Skater Yuzuru Hanyu thanks Chinese fans for support in Beijing 2022, popularity hints 'good start' for worsening ties

花滑选手羽生结弦感谢中国粉丝在2022年北京冬奥会上的支持，人气预示着双方关系恶化的“良好开端

Japanese two-time Olympic champion figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu (center) holds a press conference in Beijing on Monday evening where he took questions from global reporters. Photo: Li Hao/Global TimesJapanese two-time Olympic champion figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu thanked Chinese volunteers and fans at a press conference on Monday during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, as millions of Chinese netizens witnessed and encouraged the young athlete who kept chasing his dream and pushing himself to the limit.

日本两届奥运会花样滑冰冠军羽生结弦周一晚上在北京举行新闻发布会，回答了全球记者的提问。照片：李浩/环球时报日本两届奥运会花样滑冰冠军羽生结弦周一在北京2022年冬奥会期间的新闻发布会上感谢中国志愿者和粉丝，数百万中国网民见证并鼓励了这位年轻运动员，他一直在追逐自己的梦想，将自己推向极限。

Hanyu also said that the ice of the competition venue at Beijing 2022 was very good and he liked it very much. He said he was relaxed and happy, and expressed his gratitude to all.

韩雨还表示，北京2022年的比赛场地冰面非常好，他非常喜欢。他表示自己很轻松愉快，并对大家表示感谢。

He noted that he has received more than 20,000 letters from Chinese fans, as well as warm welcomes from volunteers. It's very nice to compete in such an atmosphere with love and welcome from Chinese fans, he said.

他说，他已经收到了2万多封来自中国粉丝的来信，以及来自志愿者的热情欢迎。他说：“在这样一个充满爱和中国粉丝欢迎的氛围中比赛是非常好的。”

When asked whether he will continue to attempt the quad Axel, or "4A," he said he doesn't have an answer yet. He doesn't want to make any excuses. When he did 4A, his ankle was injured and he took anesthesia needle before the final competition, he said.

当被问到他是否会继续尝试阿克塞尔四周，或“4A”，他说他还没有答案。他不想找任何借口。当他做4A时，他的脚踝受伤了，在决赛前打了麻醉针，他说。

"I have completed the 4A, although I didn't get a high score, I was satisfied," Hanyu said.

“我完成了4A，虽然没有拿到高分，但我很满意”，韩宇说。

While Chinese athletes used to uphold a "gold medal or nothing" theory, this year's Olympic Games showed Chinese people's simple and sincere love and respect for competitive sports, for which the popularity of Hanyu with his constant pursuit of 4A can be a perfect reflection.

当中国运动员过去秉持着一种“不拿金牌就等于失败”的理论时，今年的冬奥会展现了中国人对竞技体育朴素而真诚的热爱和尊重，对此，羽生结弦以不断追求4A而受到欢迎可以说是一个完美的体现。

Yao Jiayue, a skating enthusiast and 10-year fan of Hanyu in Shanghai, said she very much likes Hanyu's artistic skating skills and indomitable character.

上海的滑冰爱好者，羽生结弦10年的粉丝姚佳悦说，她非常喜欢羽生结弦艺术的滑冰技巧和不服输的性格。

"I've been watching Hanyu's performances since high school; I always enjoy the elegant way he skates on the ice and controls the rhythm," Yao told the Global Times on Monday. "His story of overcoming asthma and keeping up with his training and competing inspires me a lot."

姚明周一对《环球时报》说：“我从高中起就一直在看羽生结弦的表演，我一直喜欢他在冰上优雅的滑冰方式和控制节奏的方式。”。“他克服哮喘、坚持训练和比赛的故事给予我很很多激励。”

Yao believes that the spirit of sports and the Olympics transcend national boundaries. "We appreciate all the great athletes and their excellent performances, no matter whether they are from China, or Japan, or other countries," said the 32-year-old.

姚明认为，体育和奥林匹克的精神是超越国界的。这位32岁的运动员说：“我们感谢所有伟大的运动员和他们的出色表现，不管他们是来自中国，日本还是其他国家。”

Amid the Beijing 2022 event, some media said that Hanyu had replaced retired Japanese table tennis player Ai Fukuhara to become the most popular Japanese athlete in China.

北京奥运会期间，有媒体称，羽生结弦已经取代日本退役乒乓球运动员福原爱，成为在中国最受欢迎的日本运动员。

Fukuhara has been popular in China for her fluent in the dialect of Northeastern China. Having spent many years of training in China, she also maintained good relationships with famous Chinese players like Wang Nan and was one of the bridesmaids at the latter's wedding. Chinese people also like Fukuhara as she looks cute but is stubborn in competition.

