(I just read an interview with Pang/Tong (source: 新京报 本版采写/本报记者 张宾; Chinese text quoted in http://www.china-ice.cn/thread-9210-1-1.html), and was really impressed/touched by their story. I didn't know very much about them, except that they almost quit prior to 2006 World Championship, where they won gold. I know they had high expectations for their Romeo & Juliet LP this season, choreographed by Morosov, but it hasn't worked out all that well for them...)
We Were Set Back for 5 Years; No Dating During Our Career
In many families, the children in the middle never get as much attention as the oldest or the youngest. Within the Chinese figure skating team, this is the situation for Pang Qing/Tong Jian. They don't compare with either the older Shen/Zhao, nor the younger Zhang/Zhang, a situation that touches their lives at many complicated levels. Last weekend, they explained their story behind the scene, in Tong Jian's dorm room inside the Capital Athletic Center.
"We Were Set Back by Five Years"
Pang Qing was thrown into the air, turned rapidly, then fell hard on the ice. Tong Jian quickly skated to her side, as Pang Qing curled up, tears falling down her face. That was 12 years ago, it was now hard to detect from Pang Qing's face the pain and disappointment she must have felt at the time. She sat on Tong Jian's dorm bed, slightly shook her finger, then pointed through the window at the nearby Capital Athletic Ice Rink, where the incident took place. Pang Qing talked about this very calmly, as though telling someone else's story, but this fall almost destroyed their skating career. The injury happened only two days after they waited for three years and finally won the chance to be trained by Yao Bing in Beijing. But because Pang Qing broke a bone, they had to return home and continue with the endless waiting...
When their coach, Yao Bing, was transferred to Beijing (from Harbin), because of resource limitations, only the "top" pair Shen/Zhao was sent to Beijing along with Yao, and the "second" pair Pang/Tong stayed behind. "At first when we waited for the news to move to Beijing, we thought it would be one day, two days, then it became one month, two month, finally it was one year, two years..." Tong Jian described calmly, a hint of resignation in his voice.
Waiting is a type of torment. While waiting, fighting became daily. "We fought a lot, sometimes we would quit training, then not talk to each other, and finally just pack and go home," said Tong Jiang. The reason for fighting usually had to do with technical issues: they each thought they were right, stubbornly refusing to give in, they could only wait for Yao Bing to come back during vacations to give them some pointers. Five years flew by during this period of irregular training.
Once, Tong Jian had an opportunity to become a professional dancer in the provincial dance company. If he had nodded his head, life would have turned out completely differently. "When there wasn't much training, I often went to practice dancing in the dance studio. The top people in the dance company all came to talk to me, they felt my muscular physique had an advantage over the typical dancer. I had two choices back then: continue waiting, or quit skating. Our parents also didn't support us waiting endlessly, they rather hoped we would continue with our studies. But I trusted our coach (Yao Bin), and chose to wait," said Tong Jian.
Compared to Tong Jian, the slightly younger Pang Qing wasn't the worrying type, and never thought too much about the future. Tong Jian joked, "Yeah, she only worried about eating candies." After Pang Qing broke her bone, she first returned to Harbin for six months to recover, then they waited over another year. Finally, in 1997, they regained an opportunity to train in Beijing. "Those five years," Pang Qing said, "were totally wasted..."
"We Were the 'Second' Pair Left Behind"
Yao Bin has three successful pairs of students, nicknamed "First", "Second", and "Third". For a long time, Pang/Tong played the part of the "second" pair. Many people believe that they were suppressed by the success of the "First" pair Shen/Zhao. Tong Jian didn't agree with this view, he explained the reason:
"We can't be compared to Shen/Zhao. In 1998, 1999, we were handed down their used skates, costumes, choreography, everything was passed down. Any guarantee of training was also given to them. Later on, that we could compete with them at all was already a big revolution," said Tong Jian.
