{"id":6966,"date":"2025-04-18T10:38:21","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T08:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/?p=6966"},"modified":"2025-04-18T10:38:21","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T08:38:21","slug":"figure-skating-im-more-suited-for-the-olympics-chapter-187-recognition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/2025\/04\/18\/figure-skating-im-more-suited-for-the-olympics-chapter-187-recognition\/","title":{"rendered":"Figure Skating: I’m More Suited for the Olympics – Chapter 187 Recognition"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

After the men’s short program results came out, the internet was full of criticism, but Zhang Jue wasn’t the one being blamed.<\/p>\r\n

After all, he had just crawled out of a serious fracture injury. He managed to complete three difficult jumps in the short program, even though he made mistakes, but he didn’t fall. He did the best he could and ended up in fourth place, which was already impressive. Those who understood the sport couldn\u2019t bear to criticize him.<\/p>\r\n

The ones being criticized were his second-year junior, Cha Hanbuhua, and his third-year junior, Jin Zixuan.<\/p>\r\n

Cha Hanbuhua\u2019s jumps were still unstable. He fell once in the short program and ended up in 17th place. Jin Zixuan, although he managed a 4T in the short program, fell on the second jump of his combination and ended up in 12th place.<\/p>\r\n

What upset the netizens was that both of these athletes were in good health, yet they couldn\u2019t beat the recovering Zhang Jue: “What good are you if you can’t perform better than the brother who just recovered?”<\/p>\r\n

Some overzealous netizens even claimed that they now seriously doubted Zhang\u2019s reputation was exaggerated. They pointed out that currently in men\u2019s singles, only Zhang Jue could hold up, while the others frequently failed. Fortunately, Min Shan\u2019s impressive performance quickly silenced this criticism, or else Zhang\u2019s coaching ability would have been questioned.<\/p>\r\n

However, even so, some people were still worried that Zhang Jue was being too lenient with his other disciples.<\/p>\r\n

It was well-known that Zhang Jue had a difficult start. Due to the lack of senior athletes in men\u2019s singles, he had to rise through the ranks based on his age. When growth spurts and injuries hit at the same time, he had to force his body fat to the minimum level to guarantee a spot in the Sochi Winter Olympics. He competed while injured, which caused his health to decline by the time he was 18.<\/p>\r\n

Because of this, Zhang Jue was more lenient with the training of his juniors. With an exceptional senior brother leading the way, the younger athletes didn\u2019t need to drastically reduce their body fat or take on the intense physical toll of difficult routines before they were fully grown.<\/p>\r\n

But isn’t competitive sports all about pushing limits? If this kind treatment led to them losing their drive, it could prevent them from reaching Zhang Jue\u2019s level by the time they retired.<\/p>\r\n

Originally, athletes were often questioned for not pushing themselves hard enough unless they suffered injuries. Coaches were expected to be stricter with the kids!<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Jue, who used to go online, fell into a strange silence after reading the online comments.<\/p>\r\n

Actually\u2026 the coaching team was really strict with the kids. Cha Hanbuhua hadn\u2019t suffered injuries because he was incredibly resilient. Jin Zixuan hadn\u2019t been without injuries either\u2014he just hadn\u2019t had flare-ups this season. Min Shan and Jiang Yihong seemed fine because they were still young.<\/p>\r\n

And, to put it bluntly, no matter how hard they trained, even if they pushed themselves to the brink, it would be hard for them to reach Zhang Jue\u2019s level.<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Jue\u2019s talent surpassed theirs, and in men\u2019s figure skating, there were very few who could match his natural ability. Retired athletes like Vasily and Chiba Takashi came close, and though Hayato Teraoka and Iliya were also good, their physical and performance talents weren\u2019t quite at Zhang Jue\u2019s level.<\/p>\r\n

But if Zhang Jue used this kind of blunt reasoning to rebut his critics, it was likely that the next people to criticize him wouldn\u2019t be the trolls, but the authorities.<\/p>\r\n

Everyone knew his talent was exceptional, but if Zhang Jue started belittling others by saying that no one could match him, it would be another story.<\/p>\r\n

He decided to go see his uncle. Zhang Jue thought to himself as he slowly left his room. However, in the hallway corner, he saw Cha Hanbuhua standing in front of his uncle\u2019s door, seemingly debating whether to knock.<\/p>\r\n

