year, Beverly Zhu won the novice title with 35 points over second place, touted as a future figure skating champion. In September of this year, Beverly Zhu officially joined the Chinese National Training Team that is led by China’s former representative figure skater, Lu Chen.

Dec 25 Article:

The Chinese National Figure Skating Champions will be happening on 12/29-12/30 in Harbin, China. During this competition, Sui Wenjing/Han Cong, Peng Cheng/Jin Yang, Jin Boyang, Wang Shiyue/Liu Xinyu, An Xiangyi, Zhu Yi (Beverly Zhu) will be making appearances.

Sui Wenjing/Han Cong who won the Pairs Silver at the Pyeongchang Olympics have been in recovery for their injuries for the first half of the season. As they recover, they have gotten their programs choreographed and have been easing back into training. The National Championships will be their first competition since the Olympics.

“Originally, we had intended on Four Continents in February 2019 being Sui/Han’s return to competition but by having them participate in the National Championships, they can gradually get a feel for the ice again,” said Shen Xue, the president of the Chinese Figure Skating Association. Sui Wenjing/Han Cong are reported to only perform their Short Program here.

In the first half of the international season, with their teammates sitting out, Peng Cheng/Jin Yang were tasked with representing Chinese pairs alone this season. They performed well at both of their GP assignments to make the final. They won the silver at GPF with great performances in the short and free program. Right now, Peng Cheng/Jin Yang are diligently preparing for the National Championships, they are hoping to repeat their good performances and show everyone 2 perfect programs.

Additionally, Olympians Yu Xiaoyu/Zhang Hao who also took off the first half of the season will be participating. Wang Xuehan/Wang Lei, Tang Feiyao/Yang Yongchao will also be contenders for the podium.

For the ladies’ singles competition, Chinese Grand Prix [T/N: domestic competition, not actual GPs] ladies champion An Xiangyi had 2 new programs choreographed after the competition in September. Zhu Yi (Beverly Zhu), the Chinese-American figure skating talent, will be competing domestically for the first time.

Two-time world medalist, Jin Boyang, did not perform very well at his 2 GP assignments this season to make the GPF. Now that he is competing at home, [I] believe that he will be motivated to perform well and prove himself.

Two Chinese ice dance teams of Wang Shiyue/Xinyu Liu and Cheng Hong/Sun Zhuoming have been training in Canada with the legendary coaches of Dubreuil/Lauzon since the summer. They are specially returning from Canada to participate in the National Championships and this will be their first time competing domestically this season.

The day before, CFSA signed a long term contract with Canadian coach Brian Orser to better prepare for the 2022 Olympics. The 4th place finisher at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games, Boyang Jin, has chosen not to go with Orser’s team overseas for training. At the press conference, the federation representative said that they will respect Boyang Jin’s decision.

Brian Orser’s coaching is one of the most successful coaching teams in terms of singles skating in the world. Top skaters like Yuzuru Hanyu, Yuna Kim, Javier Fernandez and more under the guidance of [Orser and his team] have had great success at the Olympics and World Championships. With the signing of the contract, Orser will be be regularly coming to China to assist in training Chinese skaters alongside Chinese coaches.

In May, IFS Magazine reported that Boyang Jin would officially move to Brian Orser’s for long term training in June, to learn from the coach of Yuzuru Hanyu. Boyang Jin is viewed positively by the international audience and is seen as a contender for the gold at the Beijing Olympics in 4 years.

However, soon there was news that Boyang would not be joining Orser in Canada and is choosing to forego training overseas. It was a hot topic online and many fans expressed disappointment at the decision.

Shen Xue, the head of CFSA, explained that Boyang Jin will not be joining Brian Orser and his team. “Thank you everyone for your concern for Chinese figure skating and Boyang Jin, we have already spoken with Heilongjiang Sports Federation, Boyang has his own plans in place. He is more familiar with the training environment and methods in China, so in the near future he will not be going for overseas training with Brian Orser. The association wants to respect the wishes of our athletes. We will continue to support exchange between our figure skaters and international teams. We are treating figure skating as an open doors project, we hope to work with Brian Orser and his team to find the potential in our skaters and introduce new and better training methods in China.”

Brian Orser himself also commented on Boyang Jin’s decision. “CFSA has kept me updated on Boyang’s situation. It’s unfortunate but he will not be coming [to Canada] to work with our team. Boyang is very talented and I know that we can help him, but we must respect his decision. However, I am looking forward to discovering new talent in Chinese figure skating through our partnership.”

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