Descendants of Chinese laborers chose to return to China to play, and Ye Jinguang, captain of the Chinese men's hockey team: Chinese can also play hockey well

Source: Global Times - Global Network

"150 years ago, my ancestors were exiled to North America, but China has always been in the ye family tradition. At the age of 18 at Boston University, friends joked that you will be on the Chinese ice hockey team in the future, and I didn't expect it to become a reality..." On February 10, before the debut of the Chinese men's ice hockey team against the United States in the Olympic games, ye Jinguang, the captain of the Chinese men's ice hockey team, made this "pre-war mobilization" on personal social media, igniting the passion of countless netizens and also allowing the special team of the Chinese men's ice hockey team to enter the vision of more people.

There are 25 players in the team, and 15 players have returned from overseas, most of whom are of Chinese descent. In China, where the foundation of ice hockey is extremely weak, these returned Chinese players and local players who have been "fighting" with foreign professional players for many years have shown the tenacity and bloodiness of Chinese athletes to the Chinese people and the world in the most confrontational sports in ice hockey.

Being in the same group as the three world's top teams in Canada, the United States and Germany made the Chinese men's ice hockey team unpopular from the outside world at first. On the evening of February 15, the Chinese team lost 2:7 to the world's no. 1 Canadian team in the knockout round, ending the first Winter Olympic tour of the Chinese men's ice hockey team, but four consecutive games have received the affirmation and encouragement of the Chinese people, especially in the February 12 against the world's fifth-ranked Germany team, the Chinese team only lost 2:3, and the two goals scored were enough to enter the annals of Chinese sports.

However, in Ye Jinguang's view, defeat or affirmation are the starting point, by showing the unique charm of ice hockey on the Olympic field, so that more Chinese people understand and participate in this sport, so that ice hockey becomes one of the most powerful sports in China, which is the ultimate dream of him and a group of returned Chinese players.

As Ye Jinguang said on his personal social media, "If there is a Chinese athlete who stands on the top 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." Recently, the Global Times conducted an exclusive interview with the captain of the Chinese men's ice hockey team.

Photo: Li Hao

Global Times: In response to a netizen's inquiry, the Beijing Kunlun Hongxing Ice Hockey Club, where you worked, said that your ancestors were Chinese laborers who were trafficked from Guangdong, China, to North America to build railways more than a hundred years ago, and your parents have been searching for roots in Guangdong and hope to rebuild the family tree. What kind of understanding do you have about Chinese culture and the motherland from childhood to adulthood?

Ye Jinguang: More than a hundred years ago, my great-grandfather left China in search of a chance to survive and embarked on a journey full of dangers. When he left home, he could not read and could only speak Cantonese. Because I grew up in Canada, I didn't know much about my motherland before, but the elders in the family told me some concepts about the motherland by word of mouth, among them, my grandmother told me a lot of things about the motherland, she was my window to understand the motherland, unfortunately, she died when I was young, otherwise my understanding of the motherland would definitely be more profound.

But fortunately, the opportunity to come back and play for Beijing Kunlun Hongxing Hockey Club and The Chinese national team rekindled my interest in my homeland. Through these seasons of living in the country, I have deepened my understanding of my motherland. I really like the culture and the people here, I really enjoy my experience in my home country, how friendly the people here are, how warmly they welcome and support me, it's almost indescribable.

Global Times: I heard that you graduated from Boston University with a degree in crime scene investigation, why did you choose hockey as your profession? Can you tell us about your upbringing and how you came into contact with ice hockey in the first place?

Ye Jinguang: I graduated from Boston University, majoring in criminal justice. When I was about 5 years old, I started to play ice hockey, and my father was my initiation teacher who would spend a lot of time playing with me. Some of the best memories of my life are playing with him in my basement or front yard. When I was a young boy, I set three goals in life, the first was to get a full scholarship to college to pay tuition and complete my studies, the second was to be able to work in the professional hockey league, and the third was to participate in the Olympic Games and be able to play.

Global Times: Ice hockey is a sport with great confrontational intensity, and it is also a relatively "unpopular" sport in China, what help do you think you can bring to the development of this sport in China?

Ye Jinguang: As we all know, ice hockey is a very competitive and competitive sport, which is one of the reasons why I love it so much. Unfortunately, the popularity of ice hockey in China is still relatively low. But we have made great strides in this Winter Olympics, showing our countrymen and the world that Chinese can also play hockey on the international stage, a strongly competitive sport, and all this is just the beginning. When we stand on the international stage, we are not only fighting for China, so that the audience is proud of China through this sport, we are also fighting for the ice hockey sport we love, we hope to show this sport in front of the Chinese people, attract more people to further understand this sport, and can better promote and develop this sport in the future.

