On February 16, at the National Cross-Country Skiing Center of the Ancient Poplar Tree Stadium Group in the Zhangjiakou Area of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the men's and women's team sprint competitions both came to an end, and the Chinese men's and women's teams achieved 11th place in the competition, surpassing the Chinese team's previous best ranking in the Winter Olympics event. Shang Jincai, a member of the Chinese men's team, said after the game that their group of athletes caught up with the good era of cross-country skiing in China, and believed that in the near future, there will be greater breakthroughs in performance.
In the women's semifinals, the Chinese team, composed of Chi Chunxue and Li Xin, finished fifth in their group with a time of 23:43.93. However, due to the time of 23 minutes 32.34 seconds in the other group of Poland in the semifinals, the Chinese team ultimately failed to enter the final and ranked 11th among all the participating teams. However, this has surpassed the Chinese team's previous best in the Winter Olympics event , the 13th place at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics , achieving a breakthrough.
In the men's semi-finals that followed, the Chinese team composed of Wang Qiang and Shang Jincai started in the second group of the semi-finals. Wang Qiang skated very well in the first 1.5 km after the start of the race, handing over the bat to his teammates as the first. Although Shang Jincai tried his best, the Chinese team fell to seventh place when handing over the bat. However, Wang Qiang once again showed super strength, and when his second 1.5 km was completed, he once again brought the Chinese team back to the first place. Subsequently, Shang Jincai's second 1.5 km finish fell to eighth. Wang Qiang's third 1.5km failed to erupt again, only raising the Chinese team by one place to finish seventh. Shang Jincai maintained this position and finished the race with a time of 20:12.40 in the group. This result was 4.88 seconds faster than the first place team in the first group of the semifinals, but because it was 0.98 seconds slower than the sixth place in the group, the Chinese team unfortunately failed to qualify as a "lucky loser" and finally ranked 11th, surpassing the Chinese team's previous best ranking in the Winter Olympics event.
"Wang Qiang is outstanding. Let's be a little sorry. Our group skated very fast, and it was a pity that we didn't make it to the final. After the game, Shang Jincai said, "My teammates are particularly capable, my personal sprint ability is not particularly strong, in the next training, I must work harder, because there is also the World Cup, including the next Olympic Games." China's cross-country skiing industry has made great progress, the impact of the young rookies behind us is very strong, and I believe that soon as our technology becomes more mature, our results will be further improved. ”
Shang Jincai said that in the four years of preparation for the Beijing Winter Olympics, the cross-country ski team has made great efforts, so at the moment of breakthrough, he feels that all the efforts are worth it. "The guarantees given to us by the state are unprecedented. Our equipment and equipment are in line with Europe and the United States, and there are some places where we have far surpassed them. "Through these and this competition, we have seen the strength of our own country and inspired us to work harder, the country has given us the opportunity, we have to seize it ourselves." ”
▲ On February 16, Li Xin, a player from the Chinese team, was in the game.
▲ On February 16, Shang Jincai, a player from the Chinese team, was in the game.
Source Client The Winter Olympics | Reporters Li Yuanfei, Chen Jiakun, and Deng Fangjia
Edited by Han Ye
Process Editor Liu Weili