China's speedsters back in the fast lane

This week's Beijing World Cup leg a key test of squad's Olympic medal hopes

After missing out on international competition for two years due to the pandemic, China's top short-track speed skaters are keen to make a strong return to the global stage at a World Cup meet in Beijing this week.

With all the qualification spots for Beijing 2022 to be decided during the four-stop World Cup series, this week's opening leg will act as an important gauge of the host's Olympic medal ambitions against their main rivals from South Korea, the Netherlands and Canada.

After a long period of training and five rounds of domestic trials behind closed doors, Team China has selected a 12-strong squad－six men and six women－for the Cup event, which will be held at downtown Beijing's Capital Indoor Stadium, the official competition venue for the sport at next year's Olympics.

Despite the lack of international tests, the team is drawing confidence from a tough training program that has significantly improved all the skaters' skills, physical conditioning and mental resilience, according to manager Yu Haiyan.

"Two years without an international race, we kind of fell behind the world a little bit but we have faith in the work we put in during our preparations," Yu said last week during the team's mobilization meeting for the forthcoming Olympic season.

"After a tough physical training program in the summer, followed by five domestic meets over the course of 85 days, we are confident that the World Cup roster unveiled today represents our country's highest level in the sport and they are capable of competing against the world's best," she added.

As one of the world's powerhouses in the sport, the Chinese short-track team has amassed 10 Olympic gold medals out of its total of 13 across all sports since the country's Winter Games debut in 1980.

The goal for the World Cup series is to earn the maximum of 10 Olympic qualification spots－five each for men and women across eight events, plus the newly added mixed team relay.

"The rest of the world didn't slow down or rest during the past two pandemic-affected seasons and neither did we," said Yu. "We've improved our level so we will not be afraid of anyone when we step on the ice again."

Following the Beijing stop at the Olympic rink, the World Cup season will move on to Nagoya, Japan (Oct 28-31) before the action heads to Europe－first in Debrecen, Hungary (Nov 18-21) and then concluding in Dordrecht, the Netherlands (Nov 25-28).

Facing the all-conquering South Korean skaters, as well as stiff competition from Europe, Team China will rely on defending Olympic men's 500m champion Wu Dajing, rising star Ren Ziwei, women's veteran Fan Kexin and 2016 junior world champion Qu Chunyu to set the country back on the winning track in the buildup to Beijing 2022.

Korean expertise

Wearing China's national flag on their chests, three former members of the South Korean team－coach Kim Sun-tae, retired legend Viktor Ahn Hyun-soo and Olympic champion Lim Hyo-jun - were the focus of intense media attention at Saturday's mobilization meeting.

Credited as the mastermind behind the host's six-medal haul (three golds) at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Kim switched sides to take the helm for China in June 2019 after accepting an invitation from his friend, retired Chinese skater Wang Meng.

In August this year, Kim was joined by Ahn, after the sport's most decorated skater (six Olympic titles) was lured by a reported annual salary of 3 million yuan ($468,000) to work as an assistant coach.

Lim, the reigning 1,500m Olympic champion, made global headlines after South Korea's Yonhap news agency revealed in March that the 24-year-old had completed a naturalization process in order to represent China at Beijing 2022. Lim's career was almost ruined by allegations of sexual harassment in his native country in 2019. South Korea's Supreme Court ultimately cleared him of the charge.

South Korea media has reported that Lim has not been cleared by the ISU to compete for China, and on Saturday the national squad had no update on the situation.

According to International Olympic Committee rules, three years must have passed from the athlete's last international competition before he or she can represent a new country following naturalization.

Lim last represented South Korea at the ISU world championships on March 10, 2019, meaning he could compete for China after March 10,2022. The Beijing Winter Olympics take place from Feb 4-20.

With or without Lim, the Chinese squad will be a force to be reckoned with at Beijing 2022, said Yu.

"They've made a big difference to our team. I think the performances of our skaters at the World Cup event will prove it," Yu said of the Korean guidance.

Ni Huizhong, director of the National Winter Sports Administrative Center, stressed that the short-track team's performance at the beginning of the season can set the tone for the host's golden ambitions at the Olympics.

"As our sharpest blade on the ice, the short-track squad's results will have a major say in the overall success of the Chinese delegation at next year's home Games," Ni said.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn