"I believe that years later, I will still remember fighting for the red flag on my chest on the ice."
"My ancestors have been living in North America, but China has always been in the Ye family tradition."
Women's ice beat Denmark 3:1 and japan on penalties; men's ice lost 2:3 to Germany, but achieved a breakthrough of zero in the Chinese men's ice hockey Winter Olympics... The Chinese ice hockey team's courageous struggle on the field has inspired the popularity of the country; and the speeches of the Chinese naturalized players on the sidelines have also touched thousands of netizens.
On February 12, Chinese men's ice played against Germany, source: Xinhua News Agency
At the Winter Olympics, the Chinese men's and women's ice hockey teams have used a large number of naturalized players: 25 men's ice hockey teams, 15 naturalized players, 23 women's teams, and 13 naturalized players. That is to say, the two teams have a total of 48 athletes, and the number of naturalized people reaches 28. Another feature of this group of naturalized players is that most of them have Chinese ancestry, and only 6 out of 28 have no Chinese ancestry.
Some of these naturalized players are Chinese whose parents went abroad in the early years, some are mixed-race players, one of the parents or grandparents is Chinese, and even some children who have been adopted by North American families since childhood... Although their backgrounds are different, now they wear the same battle robe, fight for the motherland, and show the style of the sons and daughters of China on the battlefield.
On February 6, Chinese women's ice partners embraced after defeating Japan Photo source: @People's Daily
Ye Jinguang, captain of the Chinese men's national hockey team, is the most accomplished Chinese athlete in the history of professional ice hockey. At the age of 37, he led the Chinese men's ice hockey team to stand on the Olympic ice for the first time, realizing "all his lifelong dreams." ”
A fourth-generation Chinese immigrant, Ye Jinguang was born in 1985 in maple ridge, a vancouver-area town. Ye Jinguang played in the NHL League as a professional player for five seasons, completed 174 games, scored 56 points, and became the best Chinese male player in the history of professional hockey in the world.
More than a hundred years ago, Ye Jinguang's great-grandfather was trafficked from Guangdong to North America to participate in the Construction of the Pacific Railway, which embodied the blood and tears of Chinese laborers. The Ye family has never forgotten their motherland, and Ye Jinguang's parents have also gone to Guangdong to find their roots.
The Kunlun Hongxing Ice Hockey Club, for which Ye Jinguang plays, posted
On February 8, Ye Jinguang wrote on Weibo: "150 years ago, my ancestors were exiled to North America, but China has always been in the Ye family tradition. ”
In the first game against the powerful American team, Ye Jinguang did not shy away from fighting, "Facing the world's strongest opponent, we will make efforts to let the world remember that we have come." He also mentioned the CBA star Marbury who got a Chinese green card in the article, "I read a lot of Marbury's stories, and I also hope that my performance in the Olympic Games can really help Chinese ice hockey." ”
At the end of the article, Ye Jinguang wrote: "If a Chinese athlete stands on the highest stage of ice hockey after 20 years, people ask him why he practices ice hockey, he will answer 'In 2022, I watched the Chinese team', that is the success of our generation." ”
Marbury replied warmly in the comments section: "Welcome to the City of Dreams! Come on buddy! ”
Two days later, Ye Jinguang posted a handwritten letter from a Xiaoice player with the caption: "Let's cheer together!" The children wrote in the letter: "I wish you good results, and I hope that I will grow up to serve the country like you." ”
Born in Canada in 1997, Zheng Enlai is of mixed Chinese and German descent. His grandmother, Zheng Fengrong, is a famous Chinese high jumper and China's first female athlete to break the world record, and was received by Premier Zhou Enlai. It is worth mentioning that Zheng Enlai's original name was Zheng Tai, because he was born on March 5, the same birthday as Premier Zhou, and his grandmother Zheng Fengrong specially changed his name to "Enlai".
Zheng Enlai's grandfather Duan Qiyan was the men's high jump champion at China's first National Games. Zheng Enlai learned to skate at the age of 3, played ice hockey at the age of 5, and played the Canadian Professional League at the age of 16, all of which Duan Qiyan came step by step with his grandson.
Zheng Enlai's younger sister is track and field athlete Zheng Ninali. At last year's Tokyo Olympics, Zheng Ninali set a new personal best in the 100m hurdles and 800m events, and finally won the tenth place in the women's heptathlon with 6318 points, creating the best result of Chinese athletes in the Olympic event.
