(Beijing Winter Olympics) What did Chinese women's ice skaters wait for in 12 years?
Beijing, February 9 (Wang Hao) On the evening of the 8th, the final whistle sounded at the Wukesong Sports Center determined the fate of the three teams. In the final group game of women's ice hockey group B at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Sweden defeated Denmark 3:1 and advanced to the quarterfinals. And this also means that the Chinese team will bid farewell to the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The reunion of the Chinese women's ice and the Winter Olympics after 12 years has unfortunately not achieved a good result.
At the Vancouver Winter Olympics 12 years ago, the Chinese team set the goal of "playing one or two good balls", sounding like putting its position very low. In the end, they did play a good game or two in Vancouver, ranking seventh in all the teams.
Since then, Chinese women's ice has fallen into a trough, missing two consecutive Winter Olympics in Sochi and Pyeongchang. "The moment I stepped on the ice rink, I felt like I wanted to cry." This is the voice of Chinese team captain Yu Baiwei's return to the Winter Olympics, and the 12-year wait has borne fruit in February.
The first defeat was to the Czech Republic, the second was against Denmark, the third was a weak victory over Japan, and the last was unexpectedly lost to Sweden. In the end, the Chinese team failed to enter the top three of the group with a one-point difference, and the Winter Olympic journey stopped here.
Four games, two wins, seven goals, five points, that's the reward of 12 years of waiting. And other than that, they probably waited for something else.
On February 6, the Chinese players celebrated the victory. On the same day, in the women's ice hockey group stage of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics held at the Wukesong Sports Center, the Chinese team defeated the Japanese team 2-1. Photo by Mao Jianjun, reporter of China News Service
On the night that China defeated Japan through a penalty reversal, thousands of miles away in India, in the final of the Women's Asian Cup, the Chinese women's football team scored three goals in a row after falling behind by two goals, defeating the South Korean women's football team and winning the championship.
When competitive sports are carried out to such a degree, the result and strength seem to be not the most concerned about people, and the figures that fight on the field themselves are where the eyes of the audience converge.
After the game, many people put the two games together and praised it. The Chinese women's football team, which was once the world's strongest team, is now less concerned than before, and the performance of the competition has become the most important channel for the outside world to understand them, and the Chinese women's ice team is even more so.
After defeating the Japanese team, Yu Baiwei said that the last time he won Japan did not know when it was, now people know that the last time he won Japan was at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
China's head coach, Idarsky, is usually frank in interviews, saying after the group stage of the Chinese team that no one would have thought before the game that the Chinese team, ranked 20th in the world, would play like this with these teams that are much higher than their own rankings.
The Chinese team lost to Sweden in the last game, which is probably something that many people did not expect, especially if they scored one goal first. After being equalized, even the players had a brief flurry during the game, so much so that they quickly conceded a second goal.
It's the price of youth, making consecutive mistakes because of lack of big-game experience. But the next time these young girls stand on the big game, they will remember this lesson and will learn how to avoid the same mistakes with all their might.
On February 7, in the women's ice hockey group stage of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics held at the Wukesong Sports Center, China (red) lost to Sweden (huang). The picture shows the scene of the competition. Photo by China News Service reporter Li Jun
The chinese team's match against sweden was already late at night, but the audience of Wukesong was very enthusiastic, and when the Chinese team was behind, several young men on the scene took the lead in cheering for the Chinese team.
Even if there are still not many people who pay attention to Chinese women's ice after the Beijing Winter Olympics, at least the audience at the scene remembers that they have shouted for them, and some people remember that in this winter in Beijing, there are a group of girls who have not given up in front of powerful opponents. (End)