International luge chief amazed at Chinese sliders' progress

BEIJING - International Luge Federation (FIL) president Einars Fogelis said on Thursday that Chinese luge sliders have made amazing progress from scratch with the possibility of achieving good results at the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics.

Fogelis, who was elected as FIL President last November, arrived in Beijing on Monday for the Luge World Cup scheduled to take place from Friday to next Sunday on the Yanqing track.

"I was surprised that you've really built a strong team, young with power. And I would say in our family we have one more strong nation," he told China's Winter Sports Management Center director Ni Huizhong in their meeting.

"I am sure your athletes will show fine results in the upcoming Olympic Games," he added.

Ni said he himself was also impressed by the progress the Chinese luge sliders have made.

"In 2015 when Beijing won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, very few people in China had any idea about luge," he told Fogelis.

"Now you should be delighted after seeing our sliders' performances after your arrival in Beijing," he said.

Fogelis also heaped praise on Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic organizers.

"We saw the excellent venue in Yanqing, and the excellent management," he said about the track which will be used for next year's winter Olympics.

"It's an amazing venue, it's very great and a nice present for our sport," he said.

"From the athletes' side, you provide all what's necessary for the athletes, for the training and for the officials in the highest level," the FIL chief said.

"It's a nice track, the ice is high quality. It's challenging and very interesting," he added.

FIL general secretary Dwight Bell echoed Fogelis' comments in the meeting with Ni.

"I have to say it is an amazing construction. Not only the construction, but also the quality of the construction," he said.

"You have the state of art facility now. You have committed tremendous resources to coaching and to development. It's impressive how fast you have developed a very competitive luge program," he told Ni. Enditem