Daisuke Takahashi To Take Year Out To Decide Future | Page 6 | Golden Skate

Daisuke Takahashi To Take Year Out To Decide Future

Meoima

Match Penalty
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
Those reporters! From most of the interviews I have watched, they all ask the skaters same boring questions, and the questions repeat over and over again, even from different interviewers! It's like they couldn't think of anything better to ask. Those question don't even give people some insight. They don't even seem to do their research about figure skating at all.:unsure:

I have to give Dai, Yuzuru, Machida, Mao...all the credit for their wise and humble answers. I mean, if it were me I would just show my "What the fug" face and tell them to leave me alone. :bang:

On a second thought, should I throw them my skating boots? :sarcasm:
 

ioanna

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
I was really not expecting something like this from the Japanese media either but Dai had to tell everyone to calm down on twitter and he actually closed his account shortly after that so I can imagine it was a hard thing to deal with and a lot of people were bothering him.

There is really no way one can compare Hanyu to Takeshi Honda or Dai because he was truly blessed with an already open road and broad possibilities training with Brian Orser. Who knows what Dai might have done without the Morozov drama. At the 2006 Olympics when he was Hanyu's age he must have had huge pressure on his shoulders being the only one to represent Japan in the men's event. He managed to place 5th after the SP but ended up 8th after a poor LP. Considering the field back then (Plushenko, Lambiel, Buttle), he did a decent job. He could have done even better, but he said he felt terrified in the competition. The circumstances are very different so there really was no point for them to compare.

@cruzceleste I think it was part of a Sochi documentary. It was on YouTube for a couple of days back when it first aired but was quickly taken down especially after the scandal started.
 

Meoima

Match Penalty
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
@cruzceleste I think it was part of a Sochi documentary. It was on YouTube for a couple of days back when it first aired but was quickly taken down especially after the scandal started.
Well, on a second thought, I think the same scandal could also happen if they were Canadians or U.S, I mean that is the nature of media everywhere. :unsure:
 

NMURA

Medalist
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
I see Takahashi wants to compete because he loves the spotlights. Retirement means losing whole attentions of the media and the general public. For a man who dominated the "Ace of Japan" privileges in past eight years, it won't be easy to adjust to the new reality of his life. Results (win or lose) are not so important as long as he could get the biggest "cheers" at the event. So if there was no Yuzuru Hanyu, he wouldn't have any hesitation to "continue". Machida is not a "rival" in this sense. Undoubtedly Hanyu is the one making his decision very difficult. Constantly stamped by the 9 years younger super star is too much to take for a proud man like Takahashi.
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
Y'know, after Dai skated at Torino, the Eurosport commentators thought he deserved to win bronze. You can see the performance and their commentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NDz9B0VcHk (Not sure how long it's gonna remain there until it's taken down, but...) I'm not sure if he could've even if there wasn't the stupid invalidated lutz (kinda ironic... Oda lost nationals to Takahashi due to Zayaking, Takahashi goes to the Olympics and Zayaks... The penalty for Zayaking is really way too harsh). I'll need to hunt down Buttle's performance to rewatch and compare.

Anyway, Dai did ultimately become the first man from Japan to win an Olympic medal, even without the one from Torino.

Ah, Takeshi Honda... I really think he had a chance to beat Goebel for bronze had he skated two clean programs. He just couldn't put two programs together... But even though he wasn't the greatest competitor, it's undeniable how much he's done for Japanese figure skating.
 

desertskates

Medalist
Joined
Nov 19, 2013
I want that "We can't stop competing!" team! Dai can do the short. Plush the long. Joubert can skate pairs with Aliona (sorry, Massot), like he's always planned. Caro with the ladies short program and Mao with the long. Weir... umm... ice dance with Lysacek in boxing outfits? :laugh:
Haha, I love it! But Mao is the best bet for the long. She's been around so long that we forget she's only 23.
 

