Yu/Jin & Peng/Zhang switch partners

[solani]

After watching the programs, I think Cheng Peng got better deal than Xiao Yu. It's hard to judge from only one performance, but Peng looks happier than Yu in her new partnership. Personally I think, Peng/Jin got better SP. But the situation still makes me much uncorforable watching. I can't help but feel sorry for Yu :sad21:

I agree, but somehow I always thought that this was going to be good for Peng in the long term. And watching them together, I also think that this is good for Jin. Peng/Jin are very different from Yu/Jin and this new SP fits Jin. I couldn't have imagined that before. Who did the choreography for this program? Lori or David (I'd suspect David)? Very fine job.
Yu/Zhang's SP has potential, I like the step sequence with the music, very dramatic. And they do look good together.

Let's face it - this is so much better than what we expected. Just remember: a couple of days ago a view users thought that they were keeping the SP's from last season and that the girls would have to switch dresses. :dev3:
I like both programs better than what they did last season and when you only look at the physiques of the skaters it is an improvement.
But I also hope that Yu is able to handle the situation. She (and also Zhang!) don't look 100% comfortable with this situation at this point in time.

 

[yqs100]

I can see the potential of both "new" pairs.

the new programs fit them well. especially Peng/Jin, i just love how this program melt the elements with the music, and Peng looks happier. but still the step sequence need to be executed more precisely and smoother, its only 3 months since they came together, they still got time to polish the program, can't wait for GP.

Yu/Zhang's program is good too, it actually reminds me of Zhang/Zhang, Cool and Powerful. but they need to practice more to get more familiar with the program. need more speed and power, specially the step sequence. The most important is CHANGE THE COSTUME, its a rock piece, please don't wear the costume for classic music.

 

[Li'Kitsu]

Ksenia gets a lot of hate for her "coldness" too, she's called a ***** all the time.

Well if you're disappointed/mad that your partner made a mistake, maybe pair skating is not right for you...

100% this, both parts. I don't even see the comparison to Ksenia, but even if, it definitely doesn't help the argument. And also the latter, this wasn't even a competition, it was just a show... and she mad just one mistake through out. One mistake. In a show. :curse:


It's nearly comical how much better Peng looks already compared to basically every performance with Zhang ever. The program P/J have is cute, and they do seem to work together well. Too bad the fed will give them the boot for Zhangs ~seniority no matter what anyway.
As for Yu and Zhang, I agree with the people saying she looks cold and detached. Yes, she was regal with Jin too, but that's not the same. She looked relaxed and secure back then to me. Now she looks more like she doesn't care. The movements are pretty and the program/music is actually really interesting, but the performance is so superficial. It might change, since they haven't worked together for that long, but I didn't enjoy watching that. Do they generally have potential? Yes, I guess. More potential than Y/J? Not seeing it.

 

[Skater Boy]

It is still too early to say who got the better deal. But what I would like to know is there a difference in the way different skating federations run things. I mean even in Russia they could not keep I and K together. In Canada they lost a top 5 team which is know divided into two teams struggling to make the national team and top ten world wide. i don't think the federations always have that much power - granted i guess when it comes to money maybe.

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

What gets me are the quotes Yu made recently about how all she wanted to do was hold Jin's hand again and nothing about any excitement or trying to see the positives in her partnership with Zhang. I know people think she'll just get over or she needs to, but again, she didn't want this, and the decision was made without any prior notice nor with her consent really. It will take a while if ever. I also wonder if they'd make the same decision if it was a female partner who was "better" than a male one and if they would have conspired behind the scenes to break up another couple for her benefit. I know some apologists argue this is just a different culture and one that is "results-oriented" but I don't think that would have happened.

Oh well, as long as they end up getting good results, that's the only thing that matters, right? Close your eyes and think of England...I mean China and all that.

 

[4everchan]

the switch could have been of the two male partners Yu wasn't developing properly with Jin... They didn't make the world team... Peng dislikes Zao... Let's switch the males around so that both ladies can reach their potential.

