The Chinese Newspaper’s Unusual Praise for Yuzuru Hanyu: “Even Without a Medal, He’s a Winner
About two hours after Yuzuru Hanyu appeared in front of the press, he missed his third consecutive gold medal in men’s figure skating, a feat he had not achieved in 94 years. About two hours after Yuzuru Hanyu appeared in front of the press, the name “Yuzuru Hanyu” danced on the website of the host country, China, along with the Chinese representative, Kim Bo-yang.
The Beijing Daily, one of the most popular newspapers in Beijing, the capital of China, wrote: ” 虽无缘奖牌，but 战胜自己的金博洋和羽生结弦都赢了! (虽无缘奖牌，但战胜自己的金博洋和羽生结弦都赢了!) (Although they didn’t reach the medals, Kim and Hanyu are both winners!
The top photo of the article is of course of Hiroshi Kim, but there are also two photos of Hanyu in the article. In addition to the article reviewing the competition as a whole, the article includes the following words from Hiroshi Kim.
I was also frustrated (about Hanyu’s failed quadruple-half). I was also frustrated, really. But if you believe you can do it and keep trying, I believe Hanyu will succeed one day.
Hanyu’s mental strength is a wonder. Normally, I think he would think about retiring without participating in the third Olympics. He participated in the Olympics and challenged the difficulty of a quadruple and a half at the age of 27. I want to learn from this mentality.
Kim is 24 years old. Nathan Chen of the U.S. team, who won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics with overwhelming strength, is 22. Until 2014, when the Sochi Olympics were held, two quadruple jumps were enough to become a world champion, but now it is required to have at least three. Hanyu’s challenge at the age of 27 is probably worthy of admiration from his rivals, since it has been said that “the younger, thinner, and smaller you are, the better you are” in order to continuously jump difficult jumps.
The Xin Jing Pao, a tabloid newspaper launched in Beijing in 2003, followed up on Kim’s words, saying, “Yuzuru Hanyu was beautiful! His courage made the Olympic spirit shine.
Hanyu chose to challenge history. He chose to challenge history, just like Mao Asada did when she attempted a triple and a half at the Sochi Olympics. When human beings challenge their own limits, they need people like Mao Asada and Yuzuru Hanyu. They are the ones who are ready to take on the challenge with all their might. Even if their performance is not perfect, they move people’s hearts.
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It’s almost scary to be praised this much, but at the award ceremony of the 2017 World Championships in Finland, the winning Hanyu noticed that third-place finisher Kim Bo-Yang was holding the wrong side of the national flag and helped him out. (Go for it!)” to a Chinese competitor. (Good luck!)” to the Chinese athletes. It is not hard to imagine that these episodes gave a favorable impression to the Chinese.
In contrast, when Shun Mizutani and Misato Ito beat Chinese pair Luxon and Shiwen Liu in the mixed doubles final at the Tokyo Olympics last July to win Japan’s first-ever gold medal in table tennis at the Olympics, there was a lot of chatter on social media during the match. The Japanese pair of Mizutani and Ito was lined with comments that condemned them.
During the match, more than 10,000 people responded to a post on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, that read, “Shun Mizutani blew the ball, Misato Itoh touched the table, shouldn’t they be carded? In China, it is the national sport. The sentiment that “losing to a Japanese pair in table tennis, the ‘national sport’ in China, is humiliating” must have heated up on SNS.
In the case of figure skating, unlike table tennis, there is a difference in skill between Kim and Hanyu, but this “praise” of Hanyu is still unusual.
In his column, Ku Jeong, a critic for the Gokmoku Shimbun, an affiliate of the government-affiliated Hubei Daily News, wrote
＜In his column, Ku Jeong, a critic for the government-affiliated Hubei Daily News, wrote: “Hanyu’s determination to ‘die on the ice’ led him toward his dream, and he produced a performance with a sense of martyrdom and tragedy, with a beautiful, delicate appearance and great contrast. Hanyu’s challenge has touched the hearts of people all over the world.
＜Hanyu’s spirit created a new history of figure skating and embodied the athlete’s spirit that mankind can transcend its own limits. Hanyu’s spirit made a new history of figure skating, embodying the spirit of an athlete who believes that human beings can transcend their own limits.
＜The gold medal is given only to the winner, but the praise and cheers are given to all those who challenged their limits. The courageous light that shone down on them is the highest honor.
After his performance, Hanyu responded to a question from the press asking him about his future, “I’d like to think about it. I want to think about it for a while. That’s how much …… I’ve done this time,” he said.
No matter what path Hanyu chooses in the future, there is no doubt that his way of life has created a positive image for the Chinese people.
