Global Times interviewed Turin Winter Olympics pair skating runner-up Zhang Dan: "300 million people on the ice and snow", the power of unity

Less than 20 days before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the enthusiasm for ice and snow sports throughout the country is growing. At this time, the Russian film "Figure Skating Queen 2: Daddy I Love You", which intertwines ice sports with father-daughter affection, came to China for release, and Zhang Dan, a Chinese figure skater who is the star promoter of the film, also recently appeared at the premiere of the film. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Zhang Dan, then 21 years old, insisted on finishing the game in an injury situation, and won the silver medal in figure skating pair skating with his partner Zhang Hao, creating the best record of Chinese figure skating in the Winter Olympics that year. Today, whether he participates in the creation of ice dance dramas or participates in the promotion of the Beijing Winter Olympics and ice and snow sports, Zhang Dan, who has been retired for 10 years, still has not been far from the ice rink he loves. At the premiere ceremony, the Global Times reporter and Zhang Dan chatted about her ice and snow life and her expectations for the Beijing Winter Olympics and China's ice and snow sports.

Sports film and television works should be close to life

Global Times: For what reason did you become the star promoter of the movie "Figure Skating Queen 2"? Is there a complementary relationship between the strength of the Russian figure skating project and such films?

Zhang Dan: First of all, we still have to sigh that China has the strength to host the Winter Olympics. Under such an opportunity, people will pay great attention to relevant films and reports. I myself have a great love for figure skating, and although I retired, I have always been committed to related promotional work. For me, it is a special way to let more people know and understand figure skating through movies. In fact, whether there is a movie or a sports performance first, it will play a very important role in the development of related sports in this country. If film and television works create stories that can not only convey project-related knowledge, but also get close to the lives of ordinary people, I believe that many audiences will be moved, and therefore pay attention to or even go to ice and snow.

Global Times: After retiring from the military, in addition to opening an ice rink, managing and technical guidance, you also participated in the performance of China's first ice dance drama "Treading on Ice and Chasing Dreams". Why are these attempts being made?

Zhang Dan: In a way, "Stepping on Ice and Dreaming" is a continuation of my sports career. In fact, this is a bit risky, because there is no previous experience to refer to, and we do not know whether the way the dance drama is presented is preferred by the public. But why do it is because of our love for figure skating and ice and snow sports, and we hope that through dance dramas, we can make the audience feel this love, awaken their original intentions for their dreams, and also awaken their awareness of the charm of ice and snow sports.

The development of ice and snow projects is inseparable from the public

Global Times: In the pair skating event, the Chinese team is currently at the world's first-line level. In the context of the multitude of strong forces, how can the Chinese team ensure that talents continue to emerge?

Zhang Dan: The main thing is the strength of the team. China's pair skating energy has always achieved very good results in the international arena, which is inseparable from everyone's efforts. It is precisely because there are senior athletes with younger generations of young athletes, with the same goal, that they can beat other players in the world. So I hope that future young athletes can have this sense of teamwork, so that no matter what difficulties we face, we can get a place on the world stage.

Global Times: In addition to pair skating, the Chinese team is relatively weak in the other three events of figure skating (men's singles, women's singles, and ice dance). Where are the bottlenecks in the development of these projects?

Zhang Dan: For Chinese pair skating, senior athletes such as Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo have set a benchmark, and there is no reason not to work hard as a junior. But for men's singles, women's singles, ice dance, there is no such strong role model, young athletes may have a weak sense of purpose.

Global Times: In addition to focusing on Russia and the United States, the figure skating "opponents" that Chinese audiences are concerned about are Also Japan. Not only Yusei, but also Yumasa Keyyama, Masama Uno and Kihei Ewha of the women's singles are also quite powerful. In your opinion, how is Japanese figure skating at the forefront of Asia?

Zhang Dan: The popularity and attention of the public are very important factors, because only when a certain base is reached, can we select excellent athletes with development prospects. Japan has grown rapidly in single-person projects over the years, thanks to the strong publicity of the whole country and the attention of the whole people, so that more teenagers can participate in it.

In the past two years, due to the influence of the Beijing Winter Olympics, more and more people have participated in ice and snow projects. In the past, only some athletes from professional teams had the opportunity to be selected to participate in the World Series, but now there are dozens or even hundreds of skating clubs across the country, and there are actually a lot of potential stocks in these clubs. Therefore, the cardinality is still very important.

Masters in the folk

Global Times: The Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing, what is the driving role of expanding the mass base of ice and snow sports in China?

Zhang Dan: One of the difficulties in the popularization of ice and snow projects lies in the site restrictions. For example, the skating rink needs to have a large enough stadium and then pave the ice surface, and the snow field needs a mountain that is large enough. In this case, it takes a lot of effort for people to reach out to these projects. In the past two years, with the approaching of the Beijing Winter Olympics, our country has done a lot of popularization work, so that more and more people know about related projects. For example, although skiing seems to be more dangerous, as long as it is well protected, it can participate in a safe way and feel the excitement and happiness.

Global Times: A few days ago, the statistical survey report on "driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports" was officially released. Since Beijing's successful bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2015, as of October 2021, 346 million people across the country have participated in ice and snow sports. What is the key to our success in achieving this goal?

Zhang Dan: I think it is still the strength of unity. After our successful bid for the Winter Olympics in 2015, it seems that all of China is working hard for the Beijing Winter Olympics, and everyone is passing on the knowledge of the Winter Olympics to the public in their own way. For example, some people are playing games like curling, or dryland hockey, and for us professionals, we did not expect to pass on the Winter Olympics to the people in this way. This all responds to that sentence: the master is in the folk. Driven by this endogenous power, I think that after the Beijing Winter Olympics, more people will participate in the ice and snow projects.