Beijing, February 5 (Xinhua) -- Reasonable penalties, lineup adjustments, and number one heroes -- revealing the secret behind the Chinese short track team's first gold
Xinhua News Agency reporters Wang Jingyu, Wang Chunyan and Huang Xinxin
The wonderful performance of the Chinese short track speed skating team in the mixed team relay competition on the evening of the 5th was amazing. However, why did the Chinese team make a mistake in handing over the baton in the semi-finals to enter the final? Why does Kim Sun-tae make consecutive adjustments to the lineup? What is the key to the victory of the Chinese team?
On February 5, Fan Kexin (part 2) of the Chinese team set off in the competition. On the same day, in the mixed team relay final of the short track speed skating event of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics held at the Capital Gymnasium, the Chinese team won the championship. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Yuguo
Is it reasonable for China to be judged to be in the final?
In the semi-finals of the day, Zhang Yuting and Ren Ziwei failed to succeed in handing over the baton, resulting in a fall behind, and as a result, the Chinese team failed to finish the previous two places and faced the fate of being eliminated. However, after a long review of the video, the referee on duty decided that the players of the Russian Olympic Committee team had committed a foul because they obstructed the handover of the baton to the Chinese team, and the Chinese team was able to advance to the final.
Chinese player Qu Chunyu (second from right) and teammate Zhang Yuting (third from left) compete in a match on Feb. 5. On the same day, the semi-final of the mixed team relay of the short track speed skating event of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics was held at the Capital Gymnasium. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ga
Sun Dandan, head coach of the Hong Kong short track speed skating team and silver medalist at the Nagano and Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, told reporters that the referee's decision was justified. In short-track speed skating, the player who handed over the bat should leave the track quickly after completing the bat, so as to avoid having two members of the team on the track at the same time, nor can it affect the gliding of other team members. The final judgment of the referee is based on this principle.
Some people believe that Zhang Yuting and Ren Ziwei of the Chinese team failed to complete the handover baton, and there were also fouls. However, Sun Dandan said that Zhang Yuting and Ren Ziwei did not have the subjective intention to foul, but failed to complete the handover because the handover line was blocked. Therefore, the Chinese team does not have the problem of fouls, and there is no problem of promotion.
Why did Kim Sun-tae adjust his lineup twice?
In the quarter-finals of the day, China coach Jin Shantai sent a squad of Fan Kexin, Qu Chunyu, Ren Ziwei and Wu Dajing. However, in the semi-finals, Zhang Yuting replaced Fan Kexin. In the final, Fan Kexin replaced Zhang Yuting. What is the purpose of Kim Sun-tae's continuous adjustments to the lineup?
China's Fan Kexin (front left) and teammate Wu Dajing (back left) compete in a match on Feb. 5. On the same day, the quarterfinals of the mixed team relay of the short track speed skating event of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics were held at the Capital Gymnasium. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Lei
Attentive viewers will find that Fan Kexin is not in particularly good form in the quarter-finals, and has been surpassed by his opponents. Therefore, Jin Shantai made decisive adjustments in the semi-finals and replaced Fan Kexin with Zhang Yuting. However, Zhang Yuting's performance in the semi-finals was not particularly reassuring. As a result, Kim Sun-tae changed back in the final.
Sun Dandan told reporters that from the overall strength point of view, the current Chinese women's team has declined compared with the peak period, so whether the women's two sticks can bite in the confrontation with the strong team is crucial to the performance of the Chinese team's mixed relay project. It can be said that winning also wins in women, and losing also loses in women.
Who is the number one contributor to the Chinese team to win the first gold?
The Chinese short track speed skating team was able to successfully help the Chinese sports delegation win the first gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the 5 players who have played in succession have played an important role and made great contributions, but the most critical figure of the day is Qu Chunyu.
As a veteran who has participated in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Qu Chunyu's performance in personal events in recent years has not been particularly prominent. In the 4 World Cup mixed team relay finals this season, Qu Chunyu did not get much opportunity to play. However, in the game on the evening of the 5th, Qu Chunyu played the most stable role among the female players on the Chinese team.
On February 5, China's Fan Kexin (top left) and teammate Qu Chunyu (top right) compete in a match. On the same day, in the mixed team relay final of the short track speed skating event of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics held at the Capital Gymnasium, the Chinese team won the championship. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Jianli
In the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the day, Qu Chunyu had a performance in narrowing the gap for the Chinese team when she was behind, so Kim Sun-tae's use of her did not waver in the slightest. In the most critical final, fan Kexin, the first stick of the Chinese team after the departure, fell to the third place, and Qu Chunyu successfully surpassed and rose to the second place after taking over the baton. Subsequently, when Qu Chunyu and Ren Ziwei handed over the baton, the Chinese team took the first place. In the end, the Chinese team successfully held the advantage and won the championship with the "one knife" advantage.
A senior industry insider once revealed in a chat with reporters before the game that in the mixed team relay competition, the handover of the second and third rods of the Chinese team is very important (for all teams), because the women's players push the men's players to suffer in strength. In addition, because Ren Ziwei's weight is relatively heavy, not as light as Han Tianyu of the original Chinese team, the Chinese team has a lot of trouble in the handover of the second and third sticks. Surprisingly, Qu Chunyu beautifully completed this most critical "push" in the most critical Winter Olympic final, and also successfully pushed himself and his teammates onto the highest podium of the Beijing Winter Olympics.