He stood in the shadow, quietly watching his junior.<\/p>\r\n

At that moment, Min Shan\u2019s voice sounded behind him.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSenior brother\u2026\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Before Min Shan could say more, Zhang Jue covered his mouth. Min Shan immediately raised both hands, signaling that he would remain quiet. The two of them then sneaked behind the corner, peeking at Cha Hanbuhua.<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Juebao was also scrolling through online news.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cBrother Jue got fourth in the short program, that\u2019s unheard of!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThis year\u2019s Hayato Teraoka is in god-level form! His performance was truly spectacular, and his difficulty was insane: 4F, 4T3T, 3A. Such a combination could only be done by peak Zhang Jue. Current Zhang Jue really has a tough time keeping up.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cHe was unfortunate to break his bone mid-season, and he had to recover before continuing training. When he came back to the World Championships, he had to face the strongest competition. Who can handle that? Don\u2019t blame Brother Jue, don\u2019t feel too disappointed. As one of this season\u2019s three major injured athletes, Brother Jue has already outperformed the \u2018Prince of Bear\u2019 and \u2018Claypot Brother\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cNo disappointment, no disappointment. Before the competition started, those female fans on the forum kept reminding us that the Crocodile God had broken his bone, so we shouldn\u2019t expect too much. When they got disappointed and started cursing, though, who\u2019s this \u2018Claypot Brother\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cDavid Casulay, the Belgian male singles skater. His surname, Casulay, is actually a famous French dish, so we affectionately call him \u2018Claypot Brother\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cDamn, those jealous fans of our Brother Jue from that forum are starting to spread more nonsense again. Watch me fire back now. Brothers, charge with me!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

\u2026<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Zhang Juebao chuckled lightly. He thought maybe he was just getting old. The young people online these days were always charging at each other or arguing with brainwashing tactics. Back in his day, things weren\u2019t like this.<\/p>\r\n

When he was young, computers weren\u2019t as useful as they are now. The game Xianjian Qixia Chuan had just been released and became a beacon for domestic single-player games. At that time, Zhang Juebao and Shen Liu used to play Age of Discovery together. Looking back, it all seemed like a long time ago.<\/p>\r\n

Now, young athletes like Zhang Jue, Cha Hanbuhua, and Min Shan, who were born after 2000, seemed to hardly use computers. Their phones were their main \u201ctoys.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Perhaps the only thing they had in common was the spirit of figure skating.<\/p>\r\n

There was a knock on the door. Zhang Juebao went to open it and saw Cha Hanbuhua standing there.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cCoach.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYou\u2019re still awake, little Cha?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Juebao greeted the kid and invited him in to sit down, pouring him a glass of water.<\/p>\r\n

Cha Hanbuhua shyly said: “Sorry, coach, I can\u2019t sleep.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

After another failed attempt at the jump combination, he scrolled through his phone and saw more negative comments from netizens criticizing his performance. Who could sleep after that?<\/p>\r\n

Cha Hanbuhua lowered his head, slowly voicing his request: “Coach, I want to increase the intensity of my training. I want to start practicing the 4T3T combination, and also the 4S.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Jue had done these combinations before, and he had done them well. Cha Hanbuhua wanted to give it a try.<\/p>\r\n

After all, he was just a young athlete trying to improve, and like most young athletes, he was full of energy and felt limitless. They were willing to exchange their health for better results.<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Juebao, having gone through this stage himself, understood Cha Hanbuhua\u2019s mindset.<\/p>\r\n

He put his arm around Cha Hanbuhua\u2019s shoulder. \u201cDo you really want to push yourself even harder, disregarding your health, or are you just upset about this competition\u2019s failure and not sure how to vent your frustration?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Cha Hanbuhua avoided looking at him, but Zhang Juebao didn\u2019t press him to answer. He just held the kid, looking out at the night view through the window.<\/p>\r\n

They were on the 25th floor of the hotel. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, they could see how most of the city transitioned from noisy activity to the calm of the late night.<\/p>\r\n

“Coach, you knew about the tortoise and hare race, right?”<\/p>\r\n

“Yeah, I know.”<\/p>\r\n

“In the tortoise and hare race, the rabbit lay down and slept, while the tortoise kept moving forward, so the tortoise won the race. I\u2019ve always felt like I\u2019m not smart, I don\u2019t have outstanding talent. Without the spirit of the tortoise, I might have lived a mediocre life, not standing on the competition stage to enjoy the glory, and I was never born to be a genius.”

