Beijing, February 12 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese women's ice hockey team at the Beijing Winter Olympics won two wins and two losses in four group games, and finally regrettably missed the quarterfinals with a slight disadvantage, Andi's Chinese women's ice coach Brian Idarski recently accepted an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency, he was satisfied with the performance of the whole team, hoping that The Chinese women's ice team could continue to move forward in the future, and also hoped that more Chinese young people would be encouraged to participate in the Winter Olympics after the Winter Olympics.
Brian Idarski.
"Sorry not to be in the quarterfinals"
In the group stage, the Chinese women's ice team played against the Czech Republic, Denmark, Japan and Sweden in turn, and defeated Denmark and Japan. Idarski said: "As a team ranked 20th in the world, the Chinese team has played against the top nine teams in the world, and they have fought hard in every game, and they have done their best for the country and their families. ”
Chinese women's ice in this Winter Olympic Games there are many highlight moments against strong teams, including facing the world's sixth-ranked Japanese team, Chinese women's ice showed extremely tenacious fighting spirit, the last quarter equalizer, "penalty" decisive victory, such performance has also been praised by many viewers, fans. In response, Idarski said that the focus of every game should be on racing against the clock to grab every ball, regardless of the opponent's world ranking.
On February 6, in the women's hockey group stage, China defeated Japan 2-1. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ga
Talking about the performance of the Chinese women's ice team in the four games of the Winter Olympics, Idarski said: "I am satisfied with the efforts of the Chinese team, I am satisfied with the level we have shown, I think in every game we have worked hard to create opportunities to win, played very positively, and hope that the Chinese women's ice team can continue to move forward in the future." ”
While satisfied with his overall performance, Idarski regrets not being able to reach the quarterfinals. He said: "We always have to work hard for better results and strive to be perfect. I think we've worked very hard and worked very hard, and we actually have the opportunity to win every game and show that we're tenacious. It's just a pity that we didn't make it to the quarterfinals, but we still made significant progress for Chinese hockey. ”
"College hockey is a great mode"
The first time he played in the Winter Olympics as the team's head coach, Idarski said that he had achieved his goal: "The Winter Olympics is the top event in women's ice hockey, and the opportunity to participate in the Winter Olympics for many years has been my goal, and I am very fortunate to be involved in it. ”
Some of the players in this team have been training with Idarski for more than two years, and he is impressed by the quality of the players: "I trust the players' ability to cope with difficult situations, we can focus on the challenge and then be ready to fight a hard battle. ”
China's Miller (top right) competes with Sweden in the women's hockey group stage on Feb. 7. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Meng Yongmin
Idarski has coached american university hockey for more than a decade and is familiar with the operation and development of ice hockey in American universities. He believes that there are some differences in the growth process of Chinese and American athletes, "the biggest difference lies in the structure of player growth and the environment of training and competition." For the growth of players, I believe college hockey is a great model."
Many players on this Chinese team have played hockey at American universities, "No matter what kind of hockey background, every player will bring something positive to the team." Because more than half of the players have a college hockey background, most of them have played in games before, and they can get some confidence from these experiences."
Most of the players in Chinese women's ice are "Generation Z". Idarski said: "A lot of players of this age are developmental players in other countries. We are going to get more young players to improve and prepare for the World Championships and the Winter Olympics. ”
Future development depends on the improvement of youth levels
"After the Winter Olympics, I will have a few days to summarize and reflect on the experience of the entire Winter Olympics. Then I will go back to the Shenzhen Vanke Sunshine Ice Hockey Team and lead this team to compete for the championship in the Russian Women's Ice Hockey League. There are still a few months left this season and playoffs to follow. ”
On February 6, Chinese player Hu Baozhen (bottom) scored a goal against Japan. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ga
In this Winter Olympics, the Chinese women's ice team tenaciously defeated the Japanese team. As the world's top team, Japan still has a huge advantage against other opponents in Asia.
How can we catch up with the world's strongest teams like Japan? "In my opinion, we first need a four-year plan to prepare for the 2026 Italian Winter Olympics and to ensure its implementation through continuous management (mechanisms)," Idarski said. ”
Idarsky believes that the development of Ice Hockey in China is inseparable from the promotion and popularization, he said: "In general, the development of Ice Hockey in China needs to rely on the improvement of youth level and the increase in the number of participants. I hope that after hosting the Winter Olympics, young Chinese people will be encouraged to pursue the opportunity to participate in the Winter Olympics. ”
Written by: Zhao Jiantong, Lin Deren, Ma Kai
Participating reporters: Liu Jinhui, Zhao Xu, Hu Jiali
Editors: Liu Yang, Huang Xuguo, Zhou Xin, Duan Yutong (Intern)