In addition to competing for gold and silver at the Beijing Winter Olympics, pursuing higher, faster and stronger, many originally weak or unpopular projects are also expected to make breakthroughs, and they are also worthy of attention and applause.
As the host, the Chinese delegation basically completed the full event at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Among them, Nordic biathlon and men's ice hockey are the first time that Chinese athletes have appeared on the field of the Winter Olympic Games. Cross-country skiing and alpine skiing are also very difficult to really participate in all the small events.
The steel frame snowmobile, women's ice hockey, and snowboard men's events are expected to achieve a breakthrough of zero medals at the Winter Olympics.
Steel frame snowmobile
To be able to stand on the podium is to win
On November 26 last year, at the Steel Frame Bobsleigh World Cup held in Innsbruck, Austria, China's Geng Wenqiang won the men's singles competition with a total time of 1:46.04, winning China's first World Cup gold medal in the steel frame bobsleigh event.
In the steel frame snowmobile project, China has only started after successfully bidding for the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2015. In Pyeongchang in 2018, Geng Wenqiang was one of the first Chinese steel frame snowmobilers to participate in the Winter Olympics, finishing 13th with a total time of 3:24.65.
Although Geng Wenqiang is the only player to win the world championship in the steel frame bobsleigh event for China, he did not appear in the List of Chinese Steel Frame Skiers at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
From January 21st to 22nd, the Chinese steel frame bobsleigh training team held an intra-team Olympic selection competition at the National Bobsleigh Center. The selection competition is held in four rounds, and the final results are calculated according to the total score and the starting result, and the top two athletes are qualified for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The final representatives of China in the men's steel frame bobsleigh competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics were Yin Zheng and Yan Wengang.
Among them, Yin Zheng won the first place in the Olympic team selection competition, and also created the fastest record on the national bobsleigh center track and the official competition venue of the Winter Olympics. He will undoubtedly shoulder the heavy responsibility of The Chinese athletes' breakthrough of zero medals in this Winter Olympic event.
The 26-year-old Yin Zheng has played steadily on the international stage this season, and although he has not been able to win gold in the World Cup like Geng Wenqiang, he has won five first prizes and one third place in six matches of the two European Championships and one Intercontinental Cup.
Like other Chinese steel-frame snowmobiles, Yin Zheng, a sprinter by birth, is also crossing the discipline to winter sports. In 2017, Yin Zheng, who was still studying at Beijing Sport University, transferred to the steel frame snowmobile and was subsequently successfully selected for the national training team. Good explosiveness and strong starting ability of the sled are Yin Zheng's biggest advantages, especially his departure has reached a world-class level.
Of course, compared with the world's top players, Yin Zheng still has a big gap, such as gliding speed and competition experience. Therefore, if Yin Zheng can take advantage of the home field at the Beijing Winter Olympics to bring the Chinese delegation the medal of the first steel frame snowmobile in the history of the Winter Olympics, it will be a breakthrough and a success.
"My goal is to stand on the Olympic podium and play the national anthem." Yin Zheng said that the Winter Olympics gave him the opportunity to change his life, and he also hoped to rewrite the history of the Chinese Winter Olympics through his own efforts.
Competition Time:
First/Second Round February 10, 09:30
Round 3/Round 4 February 11 at 20:20
Women's ice hockey
Surpass the best ranking in the history of the Winter Olympics
Once upon a time, the Chinese women's ice hockey team was also a world powerhouse, not only dominating the Asian arena for many years, but also finishing fourth at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. This is also the best result of the Chinese women's ice hockey team at the Winter Olympics.
Since then, due to the lack of success of the team, at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the Chinese team only won the 7th place (8 teams participated). In Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018, the Chinese team did not even qualify for the competition.
However, returning to the Winter Olympics after a gap of 12 years, the Chinese women's ice hockey team has a higher goal of "four to fight for three". They are also the second event at the Beijing Winter Olympics to feature Chinese athletes, ushering in the first group stage at noon on February 3.
