QINGDAO, April 13 (Xinhua) — China’s Olympic champion Han Cong says he is able to commit himself to turning into a determine skating technical specialist, as a substitute of merely returning to the rink as an athlete.
The 30-year-old veteran adopted the two-day competitions at China’s season-ending National Championships, which concluded right here on Thursday.
“I took the certification exam to be a national-class figure skating technical specialist before I came here, and was just told that I had passed,” Han stated.
“I’m here trying to learn from the technical panel and to get a better understanding of everything that surrounds a figure skating tournament,” he added.
Han paired with Sui Wenjing to win the Olympic gold medal final yr, however the two-time world champions and runners-up at PyeongChang 2018 haven’t competed since their epic victory at Beijing 2022, prompting hypothesis that they might quickly announce their retirement.
Sui, who’s learning choreography at Beijing Dance Academy, wrote on social media that she is pondering a potential return to the ice rink, whereas Han admitted to Xinhua that his health performs an enormous half within the prospect of the pair’s return, which appears inconceivable in current days.
“My body condition is not good enough for me to resume training. My hip is still hurting, maybe not as bad as before when it hurt every time I sneezed, but yes, it’s hurting,” Han stated with a wry smile, including that he has been busy away from the rink currently.
“I’m doing my duty as a member of the ISU (International Skating Union) Technical Committee, as well as calling out for athletes in a continental forum,” stated Han, who was appointed because the skater member of the Single & Pair Skating Technical Committee by the ISU final September.
His schedule in March included the OCA (Olympic Council of Asia) Athletes Forum in Bangkok, Thailand earlier than he flew to Saitama, Japan for the ISU technical assembly.
“This part of the job is complicated, comprehensive and detailed, but I feel fresh and very interested,” he stated.
“I love figure skating and won’t leave the sport, regardless of whether I return as an athlete or not,” he added.