????Martin Li ????martin.mouse@163.com ????LIAN SIYANG is only 9 years old, but has already won five international figure skating awards since 2009. ????A primary school student of Shenzhen Experimental School, he is coached by Chen Lu, China’s first figure skating world champion. ????A jack of many trades, Lian is also good at calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting, and speaks some English. ????“I want to be a world champion and study at a world-class university,” Lian said. ????Getting started ????Lian lives near the MixC, a shopping mall in Luohu District that boasts an ice rink. ????“When the boy saw a group of children skating in the ice rink, he asked if he could join them,” recalled the boy’s mother, Lian Jian. ????Without intending to make her son a professional skater, the mother hired an ordinary coach to teach him. He was only 4 years old at the time. ????With the help of the coach, the boy started learning basic skating moves, including sliding, spinning, jumping and stopping. ????“I didn’t know what figure skating was or expect to compete for skating awards. However, I enjoyed sliding on the ice,” Lian said, recalling the early days of his training. ????Coached by a champion ????“The boy was not afraid of falls,” Chen Lu, China’s first figure skating world champion, said of her first impression of Lian. ????Dubbed the butterfly queen on ice, Chen operates the ice rink in the MixC. ????Chen made the decision to coach the boy two years after he started frequenting the ice rink. ????“I had been observing him for a period. He was not like his peers who always cried for their parents when they fell. Instead, he would stand up and continue to skate,” said Chen, who only coaches children who are brave, persistent and have good balance. ????Since then, Lian has received intensive training. ????“He fell at least 10 times a day. Can you imagine how many falls he suffered in a year?” recalled the boy’s mother. ????“He once suffered a leg bone fracture due to a fall and called me in the middle of a meeting. I cried immediately,” said the mother. ????Lian also cried when a doctor told him that he needed to wear a cast. ????Lian goes to the ice rink six afternoons each week, during which time he skates for two hours and receives shape-up training for one and a half hours. ????“It took me a year to master a five-second jumping move,” recalled the boy. ????The ice rink is Lian’s second home and he often eats and does homework there. ????Efforts pay off ????Lian’s persistence started paying off when he won his first international figure skating award at the age of 6. ????“He won first place in male figure skating level-three at the international match in San Francisco, the United States. I couldn’t believe it until other people came to congratulate me on my son’s success. I originally had him take part in the match with the intention of broadening his horizons and toughening him up,” recalled the mother. ????Since then, Lian has won another four international figure skating awards. He was selected as one of the top 10 child skaters in China in 2011. ????“He has also tasted failure. At a match in Shanghai, the boy got nervous when he didn’t see Chen. He forgot what he was supposed to do and fell down four times,” said the mother. ????A versatile child ????Besides skating, Lian is skilled at calligraphy and painting. ????“A boy should be both lively and cerebral. He should be full of go, but not careless,” said Lian’s mother. ????The boy practices calligraphy twice a week and painting two hours a week. ????He took part in a national student calligraphy competition last year. ????“My son even has fans. A girl comes to the ice rink to watch him skate. She even asked her mother to film my son skating with an iPad when she was too ill to come to the ice rink herself,” the mother said proudly. ????Aiming higher ????Chen Lu has high hopes for Lian. ????“Because the boy started receiving training at a very young age, it is possible for him to become a world champion. I hope he will surpass me one day,” said the coach. ????Lian also has lofty ambitions. ????“I want to stand at the top of a world medal podium draped in China’s national flag. Additionally, I want to go to Stanford to study,” said the boy. ????The mother said that she will support the boy no matter what path he chooses to follow. | 