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Chinese veteran figure skating hopes for miracle in Turin
(AngolaPress)
Updated: 2006-02-01 10:52
With the February Winter Olympics in Turin just around the corner, Chinese
veteran pairs skater Zhao Hongbo was racing against time.
Less than six months after breaking his Achilles tendon in a practice session
in early August, Zhao has recovered amazingly quickly and well enough to skate
to all his selected movements except a triple-triple jump combination, from
which he received the untimely injury.
However, his time is almost up.
China's two-time
world figure skating champions Shen Xue (right) and Zhao Hongbo practise
for the upcoming Turin Winter Olympics in Beijing January 26, 2006. The
Turin Winter Olympics will be held from February 10-26. Zhao Hongbo is
getting well with practice since having returned to the ice after severely
injuring his Achilles tendon last August. |
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Taking the risk of breaking his Achilles tendon for a second time, the
32-year-old Zhao, two-time world champion and a bronze medallist at the Salt
Lake City Games in 2002, was trying the difficult jumps determinedly in order to
make his third and last bid for the Olympic gold medal with partner Shen Xue.
Yao Bin, head coach of the Chinese Figure Skating Team, was the strongest
supporter of Zhao.
"If only Zhao recovers in time, he and Shen will be the closest ones to the
pairs gold in Turin," said Yao, who has been coaching Zhao for 18 years.
"We will not give them up because of Zhao`s injury," Yao added, "Even if
there is only the slimmest chance, we will try our best to make a miracle."
Zhao`s uncertain situation left reigning world champions Tatiana Totmianina
and Maxim Marinin as top title favorites in the discipline.
Ranking fourth behind Shen/Zhao in Salt Lake City four years ago, the Russian
pair has claimed consecutive titles at the 2004 and 2005 World Championships and
overtaken the Chinese duo as world No. 1 pair skaters.
But they will meet a bold challenge from Chinese rising stars Zhang Dan and
Zhang Hao, who has won the Interantional Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix
competitions in Japan and Canada this season before finishing second to
Totmianina and Marinin in the Final in Tokyo.
While China is chasing its first gold medal in the Olympic figure skating,
traditional powerhouse Russia will attempt to sweep all the four golds on offer
in Turin.
Evgeni Plushenko, a three-time world champion and runner-up to Russian
compatriot Alexei Yagudin, was favored for gold in the men`s singles with
Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland and Canadian Emanuel Sandhu considered as other
title contenders.
Moreover, the 2005 world champion Irina Slutskaya will strive to become the
first Russian to claim the top honor in the women`s singles competition.
Since Japanese teenager Mao Asada, the only skater who has beaten her this
season, is not old enough to qualify for the Olympics, Slutskaya will have an
even better chance to turn her silver in the Salt Lake City Games into gold in
Turin.
American Sasha Cohen, Michelle Kwan and Japanese Fumie Suguri were also
expected to be competitive in the women`s discipline.
The Russian team of Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov
showed their dominance in ice dancing by sweeping all the competitions they
entered this season and should be the duo to beat in Turin.
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