Ling Zhi had been waiting for this day for a long time. When he learned that he was selected for the Beijing Winter Olympics squad, he was selected for the national curling training team 5 years ago.
"Participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics and winning glory for the country at my doorstep has always been my dream. I worked hard for this moment for a long time. Ling Zhi said.
In the first round of the mixed doubles match at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Ling Zhi/Fan Suyuan faced the Swiss duo of Perey/Rios, the runner-up of the last Winter Olympics and the second place in the world. Rios is 40 years old and Perret is 30 years old, the two players are experienced in the World Series, and for the young Fan Suyuan/Ling Zhi, this game needs to be lightly packed and fight against the opponent.
Ling Zhi (left) in the game
Like most curlers, Ling Zhi competed in a four-a-side competition at the beginning of curling training and participated in the Mixed Fours World Championships in 2017. After the mixed doubles event debuted at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Ling Zhi began to work the road of mixed doubles. Entering the Beijing cycle, the curling national team adopted a number of training teams in the training strategy, along with the actual combat results of domestic and foreign competitions, the training team personnel updated and adjusted more frequently. Ling Zhi and his partner are relatively stable, and participated in the 2021 Mixed Doubles World Championships, although the record is average, but they have accumulated experience in the competition.
Ling Zhi was more partnered with Yang Ying before, but in the domestic selection competition before the Beijing Winter Olympics, Fan Suyuan stood out because of his overall better performance and teamed up with Ling Zhi to compete in mixed doubles. Both are participating in the Winter Olympics for the first time. For the new partner, Ling Zhi is full of trust, "the mixed doubles project is to cooperate with each other to make up for each other, I will support the female partner tactically and mentally, and use my ice sweep to improve her success rate; I believe that she will also give buffer adjustments in time when I am more impulsive and irrational." I'm sure the two of us will be 1+1 greater than 2 on the field. ”
In the past two years, due to the epidemic, international events have been cancelled or postponed, and Chinese athletes have focused on training, with special emphasis on physical training and refined training, and have achieved remarkable results. Ling Zhi is very eager to play, "In the past two years, I have practiced more fiercely than all the time before, and I want to play in the Beijing Winter Olympics. ”