Cha Hanbuhua tightly clenched his fists.<\/p>\r\n

“But when I came to the adult competition and competed with top-tier athletes, I realized there wasn\u2019t a single lazy rabbit here. They were all constantly running, and I struggled so much to keep up. Maybe one day, I will be left behind, unable to even see their backs, and then I\u2019ll be eliminated. I don\u2019t want to be eliminated. I love ice skating.”<\/p>\r\n

“I understand, I understand.”<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Juebao responded: “Everything you\u2019re going through now is what I went through before.”<\/p>\r\n

“But even if the tortoise runs slowly, it still doesn\u2019t want to stop, because as long as it keeps going, as long as its legs aren\u2019t broken, it will reach the finish line.”<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Juebao stood up, walked in front of Cha Hanbuhua, and squatted down. He pressed his disciple’s knee and said in a firm tone: “Cha Hanbuhua, you have very strong legs. You\u2019re the rabbit in the health field, no one else can compare to you. You have talent, you have the foundation. Don\u2019t rush. I swear, I\u2019ll get you to the finish line!”<\/p>\r\n

“Temporary wins and losses mean nothing. You\u2019re doing great now, and the competition in this field hasn\u2019t gotten so cruel that they would eliminate someone as outstanding as you.”<\/p>\r\n

Upon hearing this, Cha Hanbuhua couldn\u2019t help but cry. He covered his eyes: “Coach, I really want to win.”<\/p>\r\n

He leaned on Zhang Juebao while crying. At the door, Zhang Jue and Min Shan, who had been listening to the conversation, exchanged a glance, both thinking that it was probably not good that the junior brother was crying.<\/p>\r\n

But out of trust in the coach, they didn\u2019t barge in. Instead, they went to a farther place and sent a text message to Cha Hanbuhua asking: “Do you want to go out for a late-night snack?”<\/p>\r\n

In case Zhang Juebao had made the little white calf cry, this message would give Hanbuhua an excuse to leave. If Zhang Juebao was particularly angry, it could also shift his anger to Zhang Jue and Min Shan for wanting to eat something so late.<\/p>\r\n

So this was a message filled with the love of fellow disciples.<\/p>\r\n

The reply they received was: “Bring a portion for me and Hanbuhua too.”<\/p>\r\n

Oh no!<\/p>\r\n

The senior siblings exchanged another glance.<\/p>\r\n

The tone of that reply was clearly old man Zhang! Since the usually strict Zhang Juebao had no objection to their late-night snack, it seemed that his mood was not bad.<\/p>\r\n

Min Shan\u2019s eyes rolled: “We can\u2019t take anything that takes too much time, or else they\u2019ll have to wait too long. Also, it can\u2019t be too high in calories, or we\u2019ll be scolded.”<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Jue clapped his left fist into his right palm: “Let\u2019s make a few plates of salad.”<\/p>\r\n

In the figure skating community, who hasn\u2019t been a salad expert? Eating this definitely wouldn\u2019t get them scolded.<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Juebao indeed didn\u2019t scold them, he just complained that they weren\u2019t clever enough to bring up some drinks.<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Jue sat cross-legged on the floor, listening to his uncle nagging: “You too, staying up so late and not sleeping, taking your junior sister out to find food. Are you trying to make sure your body fat increases faster? Min Shan too, didn\u2019t I ask you to listen to \u2018Harry Potter\u2019 again? If you don\u2019t listen carefully, how can you be sure your program inspiration is on point? Or are you planning to be suppressed by Bai Ye Zhong Keiko\u2019s performance advantage in the free skate?”<\/p>\r\n

Min Shan, who had been watching the show, obediently responded.<\/p>\r\n

The only one who didn\u2019t get scolded, Cha Hanbuhua, sat by and looked at his fellow disciples, feeling a warmth in his heart.<\/p>\r\n

After sending the junior disciples back to their rooms to rest, Zhang Jue stretched lazily in the hallway.<\/p>\r\n

He smiled and asked his uncle: “Hey, have you seen the comments online? Are you feeling okay?”<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Juebao rolled his eyes: “Not great, but no matter what they say, I will stick to my coaching method.”<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Jue gave him a thumbs up with both hands: “Yes, you\u2019re right. I think your coaching method is the best for us.”<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Juebao paused for a moment, then shook his head and smiled: “I\u2019m not that great. I just graduated from Beijing Sport University, and my performance during my career wasn\u2019t that impressive. I\u2019ve figured out a lot of things while training you, because I didn\u2019t have enough experience before. A few times, when I could have helped you avoid injuries, I didn\u2019t give you the advice.”<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Jue interrupted him: “Uncle.”<\/p>\r\n

