Top skater seeks empathy for Zhu

Calls for compassion, understanding after tearful Zhu Yi struggles in her Olympic debut

Two-time world bronze medalist Jin Boyang of China said it is understandable that an Olympic debutant may tumble after 19-year-old Zhu Yi delivered an error-riddled performance in the figure skating women's singles short program yesterday.

"Zhu is a hardworking woman and shouldn't be blamed for her first performance on the Olympic stage, good or bad," said Jin, who finished fourth in the men's singles figure skating at Pyeongchang 2018.

The 24-year-old, who helped China qualify for the team event for the first time in history with a sixth-place finish in the men's short program on Friday, delivered four well-executed jumps out of seven total and finished fourth in yesterday's free skate with 155.04 points.

Zhu, China's sole women's singles competitor, finished last among 10.

Skating to The Rolling Stones' Paint It Black, she stumbled during her first combination－a triple flip-triple toeloop jump－bumping into the wall. She did well in the subsequent double axel but totally missed her third jump, a triple loop.

She cried after she earned the lowest technical score of 22.34 points, bringing her total to 47.03 and adding just 1 point to the country's total score.

"I counted over and over again last night to see how many points I needed to collect today to help my team advance," Zhu said, bursting into tears.

"Before I started, I guess I just put a lot of pressure on myself because I know everybody in China was pretty surprised with the selection for women, and I just really wanted to show them what I was able to do. But unfortunately, I didn't," she said.

"The first combination was so fast. I don't even remember what happened. But when I landed the flip, it was nice, and I felt like I totally pulled it off. But, unfortunately, that didn't happen.

"I was very confident before I even started on the ice because (the loop) has been no problem during practices. I guess because I missed the first jump, I was just kind of fragile and under a lot of pressure to land that last jump," she explained.

"I just felt very sad and upset. I want to say sorry to my teammates that I couldn't do it better and help them during this team event. But I'm very grateful to have them and share with them."

Zhu was born to Chinese parents in the US city of Los Angeles, California. She won the women's title in the novice division of the 2018 United States Figure Skating Championships in San Jose and became a naturalized Chinese citizen the following year.