Michael Christian Martinez has said that he is overjoyed to have befriended his childhood hero Patrick Chan in Sochi.
The 17-year-old figure skater, who is the only representative of the Philippines at the 2014 Winter Olympics, had dinner with the three-time world champion from Canada at the athletes' village one night.
"It felt really great," the Canadian Press quotes the teenager as saying. "I feel like a champion because I'm skating with Patrick Chan, and I feel like a world champion also... the way he skated, the way his edges are, I was trying to copy him but I couldn't.
"He gave me some knowledge because before I was just watching him on YouTube and now I can see how he really does bend his knees.
"He actually told me that I was official Canadian team [member]. He was really friendly and kind. I really liked him. Surprisingly [nice] for a world champion. He congratulated me that I'm the lone Olympian for the Philippines."
Chan is competing in his second Olympic Games in Sochi.
Subhankar Mondal