Zheng Nina li cheered for her brother
On February 9, on the eve of the first match of the Chinese Men's Ice Winter Olympics, Zheng Enlai posted on Weibo, "I feel extremely honored to continue the tradition of the family serving the country! It was a moment I've been dreaming of for a long time! Although the opponents are strong, we will definitely do our best! Come on! ”
Yuan Junjie, a second-generation immigrant, also posted before the first match, expressing his excitement about representing China. "The words and deeds of the previous two generations make me very proud to be a Chinese... To have the opportunity to represent China is my greatest wish in life. ”
Yuan Junjie wrote, "The world needs China's multi-ethnic integration tradition, and the Olympics need China's spirit of dissent and tolerance." ”
At the end of the article, Yuan Junjie also sincerely issued an invitation: "I sincerely invite the elites of all fields in the world to return to China together and continue the spirit of the Chinese nation from generation to generation." Together to the future! ”
Post-00s young player Oban Yongli remembered his grandfather who passed away not long ago before the game, "Coming here is not only to participate in the Olympic Games, but also to represent my grandparents and all my ancestors, hoping that through this opportunity, more Chinese children can be inspired to develop my favorite sports here." I know that my grandfather is smiling proudly at this moment with his head bowed and what I have accomplished so far in my life. ”
On the evening of February 12, the Chinese men's ice hockey team played against germany, and the young fu shuai scored the first goal of the Winter Olympics for Chinese men's ice, achieving a "breakthrough of zero". After the game, his brother Fu, who also played in China's men's ice, posted: "Fu Shuai scored the first goal of the Olympic Games, and the whole family will be proud of you!" Here is our origin, and we hope that our performance can repay the trust of the motherland. ”
Fu Shuai scored his first goal for the Chinese men's ice team
In addition to the male ice players, the female ice girls who missed out of the quarterfinals with a slight disadvantage are equally impressive.
Against Japan's "five consecutive saves", goalkeeper Zhou Jiaying became famous in one battle. The girl, who gave up her high-paying job on Wall Street and chose to fight for her homeland, said in an interview that she had the support of her mother for her return to China, "which is very important for your connection with China." ”
Zhou Jiaying's "Tiger Armor and Dragon Armor" Chinese style competition uniform on the field also attracted attention, she said in the interview: "I hope to show the world more traditional Chinese culture, at the same time, this also represents my wish, I hope that our team can be as strong as the dragon, I hope that Chinese ice hockey will become stronger and stronger in the future." ”
Lin Jiaxin, whose grandfather is from Guangdong, wrote emotionally after the end of the Chinese women's ice Olympic tour: "I believe that many years later, I will still remember fighting for the red flag on my chest on the ice. ”
Fei Anna, a post-00s girl, also posted a farewell: "This is a great and dreamy journey, following the blood of my ancestors and representing Chinese ice hockey in the Winter Olympics, which is a dream I have always aspired to achieve." ”
Zhang Xifang, a Chinese girl who was adopted and raised by an American family since childhood, wrote: "I was born in China and feel extremely honored to wear the robe of the Chinese national team! Thank you very much for the support of the family too! The journey with regrets is not complete, but we will meet the challenge again! ”
Although the grammar of some of the sentences of these naturalized athletes is not smooth, and even has traces of machine translation, their sincere words have touched thousands of netizens.
"I was touched again, those Chinese sons and daughters who once left their homeland involuntarily, their roots and hearts are still in the East!"
"That's why our culture has lasted for millennia without interruption, and in every era there are countless people like them who firmly stand on the side of the motherland."
"Thank you for your efforts." "This year's Winter Olympics have introduced me to a lot of great Chinese!"
Some netizens appealed: "Do not have colored glasses for naturalized athletes." Many of our projects started late, and it is their participation that can drive us to develop better. ”
This Olympic Games is the first time that Chinese men's ice hockey has appeared on the Winter Olympic Games, ranking 32nd in the world; the Chinese women's ice hockey team is the Chinese women's ice hockey team that has returned to the Winter Olympics after 12 years, ranking 20th in the world. Previously, the best result of Chinese women's ice was 4th place at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.
Chinese ice hockey began preparing for naturalized players early. The Chinese team list participating in the men's and women's ice hockey matches at the Beijing Winter Olympics, all 48 players have participated in the KHL (Mainland Ice Hockey League, formerly known as the Russian Ice Hockey Super League) and the WHL (Russian Women's Ice Hockey League) as kunlun Hongxing ice hockey club players, and most of the naturalized players have been running into local players for several seasons.
Turning on naturalized players to play in the Winter Olympics, Chinese ice hockey is not the first. At the last Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, South Korean men's ice hockey naturalized a group of Canadian and American players, but it was still difficult to escape the group stage three games, with a score of 0 points at the bottom.
Chinese men's ice team
Chinese women's ice team
On February 11, Yan Jiarong, spokesperson of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee, talked about naturalized athletes at the daily press conference of the International Olympic Committee & Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee. She said: "We believe that naturalized athletes are a very common phenomenon in today's world sports world, which also provides a broader space for athletes to develop personally, and is also conducive to the more balanced development and popularization of sports in the world." For example, she said, there are also many table tennis players in China who represent other countries, so it has promoted a more balanced development of table tennis in the world.
Source: Observer Network Client