When Zhou Jiaying, who wore the "Dragon Pattern" knee pads on his legs and the "Great Wall" pattern helmet, calmly blocked the last "penalty" of the Japanese team, the girls of the Chinese women's ice hockey team could not contain their excitement, rushed up, and hugged the winning hero.
2 to 1! Chinese women's ice skating not only occupied a favorable position in the quarterfinals of women's hockey at the Winter Olympics with a victory, but also rewrote the historical record of "13 years against Japan".
Zhou Jiaying made several key saves in the game.
From a 3-1 kill to a 2-1 "point kill" of Japan, Zhou Jiaying, the 26-year-old goalkeeper of Chinese female ice, has once again become the focus of attention – not only because of the title of "Chinese style goalkeeper", but also because of her special experience and love for Chinese culture.
They have integrated into the Chinese women's ice hockey team and inherited the spiritual strength of Chinese women's ice.
The female ice girls celebrate the victory.
"I don't know when I won Japan last time"
When yu Baiwei, a 33-year-old Chinese female ice captain, walked into the mixed interview area after the game, she cried again.
Two crucial games in a row, two reversals, and both were won and lost in the final moments of the game, but this game, Yu Baiwei's tears had more complicated emotions.
"I don't know when I last won japan." Yu Baiwei said this sentiment before reviewing this game, "We all understand how difficult this game is, and we are ready for this fierce battle. In fact, we also had some pressure before the game. ”
For Yu Baiwei, who accompanied the Chinese women's ice team all the way from the highlight to the trough, playing against Japan does have a special significance - 5 years ago in the Sapporo Asian Winter Games women's ice hockey final, the Chinese team not only lost to the Japanese team, but also was beaten by the opponent; if the time is pushed back, the Chinese women's ice team has not been able to defeat the Japanese women's ice in various main competitions for 13 years.
This is also why Yu Baiwei sees this game as a game that "just wants to win", "We stand on the Olympic field with a new Chinese women's ice face, and we also want to show the Japanese team that we are the women's ice skaters of the new era, we can do better, we can win these games." ”
Chinese women's ice showed tenacity.
Yu Baiwei and her Chinese women's ice skaters did just that – the Japanese women's ice team is now the sixth strongest team in the world's top group, while the Chinese women's ice team is just a team ranked 20th.
"I think the key to our victory this time is in will." After the game, Yu Baiwei attributed a large part of the "credit" of the victory to the mental strength of the players.
Indeed, from the beginning of the game, the Chinese women's ice team was actually in "huge trouble" - vice captain Zhang Mengying left the field injured, and the team conceded a goal when playing less and more, all the way in a passive position.
In Bai Wei's words, the team did not waver because of difficulties, she even called herself and her teammates "warriors", "We fought every minute and every second, until the end, every minute and every second did not relax, but tried to do a good job in the moment." ”
It is with this spiritual belief that the Chinese women's ice team has been patiently looking for opportunities in this game, and in the third quarter, she seized the Japanese team's defensive mistakes and tied the score.
"We played all the tactics and played very well." Chinese women's ice coach Brian Idarski praised his players just after the game, "We were worried about the speed of the Japanese team, but if we blocked their speed, there was a chance to compete with them, and we did it." ”
Zhou Jiaying's mother is Chinese.
The "Chinese style gatekeeper" has thoroughly studied Japan
To be able to win this crucial "China-Japan showdown", The goalkeeper of Chinese women's ice, Zhou Jiaying, is indispensable.
On social media, her magical performance of saving opponents' penalties for 5 consecutive times has long "blown up" the social network. Before the "penalty shootout", Zhou Jiaying had successfully defused many single-knife attacks of the Japanese women's ice in this game.
This is also why, when talking about this game, the Japanese captain also mentioned Zhou Jiaying, "The Chinese team goalkeeper is very strong and performs very well. ”
But Ms. Zhou said she was actually nervous when she stepped onto the stage for the "penalty shootout," "I believe we'll win, and then think back to the moves that Japanese players like to do." ”
Just before the game, Zhou Jiaying watched the Japanese game video for a long time, carefully analyzed the positions and batting methods of several of their important players, and because of this, Zhou Jiaying himself said, "So in the game I know how they like to play the door, and I can also know what they think." ”
Zhou Jiaying's domineering helmet.
A bully from Wall Street
When the reporter in the mixed interview area followed her words and asked, "Is this also related to your identity as a bully", Zhou Jiaying laughed after listening to it, "It is some relationship." ”
Just before becoming a professional hockey player, Zhou Jiaying was a white-collar worker working for an investment firm on Wall Street in the United States. In the early years, she entered The Ivy League's prestigious Princeton University with honors.
