China sets up physical training camp for short track and speed skating athletes

BEIJING - China set up a physical training camp for short track and speed skating athletes in Hebei Bashang Winter Sports Training Base on Wednesday, but national team head coach Wang Meng was not on the list.

Wang, four-time Olympic short track speed skating champion, was appointed head coach of the Chinese short track speed skating team in May, 2019, a month after she was named head coach of the national speed skating team.

According to Zhang Bei, who is in charge of the training camp, about 100 athletes will take part in the two-month training camp, including top skaters like short track Olympic champion Wu Dajing, world champion Han Yutong, and speed skating veteran Ning Zhongyan.

The training camp also serves as a selection process for the new short track speed skating and speed skating national teams, which will be formed before the new season as usual.

The no-show of Wang arose speculation that the former 500m and 1000m short track specialist might be sacked as the head coach.

Besides, South Korean legendary coach Kim Chang-back, who led the Chinese women's hockey team to the history-making runners-up at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has been named director of the training camp.