Written by /Zhao Yu
Editor/Li Xu Liang Lina
Visual/Wang Ye Chen Zhaohang
On the evening of February 6, the Chinese women's ice hockey match against Japan had just ended. The game between the two sides was extremely fierce, with many rounds of wonderful attack and defense. Entering the extra time stage, the battle between the two sides is still inseparable, and it has been dragged into the penalty shootout. In the penalty stage, Chinese goalkeeper Zhou Jiaying played well, saving five goals in a row and keeping a clean sheet for Japan! Chinese women's ice has locked in the top eight seats in advance.
From hockey player to Wall Street financial analyst to back at the ice rink, Goalkeeper Zhou Jiaying of the Chinese women's ice hockey team has had a unique experience. Her outstanding personal ability makes her a solid backing for the Chinese women's ice hockey team, and some people say that she is the most world-class female goalkeeper in the Chinese ice hockey industry after Guo Hong, the "Great Wall on Ice".
At the end of 2018, Zhou Jiaying said in an interview with Tencent Sports that the Winter Olympics are far away from him and dare not expect too much. Today, she stands with the women's ice hockey team in the Winter Olympic Games and uses her efforts to build a solid defensive wall for the Chinese team.
Ice hockey goalkeeper training with boys
Starting to go to ice at the age of 5 and train with boys, Zhou Jiaying has been different since childhood. She was born in Canada to a Chinese mother and a Canadian father. There is also an older brother, Chinese named Zhou Jiaxiong.
The reason why her mother named her "Jia Ying" was on the one hand to echo her brother as "Eagle", on the other hand, she also hoped that the name would not lose its feminine characteristics, but also have its strong connotation.
Since training with boys since she was a child, Zhou Jiaying would be left out in the cold on the ice rink, and her teammates often did not pass the ball to her, which made her very depressed. Later, she changed her position to goalkeeper, and there was no longer the pain of "not being passed by her teammates", and this change continues to this day.
When she first played, Zhou Jiaying's mother had a great influence on her. In Zhou Jiaying's view, her mother has always been a very strict person. She will send her child to cram school and will be angry because she is not satisfied with her child's grades. If Zhou Jiaying did not perform well on the ice rink, her mother would be very angry and say, "You should find a place to dig a pit and bury yourself." It is precisely because of this spur that Zhou Jiaying has never dared to relax and has been going up.
In 2011, Zhou Jiaying won the bronze medal in the Western Conference Invitational with a Canadian men's ice hockey team. A year later, she jumped to Princeton University to study finance. During his college years, Zhou Jiaying represented the varsity team in NCAA (National College Sports Association) competitions, appeared in 111 games, averaged 0.92 saves per game, and was named to the Ivy League Hockey League (ECAC) All-Star Roster for four consecutive years.
Due to the low professionalism of women's hockey, Zhou Jiaying had to choose between employment and continuing to play when she graduated from college. She chose the former and became a fund analyst at a Wall Street firm. Although there was some reluctance about ice hockey, reading and employment were common choices at that time, and Zhou Jiaying did not break the routine.
Ice hockey brought me back to my homeland
After work, the distance between the ice hockey rink and Zhou Jiaying is getting farther and farther, but fate is sometimes so elusive. In 2018, Zhou Jiaying, who has worked for nearly two years, received an invitation from Shenzhen Kunlun Hongxing Ice Hockey Club, hoping that she could become a member of the team.
Zhou Jiaying was surprised because she didn't know much about Chinese ice hockey before. When asking for the opinions of his family, the "going to China to play" was supported. Her mother said to her, "This is very important for your connection with China." ”
In this way, Zhou Jiaying officially joined Shenzhen Kunlun Hongxing Club in June 2018 and represented the team in professional ice hockey matches. "It's a great opportunity for me to learn about Chinese culture, to learn about Chinese daily life. More importantly, I can help Chinese ice hockey develop faster. Zhou Jiaying said.
Returning to the ice rink from the workplace, Zhou Jiaying felt that she also had a new understanding of the sport, she said: "If you only play ice hockey from beginning to end, your vision will become narrow. But if you get involved in other jobs outside of hockey, and then come back to the hockey program, you will have a different perspective. ”
"She's also a physically strong goalkeeper, and her attention to detail is what sets her apart from the rest of the world. Zhou Jiaying is very good at interpreting the game, and at the same time reliable and stable, has excellent control of the scene, and she is also known for her excellent prejudgment ability. Shenzhen Kunlun Hongxing Sports Director Rob Morgan has a high opinion of Zhou Jiaying.
Before the start of the 2019-2020 ice hockey game, Zhou Jiaying made a speech on behalf of the Shenzhen team, saying at the time: "Giving up financial work to come to China also has an original heart, that is, to serve the motherland. My mom was Chinese, and she often taught me not to forget my roots. ”
"Returning to ice hockey was the right decision, not only because after last season's training, my technical and tactical level and will quality have improved. More importantly, ice hockey brought me back to my homeland. Zhou Jiaying said, and the applause at the scene lasted for a minute.
Tears spilled after the first Winter Olympic games
Zhou Jiaying represented Shenzhen Kunlun Hongxing Club and participated in CWHL and WHL for three seasons, with remarkable results. Some people say that she is the most world-class female goalkeeper in China's ice hockey industry after Guo Hong, the "Great Wall on Ice".
Another important reason why Zhou Jiaying joined shenzhen club is to represent China in the 2022 Winter Olympics. She also said modestly when she talked about this topic in an interview with Tencent Sports in 2018: "The Winter Olympics are still far away, and I need to work hard every day, to improve, and to be ready at any time." ”
Four years flew by, and Zhou Jiaying followed the Chinese women's ice hockey team to the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 3, 2022. In her first match against the Czech Republic, she did not get a chance to play. In the second match against Denmark, Zhou Jiaying started and completed 22 saves, with a success rate of 95.7%, helping the Chinese team to defeat the opponent 3-1 and win the first game of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
During the competition, Zhou Jiaying's helmet is in the shape of a dragon, and elements of the Great Wall are also added, and the Chinese flag is behind the helmet. Her two leggings also have a dragon motif, which matches the helmet. Zhou Jiaying said she hopes this will bring her good luck, but also wants to pass on Chinese culture to the world, "so that everyone can see how rich Chinese culture is." ”
After the match, Zhou Jiaying was stopped by reporters in the mixed interview area and asked her to talk about how it felt to represent China for the first time in the Winter Olympics.
"I played in China for four years, I was injured last November, I want to thank the leaders and coaches for always believing that I can recover, I am very excited, finally in the Olympic Games, in Beijing, for China..." Speaking of this, she could no longer hide her tears and began to sob, "Very grateful, when I was injured, I always believed that I could recover, representing China in the Olympic Games, very proud." ”
Zhou Jiaying said that he hopes that more Chinese children will like ice hockey and are willing to engage in this sport and appear on the Olympic field in the future.