福原以她一口流利的东北方言在中国广受欢迎。曾在中国度过多年训练的她，也与王楠这样的中国名将保持着良好的关系，曾是后者婚礼上的伴娘之一。中国人也喜欢福原，因为她看起来很可爱，但在比赛中很顽强。

As China and Japan welcomes the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year, observers believe that similar to Fukuhara fever, Hanyu mania is a great opportunity to see easing China-Japan ties, which were strained in the past year mainly due to Japan's frequent military moves with the US in the South China Sea.

在今年中日迎来建交50周年之际，观察家认为，与福原热类似，羽生结弦热是看到缓和中日关系的大好机会，过去一年中日关系主要因日本在南海与美国频繁军事动作而紧张。

After China's best male figure skater Jin Boyang and Hanyu made headlines when they tried to form a heart in front of the cameras after the men's single figure skating competition on Thursday, the Chinese Embassy in Japan posted a short video of their friendly interaction on Twitter, which soon received more than 17,000 likes and nearly 3,000 reposts.

在中国最佳男子花样滑冰运动员金博洋和羽生结弦在周四花样滑冰男子单人滑比赛结束后试图在镜头前比心而登上头条后，中国驻日本大使馆在推特上发布了两人友好互动的短视频，很快就获得了超过1.7万个赞和近3000次转发。

The Embassy told the Global Times on Monday in an exclusive interview that the friendly interaction between Jin and Hanyu sparked heated discussion in China and Japan, which fully highlighted the great attention of the two peoples toward the Beijing Olympics and the common love for ice and snow sports.

大使馆周一在接受《环球时报》独家采访时表示，金博洋和羽生结弦之间的友好互动在中日两国引发了热烈讨论，充分体现了两国人民对北京冬奥会的高度关注和对冰雪运动的共同热爱。

"As the Beijing Winter Olympics are still underway, we expect athletes from China and Japan to perform at a high level and make new breakthroughs in the Games, and hope the people of the two countries can strengthen mutual understanding and friendship through the Games," the Embassy said.

“由于北京冬奥会仍在进行，我们期待中日两国运动员在运动会上发挥高水平，取得新的突破，希望两国人民通过运动会加强相互了解和友谊，”使馆表示。

Besides Hanyu, many other Japanese athletes and journalists have also become popular on Chinese social media due to their excellent performances, friendly behavior and their love for mascot Bing Dwen Dwen.

除羽生结弦外，其他许多日本运动员和记者也因出色的表现、友善的行为以及对吉祥物冰墩墩的喜爱而在中国社交媒体上走红。

One photo posted by the International Olympic Committee of some medalists with their golden Bing Dwen Dwen figures on Twitter on Monday has gone viral. It shows Japanese skater Ryoyu Kobayashi, 25, sticking the mascot into the Olympic ring bib that he wore. The IOC tweet reads "So cute you want to put it in your pocket!"

周一，国际奥委会在推特上发布了一张照片，照片中的一些奖牌得主和他们的金色冰墩墩照片在网上疯传。照片显示，25岁的日本滑冰运动员小林陵侑将吉祥物塞在他所穿的奥运五环围兜里。国际奥委会的推文是这样写的：“太可爱了，你都想把它放进口袋里！”

Gido Tsujioka, an announcer from Japan's NTV, earned himself a new nickname "Gido Dwen Dwen" after he became famous on Chinese social media for his wild love for the mascot. Tsujioka told media that he had bought more than 100 souvenirs of Bing Dwen Dwen.

来自日本NTV的播音员辻冈义堂因对吉祥物的狂热喜爱而在中国社交媒体上走红后，为自己赢得了一个新绰号“义墩墩”。辻冈告诉媒体，他已经买了100多件冰墩墩的纪念品。

Japanese mogul skier Anri Kawamura, 17, said that she loved the food in the Olympic village. Ice hockey player Sena Suzuki, 30, also spoke highly of anti-epidemic measures in the canteen.

17岁的日本滑雪名将川村安里说，她喜欢奥运村的食物。30岁的冰球运动员铃木世奈也对食堂的防疫措施给予了高度评价。

The popularity of these athletes indicate that there is always a friendly atmosphere in people exchanges between China and Japan despite the condition of diplomatic ties, Zhou Yongsheng, a professor in the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

外交学院国际关系研究所教授周永生对《环球时报》表示，这些运动员的受欢迎程度表明，尽管中日两国当前外交形势紧张，但两国之间的人文交流始终保持着友好的气氛。

This is a good start for the two countries in this year. But after all, if Japan continues to treat China as a threat and follows the US to seek to contain China, it will be difficult for the two countries to embrace a positive change, Zhou noted.

这是两国关系在这一年的良好开端。但毕竟，如果日本继续将中国视为威胁，并追随美国寻求遏制中国，两国将很难接受积极的变化，周永生指出。