In order to enhance competitiveness, in addition to hard work, the Chinese women's ice hockey team has also naturalized several Chinese players in Canada and the United States, the top ice hockey powers. For example, Wang Yuting was once the grand show of the Canadian Women's Ice Hockey League, and her No. 49 jersey was also inducted into the World Hockey Hall of Fame; goalkeeper Zhou Jiaying played in the United States and was once selected for the Canadian team's training team for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The addition of these masters has given the Chinese women's ice hockey team the possibility of winning the bronze medal, the best result in the history of the Winter Olympics.
The Chinese women's national ice hockey training team also participated in the 2021-2022 Russian Ice Hockey League in the name of the club. In the 22 rounds of the league, the Chinese team has a record of 15 wins and 7 losses, ranking fourth in the league with 44 points, and the top three clubs include many Players from the Russian national team.
Such a high-level league has enhanced the practical ability of the Chinese women's ice hockey team. After months of continuous running-in, under the leadership of head coach Brian Idalski, the team has gradually developed a tactical system and style of defensive counterattack.
The Chinese women's ice hockey team is also difficult to achieve its goals. You have to get to the top three in Group B to reach the top eight. The group stage rivals are Japan, ranked sixth in the world, and three European powerhouses, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Sweden.
Although both the Czech Republic and Denmark are participating in women's ice hockey at the Winter Olympics for the first time, their world rankings are not low, with the Czech Republic in 7th place and Denmark in 11th place. The Chinese women's ice hockey team is ranked 16th in the world.
As for the Chinese men's ice hockey team participating in the Winter Olympics for the first time, although there are also high-level naturalized chinese players from the United States and Canada, the overall strength is still unable to compete with the three strong teams in the same group - the top seed Canada, the 6th seeded American team and the 7th seedEd German team. If you can score a goal or even take a point, it will be a historic breakthrough for the Chinese men's ice hockey team.
China vs Czech Republic February 3, 12:10
China vs Denmark February 4 at 12:10
China vs Japan February 6 at 4:40 PM
China vs Sweden February 7, 21:10
Snowboard jump
The 18-year-old wants his dream to come true
From ski enthusiasts to Winter Olympic participants, from child stars in the film and television industry to big stars in the ice and snow world, 18-year-old world champion Su Yiming shouldered the heavy responsibility of the Chinese delegation to the podium in the men's snowboard event.
Influenced by her parents, Su Yiming has been obsessed with skiing from a very young age and has shown excellent talent in this area. Because of this talent, Su Yiming entered the public's field of vision for the first time as a child star. In 2014, he played a ski master teenager "Little Plug" in the film "Wise Tiger Mountain" directed by Xu Ke, which left a deep impression.
Although she has since participated in several film and television dramas, Su Yiming's dream has always been to represent China at the Beijing Winter Olympics. His skiing level also received attention from the Chinese snowboard training team and entered the national team in 2018.
At the age of 15, he participated in the World Cup big jump for the first time, and Su Yiming almost entered the final. After two years of training, Su Yiming, whose level has improved rapidly, finally won the gold medal at the Snowboard Jumping World Cup in The United States Stembot station last December. In the qualifying round, Su Yiming ranked first with 93 points and advanced to the final of the World Cup for the first time. Su Yiming's performance in the final was equally stunning, with a total score of 155.25 points in two rounds. This is not only his first international champion, but also the first chinese men's snowboarding world champion.
In the training camp before this season, Su Yiming also completed the super difficult action of turning inside 1980 degrees to grab the board, which also made him fully among the champions of the big jump event. However, the snowboard jumping platform of the Winter Olympics is also a fiercely competitive and accidental event, although Su Yiming has a high difficulty reserve, but if he wants to win the championship at home, he still needs "good time and place".
Like Yin Zheng of the steel-framed snowmobile, Su Yiming can fight for the gold medal, which is gratifying, but as long as he can rank among the top three, it is a major breakthrough in China's snow sports.
Qualifiers 14 February 13:30
Final February 15, 13:00