SPORTS> Team China
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SPORTS> Team China
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Now you ski me, now you don't
By Lei Lei (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-27 10:05 HARBIN, Heilongjiang province: China's skiers continued battling for survival and some precious international exposure at the Winter Universiade yesterday after years of getting accustomed to living in the long shadow cast by the country's speed and figure skaters.
Faced with a dearth of training venues and scant opportunities to hone their skills, the skiers' inexperience leapt to the fore at testing events like the biathlon, ski jumping and Alpine skiing this week while the freestylers shone.
"Cross-country and ski jumping are among the most popular winter events in Europe but in China we only have a few professional athletes," said Gao Xuedong, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Skiing Association. "If we want better results at world-class competitions, we need better training facilities and more people out there competing." At the Universiade, which wraps up on Saturday, China's skiers confounded expectations by striking oil at the freestyle skiing aerials, where they showed off their developed jumping skills by sweeping all the medals available. Yet the Chinese were unable to win any of the more traditional skiing events. The country's sole silver came from biathlete Liu Yuanyuan in the women's 10km pursuit, while Li Zhenhuan coughed up a bronze at the women's K90m final. "Our women's ski jumping team was only set up last May as it is not an Olympic event," said Gao. "There are only five women in the team. We hope ski jumping can get listed for the 2014 Sochi Games, so we are preparing for that (eventuality)." China's men's team was instated during the 1980s but they have struggled to make an impression over the last three decades. On their Winter Olympic debut in 2006, the team finished near the bottom of the ranking table. Gao said European athletes have a natural advantage because they can train year-round on slopes, hills and plastic platforms. "China only has one resort with a professional ski jumping platform, and this was custom-built for this Universiade," he said. "In the summer months, our athletes just have to work on their conditioning. Due to the winds, they only really get a month on the jumping slopes in winter." As the sport is not listed as being a part of China's National Games, it remains unpopular and in some cases unheard of. Only one Chinese province currently boasts a team, with several of its 10 men and five women gunning for Olympic contention by blowing several qualifying hurdles out of the way. "Our athletes will compete in the Continental Cup next month and try to finish inside the top 30," said Gao. "That will qualify them for the World Cup series to get closer to the Olympics." The same challenges now face the cross-country and biathlon teams. The latter combines shooting with demanding flat plain and slope skiing. "Although more and more ski resorts are setting up in China in recent years, most of them only have Alpine courses for amateurs," said Gao. "For serious cross-country skiers (of which there are less than 100 here), we only have three training venues."
Despite having had half a century to get to grips with the sport, China's cross-country skiers have only got as far as Wang Chunli's 18th-place finish at Turin 2006 on the Olympic stage "We invited a foreign coach to help us prepare for the Turin Games and he worked wonders on our athletes' technique," said Gao. "But we still have mountains to climb before we're competing at a top level." Gao said several skiers were capable of booking a berth at next February's Vancouver Games, but that getting noticed would be more of a challenge. This has not escaped the attention of the sport's governing body in China, which has bumped up investment over the years in a bid to spur change. "China is changing from a big country that plays sport to a powerful sporting nation," continued Gao. "This shows how many sports events are gaining in popularity here, but in some cases we need to go back to square one and get things perfect from the get-go." Accelerating gold run Meanwhile, China's women speed skaters continued to carve up their opposition on the ice rink yesterday, with the hosts winning the team event for China's 16th gold medal of the Universiade. South Korea and the Netherlands finished second and third, while Poland won the men's event followed by Korea and Russia. With two days to go, China is still towering at the head of the overall and gold-medal tables with 16 gold, 17 silver and 12 bronze medals. Russia trails by two gold. In other events, China's men's curling team posted a 9-5 victory over South Korea to claim bronze as the hosts enjoyed their best results in the sport to date. China and Canada breezed into the women's final after defeating Russia and Britain respectively. The final will be held today. |