For now, Shen/Zhao have left the ice, Pang/Tong and Zhang/Zhang are left to carry on the Chinese pairs flag. This year, in both head-on competitions, Pang/Tong lost to their rivals. Talking of the rivalry with Zhang/Zhang, Pang Qing, who was leaning against the wall, straightened her back, and came out with, "We can't compare with them either."
Tong Jian then explaiend, the "Third" pair improved quickly, but that's not unrelated to the change in the status of figure skating within China. "From the beginning, they had their own skates, costumes, choreography, all of which helped their rise, but these were not things that we could expect for ourselves," said Tong Jian.
"Besides", Tong Jian pointed out, "although we are older than Zhang/Zhang by 3, 4 years, but given the 5 years we waited, we don't have much advantage. More truthfully, we only trained more than them for about half a year."
Mostly it was the sociable Tong Jian who did the talking, but finally the quiet Pang Qing added, "You also didn't find the right partner." Tong Jian laughed and disagreed, "I think my partner is really great." Pang Qing explained her thoughts, she wasn't exaggerating or joking, "Like Shen/Zhang and Zhang/Zhang, when they were paired, the girls all weighed around 50 lbs. Then the male partner's power can gradually adapt as the girls grew bigger. But when we started, I was already 78 lbs, and my height was already about what it is now," said Pang Qing. Tong Jian also clearly remembers Pang Qing's weight at the time, but his memory is a little different, more like 76 lbs.
"No Dating During Our Career"
Last year, Pang Qing had serious kidney problems, even now she's not entirely recovered. Their current strategy is to closely monitor her health while training. Tong Jian is very attentive of his partner's health, declaring that if her health ever became a problem again, they would quit skating.
Speaking of their goal, Pang/Tong are aiming for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. "World championship title we already have, maybe we can still talk about how many times, our main target is (gold) at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Compared to other teams, our advantage is in the pairs connection," Tong Jian said.
Earlier, there were rumors of Pang/Tong being a romantic couple spreading on the web. When asked about this, Tong Jing became the spokesperson, "That's not possible! How can we openly be a couple? Unless we decide to quit! To skate pairs, we must maintain a great working relationship. If we started dating, it would affect our skating. We don't really care about what other people think, we know in our heart, that the only way for our career to succeed is to maintain a good working relationship."
Q&A:
Q: What attracts you the most in your partner?
Pang: Seriousness, thoughtfulness
Tong: Beauty, extraordinariness
Q: Your partner's biggest fault
Pang:Too serious! Sometimes we make a mistake on one move, he would insist that we work on it for the rest of the practice session.
Tong: Too stubborn!
Q: If your partner has a date with someone of the opposite sex, without you, how would you feel?
Pang: Nothing, very normal.
Tong: It never happened before, or maybe it has, but I don't know about it... But how can that be?! That would totally interfere with our training! (jokingly kissing Pang)
Q: What do you give each other for birthdays? Most recently?
Pang: I forgot his birthday this year, because we were performing in Japan at the time, there was no time.
Tong: I've given her so many presents, it depends on how she behaves during the year. This year, I gave her a bag.
Q: If results are disappointing due to partner's mistake(s), what would you say to each other afterwards?
Pang: Don't give up, next time we'll succeed.
Tong: Usually analyze our performances and not say anything too positive -- I feel those words are empty/unrealistic.
Q: What's your partner's favorite dish?
Pang: Steak. Once we were abroad and ate steak for 20 days in a row, and I was really sick of it, so I protested: please, how about some fish or pork?
Tong: She has many favorites, anything new she would like to try.
Q: Your partner's favorite TV show?
Pang: he doesn't watch much TV, he plays games on the web. Recently, he's been playing "The Transformers."
Tong: I don't know, maybe "Shanghai Beach" (Pang cut in, "actually it's 'Struggle'").
Q: Do you think your partner is beautiful/handsome? What's his/her most notable facial feature?
Pang: Very handsome! Nothing particularly notable, just on the whole very handsome.
Tong: Very ordinary normally, but with makeup she's a beauty! Seeing her everyday, it's like seeing myself. If we are performing on the ice, then you can really see her beauty, in the classical style. Make-up artists love working with her, they think she's a born beauty.
