9/21/16 - China Sports interview with Sui Wenjing & Han Cong

China Sports: A lot of people are worrying about your foot injury, can you tell us about what the recovery has been like?

Wenjing: It’s healing normally. I’m getting better little by little. I can do hops and some light training, I’m trying to recover my spins and some of the pair elements, obviously lifts aren’t a problem. Mostly I’m trying to feel out the programs again because after such a long period of time of not practicing them the coordination between the both of us feels strange/unfamiliar.

China Sports: In July for Amazing On Ice our associate went to film the performances. At that time you were still using a wheelchair, but now you’re back on the ice. Isn’t it a bit quick? Were you permitted to do so by the doctor?

Wenjing: Yes, I was also in a rush to return to the ice and so every day at the hospital I was thinking about what I was going to do.

China Sports: So when Wenjing was recuperating Han Cong must have been very worried, I heard you went to visit her at the hospital every day, is that right?

Han Cong: Not every day. There is still my own training to do, so every week I’d go see her once or twice. Whenever a specialist was there I’d find the time to go and ask questions about how the recovery process would move along.

Wenjing: And then later on when we were doing lifts on the floor he would handle me very gently, like one would with a vase. After this many years it’s the first time he’s been like that with me.

China Sports: Really? In the past he wasn’t like this?

Wenjing: No, before he was never this gentle.

China Sports: I saw that during training your coach would stop you often to discuss something. What was there to discuss?

Han Cong: Because for the new programs there are still details we have to go over, like positioning, how to make it look more harmonious, we talk and think more about this and then go out and do it. We’d like to see results as soon as possible, so that way it won’t waste as much of our on-ice training time.

China Sports: For this season Wenjing had the foot surgery, but you still had new programs choreographed, right?

Wenjing: Yes, we had the programs finished and then we came back to China and I had the surgery.

China Sports: Can you introduce and talk a little about your two programs? Any special characteristics, what style, etc.?

Wenjing: Lori did both of them, mainly the story is about our journey: how I got injured, the recovery, how we’ve supported each other until the end.

China Sports: The last time I was here I heard from Hongbo about how you were training and rehabilitating at the same time. What’s your schedule like every day?

Wenjing: It was like that before, but now I’ve returned to being a full time member of the national team. A little while ago you could see that two of the doctors from the hospital were there watching us practice. Next week some specialists from Hong Kong are flying over to do some consultations.

China Sports: For pairs skating especially, you can’t do with the other not being there. For you, Han Cong, how did Wenjing being in the hospital make you feel and what was your everyday schedule like?

Han Cong: The scheduling has always been very full, every day starts with jumps, then skating skills, steps, fixing those areas that aren’t so good. I’ve been taking modern dance classes (t/n: I wasn’t sure if I heard this part properly), I’ve been to about forty of those sessions, I should thank the national team leaders for their help. And then I started helping some of the younger team members with choreography, organizing their programs a bit. Exercise is always first, then studying.

Wenjing: He made his own program.

China Sports: Wow, you’re quite capable then!

Han Cong: No, it wasn’t choreographed just by myself.

Wenjing: Our teacher Zhao Wei helped us…

Han Cong: She helped organize the program, and then our coaches helped a lot too.

China Sports: After training so long together, finding yourself without a partner must have affected your mood a lot. Did you feel very down?

Han Cong: I’d had this experience before, and so then I had resolved that the training should still have substance, that I shouldn’t stop in any way. But after skating for some time by myself I think my mental strength started to drop, because when doing jumps there wasn’t that feeling of someone jumping alongside you. It didn’t feel complete.

China Sports: You must have wanted Wenjing to come back onto the ice as quickly as possible.

Han Cong: It was really really boring. Some of the others, their partners would get injured and couldn’t do on-ice training for one or two days, so of course they felt like there was no point in practicing. I joked around with them, “This is nothing, how long has it been for me? It’s been months.”

China Sports: Was it the same for you, Wenjing? Your emotional state?

Wenjing: For me, both mentally and physically, it was a certain type of suffering. I wanted to return to the ice…and there are our rivals, both domestically and internationally. I was in a rush to keep working.

China Sports: When did you officially restart training? How long did it take after the surgery?

Wenjing: Three to four months? It was supposed to be ninety days or so. It must have been around August 5^th?

China Sports: When you do your movements does it affect your wounds? And how strongly?

Wenjing: Not that much. After training is done we immediately apply ice, and then of course there are other methods as well.

China Sports: So that means you’ve recovered quite well?

Wenjing: Quite well. The wound looks really good.

China Sports: Tomorrow your teammates are going to Xinjiang to compete, are you two going?

Wenjing: Happy New Year.

Han Cong: We’re not going. We’re staying home to keep training and rehabilitating.

China Sports: You’ve not yet reached the level to be physically ready for competition, correct?

Han Cong: Yes.

China Sports: When will you return to competition this season? Is there a set time?

Han Cong: I think we’ll have to wait until next year. We’ll have to listen to our team leaders and see what they decide.

Wenjing: We’ll continue the rehabilitation and see what our condition will be like and what our coach’s plans are.

China Sports: In two years the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics will be here. Right now you two are China’s number ones. What are you looking forward to for the Winter Olympics?

Wenjing: To make the best of ourselves and to do a little more each day.

Han Cong: To improve each day and to clearly be able to see that we’ve improved. I think showing the best of ourselves is especially important.