Global Times: You are hailed in the industry as the best Chinese player in the history of professional hockey so far. It is also the "100% king" of the first professional league in the history of Chinese ice hockey. When you achieve these results, do you get the affirmation and praise of your teammates and opponents who have been abroad?

Ye Jinguang: Yes, I not only get a lot of support from my family, friends, and personal circles – it's safe to say that without them, I wouldn't have achieved all of this. In addition, I can hear and feel their affirmation and support from my teammates, fans, and even opponents, which is very touching and surprising, and on the way to growth, their voices are really important, and I think this is the meaning of sports. At the end of the day, whether it's a teammate or an opponent, we're all part of the hockey family.

Global Times: You said on your personal Weibo that you were 18 years old at Boston University, and your friend joked that you would be on the Chinese ice hockey team in the future, and you didn't expect all this to become a reality. Why did you choose to come back and fight for your country in the first place? There are 15 naturalized players in the Chinese men's ice hockey national team, can you tell us about the composition of this team? How did you prepare for training during the pandemic?

Ye Jinguang: My teammates used to joke with me, "You can go to China and go there and develop this sport." The joke may have stemmed from having a lot of Asian fans when I was at Boston University. Interestingly, I felt like from the moment I was in college, my life was like going around in a circle back to square one.

Because the sport of ice hockey is still in its infancy in China, there are not enough players to participate in the highest level of competition in the world, so we have recruited players from several different countries from Beijing Kunlun Hongxing Club, which once represented China in the mainland ice hockey league, to join the Chinese men's ice hockey national team. Our team is made up of very diverse players, which makes us so unique. Although we were born in different countries, once we put on the jersey of the Chinese team or the Kunlun Hongxing team, we are a big family, we represent China, we represent the sport of ice hockey, so we can play together in a tacit understanding.

During the pandemic, I trained outside the ice rink with longtime strength and fitness coach Mike Boyle, and I also practiced on ice with Boston Brown Bears skating coach Kim Bluffard. I also trained in Boston with a group of "National Hockey League" professional players. They're arguably the best players and coaches in the world today, so they're always challenging me and forcing me to be the best I can be.

Global Times: At this Winter Olympics, there was some discussion in the foreign media about Chinese athletes born and raised abroad, including some doubtful voices abroad after Gu Ailing won the gold medal. What do you think of this controversy?

Ye Jinguang: I'm not interested in politics, and I don't know much about politics, but in my opinion, Gu Ailing is fully worthy of the Olympic gold medal, and she makes all the Chinese and those with Chinese ancestry feel extremely proud. If I remember correctly, the Gu Ailing Gold Freestyle Ski Jump event was the first time it appeared on the Olympic stage, so it's like we're trying to develop the ice hockey sport that we love, she's doing the same thing, I don't see anything to argue about, I think what she did and what she achieved was very positive and great for both the Chinese and freestyle ski jumping project.

Global Times: Ice hockey is still a very niche and expensive sport in China, what are your expectations for the development of ice hockey in China?

Ye Jinguang: Unfortunately, ice hockey is indeed a very expensive sport, which makes the threshold for contact and participation in this sport relatively high. I also had this problem growing up. But when I see how much support the domestic government has for ice hockey, and the amount of infrastructure that China has built over the past few years, including ice rinks, I think it's really fantastic. I believe that with the strong support of the government and the persistence and efforts of the Chinese players themselves, we can certainly work together to make ice hockey one of the most powerful sports in China. In the future, I hope that we can open more ice hockey schools, attract our young people to participate in this sport, provide them with professional training, and let more young people benefit from playing ice hockey – because ice hockey is a fast-paced sport that requires the brain to run at high speed, which is very helpful for the development of adolescent physical intelligence. I also hope that the epidemic can pass quickly, so that the Beijing Kunlun Hongxing ice hockey team we usually play for can return to the mainland ice hockey league, and we can attract more fans to pay attention to the sport with excellent performance.

Global Times: You are also the oldest player in the Chinese Winter Olympic team, how do you evaluate your performance in the Winter Olympics?

Ye Jinguang: Every time I step on the ice, I hope I can do my best. I want to lead by example and show our countrymen that we are a group of warriors. Although the opponents we have encountered are very strong and our situation is very difficult, I hope that we can give our all every game to win for China!