Home team slides into contention

The puck drops in the women's campaign on Feb 12, with their first opponent in Group A yet to be decided.

Speed skating, which has been a sport at the Asian Winter Games since the first edition in 1986, will award the most gold medals in Harbin, with 14 in total.

A gold medalist in the men's 500m at the 2017 Sapporo Asian Winter Games and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Chinese speed skater Gao Tingyu has returned from an extended break due to injury and is targeting a successful title defense in Harbin.

Aged 27, Gao has long been the sole contender from the Chinese speed skating team vying for medals on the international stage. However, the situation has begun to change.

Since last season, China's skating team, led by younger athletes like Ning Zhongyan and Han Mei, has gradually improved, with their performances in international competitions steadily on the rise.

For example, during the 2024-25 ISU Speed Skating World Cup event in Nagano, Japan, Han secured the silver medal in the women's 1,500 meters with a time of 1:55.18, while Ning claimed the bronze in the men's 1,500 meters with a time of 1:44.69.