“You\u2019re excellent, one of the best figure skating coaches I\u2019ve seen. You\u2019re not inferior to famous coaches like Boris or Salena. On this point, you should trust yourself. I can say, if you hadn\u2019t become a national team coach, by the time of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou cycle, our country wouldn\u2019t have been able to produce female singles who can steadily perform advanced 33 consecutive jumps or even complete 3As, nor would we have had male singles like me who can steadily perform advanced quadruple jumps.”<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Jue spoke the truth. In his memory, Chinese figure skating didn\u2019t have much to show until the Beijing-Zhangjiakou cycle, and single skating was still struggling. It wasn\u2019t until much later that Cha Hanbuhua was able to land a quadruple jump.<\/p>\r\n

As a coach, Zhang Juebao had already reached the level where he could help athletes achieve extraordinary results.<\/p>\r\n

Unfortunately, Zhang Juebao took Zhang Jue\u2019s words as exaggerated praise meant to comfort him. Even though his shoulder was patted several times, Zhang Juebao still didn\u2019t change his view that “as a coach, I\u2019m not top-level, just first-rate at best.”<\/p>\r\n

Sigh, it seemed he would have to keep an eye on his uncle to prevent him from overworking, staying up late to read and research papers, and ruining his health.<\/p>\r\n

The next day, there were ice dance and pair skating short programs, as well as the women\u2019s singles free skate. In any case, there was nothing to do with the men\u2019s singles for now, so Zhang Jue came over to accompany his teammates.<\/p>\r\n

Huang Ying was still recovering from the injuries caused by her throw in the fourth season. At this time, she was leaning against Guan Lin, blowing up a balloon to ease her internal pain. Zhang Juebao and Coach Lu were giving Min Shan pre-competition guidance.<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Juebao: “The lifts of Keiko aren\u2019t as good as yours, so you need to perform more lifts while ensuring no mistakes. Let\u2019s see if we can get a higher GOE.”<\/p>\r\n

Coach Lu: “This time, we\u2019ll go with plan B, moving the 2A and 3Lo to the later part of the routine. This way, you\u2019ll have two more jumps with base values that can be multiplied by 1.1.”<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Juebao: “Before your competition starts, I won’t allow you to watch other athletes’ programs. Focus on yourself.”<\/p>\r\n

Coach Lu: “We’ve found a place for you to warm up alone, just down the hall. We\u2019ll keep an eye on the surroundings, let\u2019s go.”<\/p>\r\n

This kind of treatment from the coaching team had only been given to Zhang Jue before. Now, Min Shan, who was participating in her first senior world championship, also had this attention. She enjoyed the coaches’ meticulous care but felt a little nervous.<\/p>\r\n

During her senior brother’s competitions, the coaches never talked so much, offering so many tips and strategies to increase her chances of success.<\/p>\r\n

Min Shan, of course, didn\u2019t know that the reason the coaches didn\u2019t speak to Zhang Jue in such a manner was because whatever the coaches could think of, Zhang Jue had already considered, and he was even more daring in thinking and fighting for victory than they were.<\/p>\r\n

Zhang Jue\u2019s tactical thinking had long matured, and he didn\u2019t need much guidance from the coaching staff; they just needed to assist him from the side and occasionally give suggestions.<\/p>\r\n

Min Shan\u2019s mother was also standing nearby, fully cooperating with the coaching team’s work. She didn\u2019t speak a word but took on the task of carrying her daughter’s bag and coat.<\/p>\r\n

Since there was nothing for him to do there, Zhang Jue simply went to the audience stands to watch the competition.<\/p>\r\n

This year, the short dance music for Yin Meijing and Liu Mengcheng came from the song “When There Was Me And You,” sung by the female lead of the movie High School Musical.<\/p>\r\n

The sweet female voice echoed through the arena, and the pair, playfully called the sweetest figure skaters, were chasing each other on the ice, expressing their love through body language.<\/p>\r\n

When people saw them, they couldn’t help but exclaim: “This is love.”<\/p>\r\n

Leaning against the back of his chair, Zhang Jue suddenly wondered if he had reached the age where he could skate for love.<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Support translation:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"This<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After the men’s short program results came out, the internet was full of criticism, but Zhang Jue wasn’t the one being blamed. After all, he had just crawled out of a serious fracture injury. He managed to complete three difficult jumps in the short program, even though he made mistakes, but he didn’t fall. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-figure-skating-im-more-suited-for-the-olympics","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ontimestory.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/fg.png?fit=200%2C281&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6966"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6967,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6966\/revisions\/6967"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}