Meoima

Match Penalty
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
Well, I know people in Japan still have more love for Dai than he can know. He has a wonderful career, with so much hardship when he was young, he still overcame them all. Internationally people still share lot of love for him. I hope he knows how his fans and supporters feel.
 

ioanna

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Ah, Takeshi Honda... I really think he had a chance to beat Goebel for bronze had he skated two clean programs. He just couldn't put two programs together... But even though he wasn't the greatest competitor, it's undeniable how much he's done for Japanese figure skating.

Takeshi Honda's SP in Salt Lake City was just so inspiring and he really was so close. He won the first 4CC edition If I'm not mistaken.

As for Dai, he must have gotten numerous UR calls for him to get that score. After hearing the Eurosport commentators I don't even know anymore.

And, uhm, I don't think he's craving for the spotlight... and he's far from being a proud man. He's actually had confidence issues most of his career and suffered a lot of consequences because of that.
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
Haha, I love it! But Mao is the best bet for the long. She's been around so long that we forget she's only 23.
True, Mao isn't that old. And among all of them, she has the best chance to actually win gold at the next Olympics (we'll have to see how Aliona does with her new partner). It'll be a long shot, but if she can pair her Worlds SP with her Olympics LP, she'll be unstoppable even in four years. Plush and Dai might have really really really long shots at bronze if everyone else falls over (and assuming Plush doesn't get disqualified for being a cyborg by 2018). Weir, Joubert, and Lysacek can always help their "We can't stop competing!" team to a team medal. :biggrin:
 

Esopian

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 18, 2014
Maybe Dai just wants to compete for one more season. Land a final quad. Get on the podium one more time. I dunno. He seems to feel bad about coming last among the Japanese men in Sochi (he really shouldn't feel bad--he wasn't too many points back and I give him credit for staying on his feet through two nights of falls. And the Beatles medley really developed into something good, after its rather sleepy earlier renditions).

I feel like he has done enough for Japan, and really should retire instead of straining his injury even further. I guess everyman has a 'pride' and perhaps he wants to accomplish one more thing for Japan and himself. But coming behind the 19 year old Hanyu is sort of predicted as his age is there, even though he didn't get the gold at Vancouver -he still made history for Japan. :) Daisuke should be satisfied for what he has already done instead of comparing himself to the next generation of skaters.

With his career aside, I hope he becomes a coach if he doesn't skate competitively in the future. I wonder who his students could be and how he would influence them artistically.
 

Icey

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 28, 2012
well, fine if he wants to continue, but his chances of getting on the podium at major events is small.
 

ioanna

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
He didn't confirm anything, he only said he won't come back competitively just for another season or two and he would want to aim for 2018. That is why he's taking the next season off to seriously think about it, without any rush. I'm sure he knows he would need a steady quad and increased base value to even dream of getting gold in the major competitions so chances are this really was the end.

I wish he could have competed in Saitama, he would have gotten the biggest standing ovation and it would have been a well deserved farewell, regardless of the result. Who knows, in better conditions he could have medalled and Japan would have gotten a podium sweep in their own country. He should be proud a thing like this is even possible nowadays, and they've come a long way for a country who didn't medal at the Olympics until 2010.
But they said the injury was very serious and he would have done a lot of damage to his leg had he competed so he made the right choice. He apologized to Kozuka and gave him the chance to compete.

Didn't Hanyu himself say he hoped Dai would come back in competition? It was a recent interview anyway. He said together they have the potential to make further podium sweeps :laugh: I think they were on the podium together at about every important competition in the last years (Worlds, 4CC, GPF). He also said Dai's presence and programs benefit him. While I'm sure Dai would be honored of such words, he would still be a competitor and he can't come back just to help the others make a perfect podium sweep. He will only get older with time and it will get harder and harder to do that. Nobody can guarantee a repeat of what happened in Saitama to begin with.

I see judges are going to be penalizing edge calls and URs even more from now on so it's another thing to weigh in his final decision.
 

lcd

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Regardless of whether he chooses to re-enter the elite competitive scene, I hope he #1 restores his physical health as a priority. Regardless of whether he chooses to compete or perform in shows, I will hope he returns to the ice as a skater before making any decisions to focus his life off the ice. I think he still has so much to offer the skating world as a performer, no doubt.
 
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