We Were Set Back for 5 Years; No Dating During Our Career
In many families, the children in the middle never get as much attention as the oldest or the youngest. Within the Chinese figure skating team, this is the situation for Pang Qing/Tong Jian. They don't compare with either the older Shen/Zhao, nor the younger Zhang/Zhang, a situation that touches their lives at many complicated levels. Last weekend, they explained their story behind the scene, in Tong Jian's dorm room inside the Capital Athletic Center.
"We Were Set Back by Five Years"
Pang Qing was thrown into the air, turned rapidly, then fell hard on the ice. Tong Jian quickly skated to her side, as Pang Qing curled up, tears falling down her face. That was 12 years ago, it was now hard to detect from Pang Qing's face the pain and disappointment she must have felt at the time. She sat on Tong Jian's dorm bed, slightly shook her finger, then pointed through the window at the nearby Capital Athletic Ice Rink, where the incident took place. Pang Qing talked about this very calmly, as though telling someone else's story, but this fall almost destroyed their skating career. The injury happened only two days after they waited for three years and finally won the chance to be trained by Yao Bing in Beijing. But because Pang Qing broke a bone, they had to return home and continue with the endless waiting...
When their coach, Yao Bing, was transferred to Beijing (from Harbin), because of resource limitations, only the "top" pair Shen/Zhao was sent to Beijing along with Yao, and the "second" pair Pang/Tong stayed behind. "At first when we waited for the news to move to Beijing, we thought it would be one day, two days, then it became one month, two month, finally it was one year, two years..." Tong Jian described calmly, a hint of resignation in his voice.
Waiting is a type of torment. While waiting, fighting became daily. "We fought a lot, sometimes we would quit training, then not talk to each other, and finally just pack and go home," said Tong Jiang. The reason for fighting usually had to do with technical issues: they each thought they were right, stubbornly refusing to give in, they could only wait for Yao Bing to come back during vacations to give them some pointers. Five years flew by during this period of irregular training.
Once, Tong Jian had an opportunity to become a professional dancer in the provincial dance company. If he had nodded his head, life would have turned out completely differently. "When there wasn't much training, I often went to practice dancing in the dance studio. The top people in the dance company all came to talk to me, they felt my muscular physique had an advantage over the typical dancer. I had two choices back then: continue waiting, or quit skating. Our parents also didn't support us waiting endlessly, they rather hoped we would continue with our studies. But I trusted our coach (Yao Bin), and chose to wait," said Tong Jian.
Compared to Tong Jian, the slightly younger Pang Qing wasn't the worrying type, and never thought too much about the future. Tong Jian joked, "Yeah, she only worried about eating candies." After Pang Qing broke her bone, she first returned to Harbin for six months to recover, then they waited over another year. Finally, in 1997, they regained an opportunity to train in Beijing. "Those five years," Pang Qing said, "were totally wasted..."
"We Were the 'Second' Pair Left Behind"
Yao Bin has three successful pairs of students, nicknamed "First", "Second", and "Third". For a long time, Pang/Tong played the part of the "second" pair. Many people believe that they were suppressed by the success of the "First" pair Shen/Zhao. Tong Jian didn't agree with this view, he explained the reason:
"We can't be compared to Shen/Zhao. In 1998, 1999, we were handed down their used skates, costumes, choreography, everything was passed down. Any guarantee of training was also given to them. Later on, that we could compete with them at all was already a big revolution," said Tong Jian.
For now, Shen/Zhao have left the ice, Pang/Tong and Zhang/Zhang are left to carry on the Chinese pairs flag. This year, in both head-on competitions, Pang/Tong lost to their rivals. Talking of the rivalry with Zhang/Zhang, Pang Qing, who was leaning against the wall, straightened her back, and came out with, "We can't compare with them either."
Tong Jian then explaiend, the "Third" pair improved quickly, but that's not unrelated to the change in the status of figure skating within China. "From the beginning, they had their own skates, costumes, choreography, all of which helped their rise, but these were not things that we could expect for ourselves," said Tong Jian.
