Short-track speed skating, China has these strong enemies

Source: Global Times

[Global Times reporter Xu Yunfeng Kim Hye-jin] Seoul Eastern District Court rejected the lawsuit application of South Korean short track speed skater Shen Xixi to suspend the suspension of the competition on the 18th, and the Beijing Winter Olympics road of the two-time Winter Olympics women's 3000m relay champion in Sochi and Pingchang was completely blocked, which also affected the competition pattern of the women's short track speed skating event at the Beijing Winter Olympics to a certain extent. The Chinese short-track speed skating team that locked up the full quota in advance recently announced the list of participants in the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Russian Satellite News Agency said that Russia has ice hockey, Norway has skiing, and China has short-track speed skating - China has won 10 gold, 15 silver and 8 bronze in the previous Winter Olympics with this project. Even so, the Chinese team still cannot ignore many strong opponents at the Beijing Winter Olympics, among which the overall strength of South Korea is still strong, and the Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, Canada, Russia and the United States have risen rapidly, each holding a number of gold points.

South Korea: Target 1 to 2 gold medals

Shen Xixi, who was exposed to insulting coaches and teammates, "shattered" the Beijing Winter Olympics in advance, making the Korean media worry that "South Korea's short track speed skating male and female ace players Lin Xiaojun and Shen Xixi are absent from this Winter Olympics, and the prospects of the South Korean team have become arduous." South Korean website "Nocutnews" said on the 19th that the Chinese team, the largest opponent of the South Korean short track speed skating team, is expected to rely on the host advantage at the Winter Olympics to create favorable conditions for its own competitors to the greatest extent. Some South Korean insiders even reminded: "At the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 4 years ago, the Chinese team was compared by the South Korean team and said '2022 Beijing wait and see'." ”

But it is worth mentioning that before Wu Dajing won the gold medal at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the Chinese team was found guilty of fouls 8 times, and the host South Korea only 2 times. "Nocutnews" said that the South Korean short track speed skating team also has famous players such as Hwang Dae-hyun and Choi Min-jing, especially the latter is regarded as the world's first among women's middle and long distance short track speed skaters, so she is expected to win the championship again in Beijing.

South Korea's "News1" news network said on the 18th that the Korean Ice Federation will decide the list of players participating in the Winter Olympics on the 20th. At the national team selection tournament held in May last year, Shen Xixi, Cui Minjing and Jin Zhiyou (sound) qualified for the women's short track speed skating individual and team events at the Beijing Winter Olympics, while Li Youbin and Jin Yalang, who finished fourth and fifth, qualified for the team competition, and the other players will be replaced according to their results.

In addition, at the short track speed skating World Cup last November, Kim Ji-yu accidentally fractured his bones. Although she is still preparing for the game as usual, there are voices of concern that she will not be able to win a medal due to injury. According to reports, the South Korean short track speed skating team aims to win 1 or 2 gold medals (Pyeongchang 3) at the Winter Olympics, and whether the South Korean short track speed skating team, which is currently in crisis as a whole, can "turn the crisis into an opportunity" at the Beijing Winter Olympics has attracted attention.

Netherlands Italy: The women's team is strong

Among the strong teams in Europe and the United States, the Netherlands, Italy and the United States are known for their strength in women's teams. According to the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) sports channel, the number of countries that have the strength to compete for short-track speed skating medals at the Beijing Winter Olympics is relatively large, and the short-track speed skating World Cup that ended not long ago is the best indicator to determine the ownership of winter Olympic medals. The six individual events of the Winter Olympics (men's and women's 500 meters, 1000 meters and 1500 meters) have six players from six different countries in the overall world cup standings this season.

The best performer was Dutch women's Schultin, who is the short track speed skater who has ranked in the top four in all three individual events this season. At the World Cup in Hungary last November, Schulting won the women's single gold medal again after the 2021 World Championships, "Schulting may be the netherlands winning the most medals at the Beijing Winter Olympics". In this season's World Cup, Shultin helped the Dutch women's 3000m relay team win three consecutive races, and the Beijing championship was spent on the Chinese women's team. In addition, the Netherlands and China also won the Beijing Winter Olympics short track speed skating tickets, and won 3 qualifications in each single event.

Italian veteran Fontana, 31, is also a top skater in short track speed skating and has played steadily this season. She currently holds the record for eight medals in short track speed skating at the Winter Olympics and finished second in the women's 500m world cup race this season. According to the Olympic official website, Fang Tana, the women's 500m champion of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, will become the most successful athlete in the history of short track speed skating at the Winter Olympics if she can win another medal in Beijing. The U.S. women's team is dominated by Kristen Santos, who has been on the individual podium of the World Cup three times this season, rekindling the hopes of winning the women's short track speed skating medal for the first time since the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Hungary canada: Men's team played the world

Hungary and Canada play mainly on men's teams. On the 18th, the official website of the Canadian Olympic Committee announced the list of short-track speed skating teams participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the entry criteria were last autumn's short-track speed skating World Cup results. It is reported that Canada won a total of 9 gold, 12 silver and 12 bronze in the short track speed skating event of the Winter Olympics, second only to South Korea and China in the winter Olympic medal table of the project. "The defending champion of the men's 500 meters and the world record holder is the host Wu Dajing, but The Hungarian Liu Shaolin surpassed Wu Dajing in the single table of the World Cup this season, and the former also led the Hungarian men's 5,000 meters relay team to win the championship at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, winning the first gold in the history of the Winter Olympics for Hungary." ”

Canada's men's long-distance dion has made several consecutive World Cup podiums this season and topped the 1000m standings. In terms of relay, the men's team led by Hamelin has won the relay championships of this season's World Cup in Japan and Hungary, and the Canadian women's team with Butin and Sarout has won two consecutive second places.

The Russian team currently lacks world-class players, but they are quite competitive in the mixed 2,000-meter relay, which is a challenge for the Chinese team aiming to win the gold medal in this new event at the Winter Olympics. The Chinese team won 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze in the mixed 2000m relay event of the four World Cups this season, ranking first among the teams, and the only silver medal was overtaken by the Russian team in the final of the Japanese leg, which saw the latter win the championship.