Curlers praise Beijing's 'brilliant' preparations

Scottish curler Gregor Ewan is confident China is ready to stage a safe and successful Winter Paralympics after being impressed by what he has witnessed in the Chinese capital in recent days.

Ewan is in Beijing to compete at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship, and after experiencing the facilities, services and pandemic prevention measures heaped praise on the host's preparations.

"As I've seen in China, the people of Beijing over the last couple of days have been wearing masks, cleaning and conducting sanitation work. They have done an extremely brilliant job and if this is what they are bringing to the worlds, I can't wait to see what they bring to the Paralympics to make it go ahead," Ewan said.

Ewan won mixed doubles bronze at the 2014 Sochi Paralympics for Britain, and the 50-year-old is raring to go for glory again next March in Beijing.

"For me, it's a great privilege to be able to represent my country at these Games," he said.

Adding a tough victory over Canada on Monday to its sheet, Scotland temporarily climbed to the top of the standings after winning three out of the last four games.

"It's been a hard couple of days, but my team played really well. The ice is so good here," Ewan said of the competition area at the 'Ice Cube', the venue converted from the National Aquatics Center.

Canadian curler Ina Forrest has also been highly impressed by everything she has seen during the Beijing 2022 test event this week, especially the efficient transportation services.

"We're just amazed by how the buses coordinate to make it, so we make it on time," said Forrest. "So we have all the confidence that going into Paralympics, there is such great support for us.

"I expect that there will be the same support for us next year again to help us get as ready as we can be and have a comfortable and successful competition here."

Xinhua