Cup of China 2014 - Pairs' Final
The one discipline the Chinese are acing at their own Grand Prix is the pairs. Leading are Cheng Peng/Hao Zhang, followed by Xuehan Wang/Lei Wang, who are ahead of Xiaoyu Yu/Yang Jin. But Vera Bazarova/Andrei Deputat's fourth place is just close enough to snatch a place on the podium.
Arina Cherniavskaia/Antonino Souza-Kordyeru are first to go with a fun Glenn Miller song. However, what should look like a window into a 1930 party, is just elements done to a song. No worries though, they are a new couple and they've got plenty of time to improve their chemistry. Their score: 86.71. Overall: 133.45.
Lots of passion from Nicole della Monica/Matteo Guarise as they skate to The Mask of Zorro. They have lots of errors though; in fact every single element has some sort of flaw. They get 102.42 points. Overall: 155.90.
Jessica Calalang/Zack Sidhu have plenty of technical errors in addition to the interpretation of Romeo and Juliet not being anywhere near as dramatic as required. I don't know if the exit out of the last lift is intentionally dangerous-looking (if it is, awesome), but it makes my heart stop for a second. Their score: 93.15. Overall: 147.81.
Another pair brought together by a split is Natasha Purich/Andrew Wolfe. She formerly skated with Mervin Tran, but the partnership ended this year in May. The Artist is their theme and it's good, but again, it's a rather mediocre routine filled with errors. They get 97.56 points. Overall: 153.70.
There's definitely potential for Vera Bazarova/Andrei Deputat, but they need to get more used to each other. The presentation of Adios Nonino is great, but the technical elements are pretty bad - lack of synchronicity in the spins and the jumps, hands down and a fall on the thrown triple Loop. They get 109.59 points. Overall: 166.44.
Xiaoyu Yu/Yang Jin's peformance almost goes awry when he loses grip of her during one of the lifts. Thankfully he can catch her in time for her not to hit the ice, but the moment pulls a gasp out of me. Beautifully choreographed though. Their score: 116.30. Overall: 173.33.
Xuehan Wang/Lei Wang have put lots of originality into their side-by-side spins and lifts, but in order for this My Fair Lady routine to feel authentic, they should have also used the funny bits of the story. She makes a mess out of both the side-by-side jumps, and puts a hand down on the triple Flip. They get 114.88 points. Overall: 172.15.
As Cheng Peng/Hao Zhang finish their routine, it's time to accept that I won't see a single clean skate today from the pairs. It's not exactly something that recommends the skaters present here, but maybe it's also a matter of bad luck. Out of all of them though, Cheng and Hao are by far the most complex. Their score: 121.94. Overall: 194.05.
So far in this Grand Prix series, the pair's events have been the most reliable, and that doesn't change here. There is a slight modification to the short podium in that the Wangs get the bronze medal while Yu and Jin advance to the silver, but Peng and Zhang never risked losing the title. Congratulations to all of them!
Arina Cherniavskaia/Antonino Souza-Kordyeru are first to go with a fun Glenn Miller song. However, what should look like a window into a 1930 party, is just elements done to a song. No worries though, they are a new couple and they've got plenty of time to improve their chemistry. Their score: 86.71. Overall: 133.45.
Lots of passion from Nicole della Monica/Matteo Guarise as they skate to The Mask of Zorro. They have lots of errors though; in fact every single element has some sort of flaw. They get 102.42 points. Overall: 155.90.
Jessica Calalang/Zack Sidhu have plenty of technical errors in addition to the interpretation of Romeo and Juliet not being anywhere near as dramatic as required. I don't know if the exit out of the last lift is intentionally dangerous-looking (if it is, awesome), but it makes my heart stop for a second. Their score: 93.15. Overall: 147.81.
Another pair brought together by a split is Natasha Purich/Andrew Wolfe. She formerly skated with Mervin Tran, but the partnership ended this year in May. The Artist is their theme and it's good, but again, it's a rather mediocre routine filled with errors. They get 97.56 points. Overall: 153.70.
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| Cheng Peng and Hao Zhang, the indisputable winners Photograph: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images North America |
Xiaoyu Yu/Yang Jin's peformance almost goes awry when he loses grip of her during one of the lifts. Thankfully he can catch her in time for her not to hit the ice, but the moment pulls a gasp out of me. Beautifully choreographed though. Their score: 116.30. Overall: 173.33.
Xuehan Wang/Lei Wang have put lots of originality into their side-by-side spins and lifts, but in order for this My Fair Lady routine to feel authentic, they should have also used the funny bits of the story. She makes a mess out of both the side-by-side jumps, and puts a hand down on the triple Flip. They get 114.88 points. Overall: 172.15.
As Cheng Peng/Hao Zhang finish their routine, it's time to accept that I won't see a single clean skate today from the pairs. It's not exactly something that recommends the skaters present here, but maybe it's also a matter of bad luck. Out of all of them though, Cheng and Hao are by far the most complex. Their score: 121.94. Overall: 194.05.
So far in this Grand Prix series, the pair's events have been the most reliable, and that doesn't change here. There is a slight modification to the short podium in that the Wangs get the bronze medal while Yu and Jin advance to the silver, but Peng and Zhang never risked losing the title. Congratulations to all of them!
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