:dev2:

 

[solani]

What gets me are the quotes Yu made recently about how all she wanted to do was hold Jin's hand again and nothing about any excitement or trying to see the positives in her partnership with Zhang. I know people think she'll just get over or she needs to, but again, she didn't want this, and the decision was made without any prior notice nor with her consent really. It will take a while if ever. I also wonder if they'd make the same decision if it was a female partner who was "better" than a male one and if they would have conspired behind the scenes to break up another couple for her benefit. I know some apologists argue this is just a different culture and one that is "results-oriented" but I don't think that would have happened.

Oh well, as long as they end up getting good results, that's the only thing that matters, right? Close your eyes and think of England...I mean China and all that.

Yu's problem might have been that Jin is a smart guy. He's biding his time, he knows that his time will come eventually. He could be frustrated with this situation as well (especially if Yu really is the better partner, somehow I doubt that), but I haven't read (yet) that he's complaining. We all know that Yu wants to continue to skate with Jin, but we don't know what Jin wants. He's looking happy and elated skating with Peng. And Peng could be unhappy as well, she even said that she would want to continue to skate with Zhang. Peng and Jin seem to be able to handle new situations well, Yu and also Zhang don't seem to be able to do that so easily.
And, let's be real, it's not as if the Chinese fed forces married couples to divorce and marry another or something. The Chinese fed is paying for everything and they made a tough decision. And maybe we all have to trust those experts (and Yu really has to try to do that, for her own good), because every rumour like keeping and switching dresses and SP's and that Peng/Jin would get cheap programs etc. was wrong.
Maybe I sound unfeeling, but somehow I think we should try to look at this whole situation from the perspective of all skaters who are affected. But then I always had a soft spot for Peng and it's nice to see a glimpse at what a performer she can be. Cheeky and flirty. Jin seems to have the talent to make the ladies feel comfortable around him. He looked a bit bland with Yu, but in this SP with Peng he looks like a real charmer.

 

[hanca]

Zhang seems to have the ability to suck the life out of any partner. I remember how first season with Peng I thought how expressive Peng was, and the last season Peng looked like an empty shell. I am wondering whether it is the dynamic of Zhang's partnerships, that he always seems to be the boss and that puts too much pressure on the female partner. Whereas now Peng is back to her old relaxed and expressive style, and Yu looks a bit bland. Yu was nev completely expressive, but with Zhang it somehow stands out even more. There is no interaction between Zhang and Yu. Whereas there is interaction between Peng and Jin.

Peng definitely gained.
Jin would be fine with either of them.
Yu definitely lost
Zhang hopes he gained but if he puts Yu under too much pressure, she will stop landing jumps and he would lose too. Too much pressure never worked for Lubov when she skated with Maisuradze. Suddenly with a new partner and she is landing them. That shows how much can stress mess up someone's jumps.

From my own selfish reason, I gained because I liked Peng but didn't like Zhang, and I neither liked nor disliked Yu/Jin - they were decent skaters technically but not expressive enough for me. Now I have a team that I like. Peng looks better with Jin than with Zhang. But I do feel sorry for Yu.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

From my own selfish reason, I gained because I liked Peng but didn't like Zhang, and I neither liked nor disliked Yu/Jin - they were decent skaters technically but not expressive enough for me. Now I have a team that I like. Peng looks better with Jin than with Zhang. But I do feel sorry for Yu.

I couldn't agree more with you here and I second the comments on "pressure":thumbsup:

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Maybe a tv writer is paying attention to all of this and we'll get a good 13-22 episode romantic drama that we can watch on Hulu/Drama Fever/Viki out of this.

