‘No pressure’ on Chinese skaters in 2018

Chinese pair to use new music in upcoming season

China’s figure skating general coach Zhao Hongbo said Wednesday that there is no gold medal pressure on Chinese figure skaters at next year’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

“I hope they can perform their best at the Olympics … I’d be satisfied if they can do 90 percent of their best,” Zhao told reporters during a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday. “There is no gold medal mission for us as other skaters might also do very well there.”

As the reigning singles champions Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan and Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia are too strong to defeat, Chinese figure skating fans are instead focusing their hopes on the Olympic pairs competition, where Sui Wenjing and Han Cong are seeking to repeat their world championship form.

New music will feature in the duo’s programs in the upcoming season, including a Turandot piece – orchestrated by renowned Canadian choreographer Lori Nichol – for their free skating program.

As China prepares for the 2018 Winter Olympics, Sui and Han will lead a star-studded Chinese squad for the 2017 Cup of China Grand Prix, scheduled November 3-5 in Beijing.

All the Chinese skaters at the event hope to raise their rankings and eventually book a place in the Olympic finals.

Due to Sui and Han’s top-place finish at the world championships, China can have three pairs at the Olympics, with six pairs now competing in an internal ranking system, Zhao explained.

In the men’s singles, 20-year-old prodigy Jin Boyang will try to compete against newly recovered Yan Han and rising star Zhang He for the two available berths, while former Chinese No.1 Li Zijun will vie for the only female slot against younger teammates Li Xiangning and Zhao Ziquan.

In the China Grand Prix ice dance event, Asian Winter Games champions Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu will face the challenge of French two-time world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron.