Shanghai success in ice event boosts Beijing's 2022 bid

China might be the biggest winner in the recently concluded World Figure Skating Championships in Shanghai, despite the fact that it didn't top the medal tally.

In addition to winning a silver and a bronze medal at the March 23-29 event, China burnished its reputation with the sport's international body as Beijing seeks to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. And it boosted people's passion for winter sports in Shanghai, a nontraditional powerhouse of ice and snow.

"From Shanghai's good organizing of the world championships, I don't doubt Beijing's capability," said International Skating Union chief Ottavio Cinquanta on Saturday, the same day the International Olympic Committee's evaluation commission concluded its five-day inspection evaluating Beijing's bid for the 2022 Games. Cinquanta is also a member of the International Olympic Committee.