 

[karne]

I think it is unhelpful to tell Yu to "get over it" or "get on with it". Her feelings are legitimate, there's no need to dismiss them. She's been forcibly ripped from the partner she does trust and have a bond with and given to an old man who does not seem to care about his partners very much and blames them when things go wrong. She must know that even though the Chinese fed is doing this ostensibly so they can win medals in 2022, her partner who will by then be forty years old is very unlikely to make it that far. And if that happens, what then? Her career will be over.

Whereas if the Chinese fed had actually put some logical thought into it, they would have seen that their better options would have been to develop the partnerships they already had - particularly Sui and Han and Yu and Jin. Six years of development into a young pair like Yu and Jin could have won them those medals they seek.

 

[yqs100]

I think many people here are more dramatic than the switch itself, and develop so many stories based on press release. Hey guys, can you stop and let them concentrate given the fact that your imagination can't change anything. Thank you.

 

[Sorrento]

Jin seems to have the talent to make the ladies feel comfortable around him. He looked a bit bland with Yu, but in this SP with Peng he looks like a real charmer.

From what I've noticed during the previous season he really loved their LP, I saw little smiles he gave when they finished skating, he was in awe. Some people just generally have a differen reaction to the forced changes of partners from coaches, they seem to adapt soon and well because perhaps they never had a deep feeling of belonging to a certain partnership. If he is good enough to adapt to a new partner and they seem to find a unison pretty soon maybe it does not affect him that much. But it did affect Yu, I feel for her.
As per his new image in a funny program- well... to me it seems a bit lightweight and tacky. Playful- yes, but I do not see same quality in it as in SP Yu and Zhang got. Obviously they are treated as a main Team China asset between the two new pairings so they would get more solid material to represent. IMO of course.

 

[4everchan]

:agree:

I think many people here are more dramatic than the switch itself, and develop so many stories based on press release. Hey guys, can you stop and let them concentrate given the fact that your imagination can't change anything. Thank you.

 

[formersk8ter]

I think many people here are more dramatic than the switch itself, and develop so many stories based on press release. Hey guys, can you stop and let them concentrate given the fact that your imagination can't change anything. Thank you.

Exactly. Yu/Jin fans have over-romanticized this whole switch so ridiculously... "Poor, poor Yu! Will she ever recover? She was so cruelly torn from her beloved partner..."

Everyone will be FINE. Peng/Jin already look better than Yu/Jin did. Yu looks far better with Zhang than Peng ever did. Zhang is not some bloodless monster. The switch makes sense, enough already.

 

[Sorrento]

People come here to share opinions. No need to be rude and try to shut them up. To all the angry posters from above who see the only side of a story.

 

[formersk8ter]

People come here to share opinions.

I agree with you. As you can see from my statistics, I rarely post, even after seven years. But I do read posts here all the time.

95% of posters feel sorry for Yu and basically hate Zhang, so my little post isn't going to change anyone's opinion, I'm pretty sure.

 

[Sorrento]

I agree with you. As you can see from my statistics, I rarely post, even after seven years. But I do read posts here all the time.

95% of posters feel sorry for Yu and basically hate Zhang, so my little post isn't going to change anyone's opinion, I'm pretty sure.

When the post sounds dismissive then it doesn't matter if it comes from a rare poster or an often one, don't you think?

 

[topaz emerald]

Just my opinion, but Yang and Peng look much better together. They seem to match more. Sorry folks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbDS1YuNvMg

 

[formersk8ter]

When the post sounds dismissive then it doesn't matter if comes from a rare poster or an often one, don't you think?

Dismissive?

You mean in the way that the majority of posters in this thread dismiss any possibility of Zhang being anything but Public Enemy #1? Or in the same way that the majority of posters dismiss the idea that the splitting of Yu/Jin may not be such a horrible tragedy? Or dismiss the idea that the Chinese Figure Skating Federation might actually have sound reasons for what they're doing?

Because in the 579 posts I've read in this thread, that is the overwhelming message I get. I just don't happen to believe it, so I decided to finally comment on it.

If that offends anyone, my apologies. Like everyone else, I am stating my opinion.