Seventeen-year-old naturalized figure skater Zhu Yi completed her senior grand prix debut in Friday's short program at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Cup of China 2019 in southwest China's Chongqing, scoring 53.19 points.

First on the ice in the short program, Zhu completed her routine without much difficulty.

Though finishing in distant ninth, the fresh-faced Zhu is satisfied with her performance and optimistic about her future.

"I was nervous coming into the game. However, everyone is encouraging and supportive. I am reasonably satisfied with my performance today. I did the same moves better than last week," Zhu said.

It was the teen's first time representing China. Zhu had demonstrated her figure skating talents early on. She won the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships novice title before joining the Chinese national team a few months later.

Due to injury, Zhu experienced ups and downs throughout the whole season.

"I took a long time off due to my fractured right foot," she said. "I am aware that my abilities are inadequate at the moment. But I am happy I completed the competition today."

"I look up to the Russian skater because she can do the quadruple jump. I have been learning from them, watching their videos and learning their techniques, moves and performance," Zhu added.

"I might reach their level of performance if I keep on training. I've only tried the triple lutz-triple loop combination. I will try the quadruple jump after I recover from my injury."