"Besides", Tong Jian pointed out, "although we are older than Zhang/Zhang by 3, 4 years, but given the 5 years we waited, we don't have much advantage. More truthfully, we only trained more than them for about half a year."
Mostly it was the sociable Tong Jian who did the talking, but finally the quiet Pang Qing added, "You also didn't find the right partner." Tong Jian laughed and disagreed, "I think my partner is really great." Pang Qing explained her thoughts, she wasn't exaggerating or joking, "Like Shen/Zhang and Zhang/Zhang, when they were paired, the girls all weighed around 50 lbs. Then the male partner's power can gradually adapt as the girls grew bigger. But when we started, I was already 78 lbs, and my height was already about what it is now," said Pang Qing. Tong Jian also clearly remembers Pang Qing's weight at the time, but his memory is a little different, more like 76 lbs.
"No Dating During Our Career"
Last year, Pang Qing had serious kidney problems, even now she's not entirely recovered. Their current strategy is to closely monitor her health while training. Tong Jian is very attentive of his partner's health, declaring that if her health ever became a problem again, they would quit skating.
Speaking of their goal, Pang/Tong are aiming for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. "World championship title we already have, maybe we can still talk about how many times, our main target is (gold) at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Compared to other teams, our advantage is in the pairs connection," Tong Jian said.
Earlier, there were rumors of Pang/Tong being a romantic couple spreading on the web. When asked about this, Tong Jing became the spokesperson, "That's not possible! How can we openly be a couple? Unless we decide to quit! To skate pairs, we must maintain a great working relationship. If we started dating, it would affect our skating. We don't really care about what other people think, we know in our heart, that the only way for our career to succeed is to maintain a good working relationship."
Q&A:
Q: What attracts you the most in your partner?
Pang: Seriousness, thoughtfulness
Tong: Beauty, extraordinariness
Q: Your partner's biggest fault
Pang:Too serious! Sometimes we make a mistake on one move, he would insist that we work on it for the rest of the practice session.
Tong: Too stubborn!
Q: If your partner has a date with someone of the opposite sex, without you, how would you feel?
Pang: Nothing, very normal.
Tong: It never happened before, or maybe it has, but I don't know about it... But how can that be?! That would totally interfere with our training! (jokingly kissing Pang)
Q: What do you give each other for birthdays? Most recently?
Pang: I forgot his birthday this year, because we were performing in Japan at the time, there was no time.
Tong: I've given her so many presents, it depends on how she behaves during the year. This year, I gave her a bag.
Q: If results are disappointing due to partner's mistake(s), what would you say to each other afterwards?
Pang: Don't give up, next time we'll succeed.
Tong: Usually analyze our performances and not say anything too positive -- I feel those words are empty/unrealistic.
Q: What's your partner's favorite dish?
Pang: Steak. Once we were abroad and ate steak for 20 days in a row, and I was really sick of it, so I protested: please, how about some fish or pork?
Tong: She has many favorites, anything new she would like to try.
Q: Your partner's favorite TV show?
Pang: he doesn't watch much TV, he plays games on the web. Recently, he's been playing "The Transformers."
Tong: I don't know, maybe "Shanghai Beach" (Pang cut in, "actually it's 'Struggle'").
Q: Do you think your partner is beautiful/handsome? What's his/her most notable facial feature?
Pang: Very handsome! Nothing particularly notable, just on the whole very handsome.
Tong: Very ordinary normally, but with makeup she's a beauty! Seeing her everyday, it's like seeing myself. If we are performing on the ice, then you can really see her beauty, in the classical style. Make-up artists love working with her, they think she's a born beauty.
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Anyway. I found their story depressing rather than uplifting. It's great that they can still be so upbeat and focused on their training! But just think how much farther they might have gotten if they didn't waste those 5 valuable years, the formative years for most skaters, not to mention not having their own skates or guaranteed coaching/training time for some years afterwards...
