On 10 February, the National Stadium witnessed another historic moment. For the first time, the Chinese men's ice hockey team embarked on the Olympic arena to meet the powerful American team.
One of the youngest teams with an average age of more than 20 years is Ye Jinguang, 37, one of the oldest athletes in the Chinese sports delegation at the Winter Olympics.
When walking through the players' tunnel and standing on the ice, his eyes were a little moist, and for the Chinese veteran who naturalized and returned to China, this moment has waited too long and too long: "Facing the world's strongest opponent, we will make efforts to let the world remember that we have come." ”
Ye Was born in 1985 in Maple Ridge, a small town in Vancouver, Canada. In 2004, he was drafted by the Colorado Avalanches of the North American Hockey League, where he practiced ice hockey since childhood. Since becoming a professional player, Ye Jinguang has achieved a remarkable enough record: he played in the North American Ice Hockey League for five seasons, played 174 games and scored 56 points, making him the best Chinese male player in the history of professional ice hockey.
While studying at Boston University, a friend once said to Ye Jinguang, "You will play hockey in China in the future." Ye Jinguang, who was only 18 years old at the time, did not expect this sentence to become a reality.
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.
In the 2017-2018 season, Kunlun Hongxing Club, which is preparing talents for the Beijing Winter Olympics, called this outstanding player into the squad, and in the past five years, he scored more than 100 points in the mainland ice hockey league, becoming the first professional league "100 point king" in the history of Chinese ice hockey.
What makes Ye Jinguang more happy than the title of "Hundred Percent King" is the growth of a group of young people in the team. Since the beginning of August last year, the Chinese team has strengthened physical training, innovative training and data training by going to Russia for external training, and the boys have improved a lot in physical fitness, technical and tactical level and teamwork. "We know each other very well and have a tacit understanding, which is crucial for the ice hockey team and that's our strength. We will not give up any hope of victory. Ye Jinguang said, "We trained very hard, just to stand on the Olympic field at this moment." ”
Deep affection for the motherland, consistent love for ice hockey, so that the career is nearing the end of Ye Jinguang is willing to dedicate the last energy, in the group stage surrounded by strong enemies to open the way, he said: "Fighting at the Winter Olympics is the best way for me to express my love to the motherland, and we will also use the hard work on the field to make every family member of the motherland proud of us." ”
At the same time, Ye Jinguang has another wish in his heart - to use his performance on the field at this moment to plant a seed for the future of Chinese ice hockey: "If there is a Chinese athlete who stands on the highest stage of ice hockey 20 years later, and 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." ”
A few 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." ”
On February 15, Ye Jinguang, the captain of the Chinese men's ice hockey team and a Chinese-Canadian naturalized ice hockey player, wrote in a post on Weibo: "Many friends have asked me if I would like to stay here after the Olympic Games. ”
Source: Central Committee of the Communist Youth League