As captain of South Korea making its debut at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Team Trophy in Figure Skating last week, Cha Jun-hwan told his teammates to enjoy the competition and experience.
Deep inside, though, Cha wasn’t just happy to be there. The competitor in him wanted to see the results, too, knowing that he and the rest of them had put in so much work.
Cha caught both rabbits, as South Korea grabbed a surprise silver medal at the six-nation event that concluded on Saturday in Tokyo, and had more fun than all the other teams combined doing so.
“I know we were the youngest team, but I think we displayed the most passion and competitive fire,” Cha told reporters at Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul after returning home with the silver. “I think we all deserve a pat on our backs. Personally, I wanted to do more than just enjoy the event because we’d all worked so hard for it.”
From the men’s and women’s singles, pairs and ice dance, South Korea earned 95 points to finish in second place behind the United States, and one point ahead of Japan.
Cha, the reigning world silver medalist, was the very last South Korean to take the ice in the men’s singles free skate. He had to finish inside the top two to ensure South Korea would grab silver, and the 21-year-old came through by winning the discipline with 187.82 points and claiming 12 ranking points.
This followed his victory in Thursday’s short program with a personal-best 101.33 points. He is the first South Korean figure skater to surpass the century mark.
“I kind of had an idea that I needed to finish high to give the team a chance,” Cha said. “But I didn’t think that line of thinking would help me at all. So I just concentrated on executing my elements on the ice. We’d already accomplished our goal of having fun at the competition, and I am happy I was able to put the icing on the cake.”
The day before Cha clinched the silver medal for South Korea, Lee Hae-in had won the women’s singles free skate with a personal-best 148.57 points. On Thursday, the reigning world silver medalist had also won the short program with another personal best of 76.90 points.
Together, Cha and Lee accounted for 47 of South Korea’s 95 points.
“Honestly, I felt a little bit of pressure going into this event, and I really wanted to help the team,” Lee said. “When I won the silver medal at the world championships, I took the podium alone. But this time, I got to stand on the podium with my teammates. It meant so much more to do it with them.”
In the women’s free skate, Kim Ye-lim chipped in 10 ranking points by finishing third with 143.59 points. It was an encouraging performance by the 20-year-old who had struggled in recent months, including at the world championships last month. Kim was overcome with emotions after completing her free skate at the World Team Trophy.
“I was proud of the way I proved to myself that I could still skate like this,” Kim said. “After the world championships, I was not in a good place, and I had my share of struggles while preparing for this competition. My confidence was running low, but I am thankful for the way I finished the season.”
During the World Team Trophy, skaters were allowed to cheer on their teammates inside the “Kiss & Cry,” the area where skaters sit after their performances to await their scores.
Lee said she always enjoys rooting for fellow Korean skaters at competitions, and getting a chance to be inside the Kiss & Cry added to the fun.
“I think it allowed us to become closer to each other,” Lee said with a smile.
Source: Yonhap News Agency