During his time in school, Zhou Jiaying also represented the varsity team in a total of 111 games in the NCAA, with an average save rate of 0.92 per game, and was repeatedly named "Best Goalkeeper of the Week" and "Best Goalkeeper of the Month" by the league.
When Shenzhen Kunlun Hongxing Club invited her to join professional hockey in 2018, Zhou Jiaying resolutely gave up her job as an investment bank. Subsequently, in the four years of representing Shenzhen in the professional league, Zhou Jiaying won the Title of Russian Women's Ice Hockey League Champion and Best Goalkeeper.
Zhou Jiaying gave up his job on Wall Street for ice hockey.
Then, the Chinese and Canadian mixed race girl officially put on the jersey of the Chinese women's ice hockey team and decided to represent China in the Winter Olympics.
"I think it's worth it." Just after winning this victory for the Japanese women's ice, a reporter once again mentioned the choice between "investment banking work and going to the Winter Olympics for China", "I have always wanted to play professional ice hockey, played professional games for four years, and have fulfilled my dream." Then I was able to represent China in the Winter Olympics, which made me even happier and prouder. ”
Zhou Jiaying, who has been actively studying for many years during college Chinese, can already express his thoughts fluently in Chinese most of the time, but it is relatively slow to speak.
However, when she slowly expressed her feelings of choosing ice hockey and becoming a Chinese ice hockey player "word by word", she seemed particularly sincere and earnest.
Zhou Jiaying made five consecutive penalties.
"Sports is all about fighting, and it is possible to defeat any opponent"
When the three women's ice hockey matches of the Beijing Winter Olympics ended, the inheritance of the "spirit of Chinese women's ice" displayed by Zhou Jiaying and his teammates has touched more and more people.
When embarking on the Olympic journey, Yu Baiwei said that even if the Chinese women's ice team goes from the peak to the trough, there has always been a kind of "old women's ice" unity and cooperation, persistence and never give up. Zhou Jiaying overcame a sudden injury before going to the Olympics, which is one of the best examples.
According to domestic media reports, on November 15 last year, Zhou Jiaying accidentally slipped while training in the gym, and after examination, he fractured his left ankle, and at that time, there were only 80 days left before the first match of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
In the face of such a serious injury, Zhou Jiaying was particularly optimistic, and the team quickly made careful arrangements for her, and then Zhou Jiaying immediately flew from Moscow to Minneapolis in the United States for surgery.
"I had a lot of difficulties at the time, it was not easy to recover, but I always believed that I could recover and play in the Winter Olympics. For more than two months, I did a lot of rehabilitation every day. ”
Zhou Jiaying revealed that she only began to re-run into training with the team after entering the Winter Olympic Village, although the time was short, but Zhou Jiaying tried to integrate, "I am in very good shape now, my ankles are fine, I am very happy to help my teammates." ”
The dragon pattern, on Zhou Jiaying's knee pads, was also more in her heart.
"This game made me believe more in my teammates and more in myself. I cried two days ago, and today I saw the captain and my teammates crying and I 'sympathized' with them. ”
In fact, what Zhou Jiaying wanted to express was "understanding their feelings", but it was used as "sympathy", and the team staff next to her immediately reminded her, and then the girl with a big grin suddenly grinned, and then hurried to explain to the media reporters, "Sorry, my Chinese still need to be learned." ”
Such a small episode also amused the reporters and volunteers on the spot. And this kind of relaxed optimism and positivity is also the temperament that Zhou Jiaying exudes between conversations.
When a reporter at the scene asked Zhou Jiaying, when the Chinese women's ice beat the world's sixth-ranked Japanese women's ice, what was the goal of the Chinese women's ice for the ranking and ranking?
Hearing this question, Zhou Jiaying hurriedly waved his hand, "Don't say the ranking, I think the ranking is not important, every game is very intense, every team has the possibility of winning, what we have to do is to fight." ”
This is actually the concept that coach Brian Idalski wants to pass on to this Chinese women's ice team in the "climb", "Ranking is not the most important, sports is to fight, as long as you fight you can beat any opponent." ”
Next, China will also face Sweden, which is a "life and death battle" for the top three qualifying places in the group. Whether it is veteran General Bai Wei or new signing Zhou Jiaying, they have already said the idea of "doing their best".
Whether it is ultimately lost or won, this group of "Chinese female ice skaters in the new era" is moving forward.