With a 95.7% success rate of 22 saves, China's female ice goalkeeper Zhou Jiaying's helmet protector lit up

Goalkeeper Zhou Jiaying's helmet and protective gear have Chinese style elements such as dragon and tiger stripes. Photo: Xinhua News Agency

Beijing News (chief reporter Sun Haiguang) On the afternoon of February 4, the Chinese women's ice hockey team defeated Denmark 3-1, ushering in the first Winter Olympic victory in 12 years. The Chinese team changed the goalkeeper in this game, and Zhou Jiaying, who returned from injury, started with a save success rate of 95.7% in the whole game, which was a major contributor to the victory of the Chinese team.

Yesterday's first game against the Czech Republic, the Chinese women's ice starting goalkeeper will be Chen Tia. Today against Denmark, Zhou Jiaying replaced Chen Tia as the starting goalkeeper of the Chinese team. Zhou Jiaying was born in Canada to a Chinese mother.

Zhou Jiaying introduced that when he was a child, there were not many opportunities to speak Chinese at home, and every time he went back to China to communicate with relatives, there were some obstacles, "I want to communicate with my grandfather, but he can only speak Mandarin, which also gives me the motivation to learn Chinese." During his college years at Princeton, Zhou Jiaying spent 3 years systematically learning Chinese, and now speaks Chinese fluently, "By learning Chinese and living in China, I am now more connected to China and Chinese culture." ”

In 2018, Zhou Jiaying joined the Shenzhen Kunlun Hongxing Ice Hockey Club, and then naturalized to represent the Chinese team, "I am very proud to represent China in the Winter Olympics, and I am grateful to the leaders and coaches for giving me this magical opportunity." ”

In November 2021, Zhou Jiaying fractured his left ankle during training and then flew to the United States for surgery. "I'm lucky to have such a wonderful team to help me recover." Seven weeks after the operation, Zhou Jiaying returned to the ice rink and successfully caught up with the Beijing Winter Olympics.

In this game, Zhou Jiaying performed very well, completing 22 saves in the whole game, with a success rate of 95.7%. "This victory is very important to us, it is our first victory at this Winter Olympics." Zhou Jiaying said that the victory will greatly enhance the confidence of the team in the later matches.

Interestingly, Zhou Jiaying's helmet and protective gear have Chinese style elements such as dragon and tiger stripes. Talking about this outfit, Zhou Jiaying said that he hopes to show the world more traditional Chinese culture, "At the same time, this also represents my wish, I hope that Chinese ice hockey will become more and more powerful in the future." ”

According to the schedule, the Chinese team will face the third opponent of the group, Japan, on the afternoon of February 6. Japanese women's ice has maintained the characteristics of a small fast spirit over the years, and yesterday won 3-1 against the European powerhouse Sweden.

Chief reporter of the Beijing News Sun Haiguang Editor Han Shuangming