The opening of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games is imminent, and on the afternoon of the 2nd, the Chinese and Italian Paralympic ice hockey teams held their first joint training at the National Gymnasium to make final preparations for the upcoming official competition.
CCTV reporter Zhou Peipei: This is the National Gymnasium, and from March 5, the competition in the "Paralympic Ice Hockey" event of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games will officially kick off here, and a gold medal will be produced here. Before the official match, the Paralympic ice hockey teams from China and Italy held their first joint training here.
As the forward players on both sides contended for the ball, the game officially began. Six players from each side played, using sleds instead of skates and using their clubs as paddles to glide hard. These ice warriors, in addition to freely controlling the high-speed sliding of the ice sled, also flexibly use the ice hockey club to complete tasks such as breaking the ball, scrambling, and scoring goals.
Andrea Macri, an Italian Paralympic ice hockey team player: We saw a good team and saw the results of a lot of training. I've been playing hockey for over 10 years and I'm excited to see my new team get to that level.
After the friendly match, the leader of the host Chinese team came to the door of the Italian team's locker room and gave the opponent a small gift symbolizing friendship.
Mirco Bianchi, assistant coach of the Italian Paralympic ice hockey team: It's a cup, it's really beautiful, everyone here is friendly. I am really happy to receive a gift from China on behalf of the team, and I would like to say thank you.
According to the schedule, the Chinese team will face Slovakia in the first match on March 5, the Czech Republic on the 6th, and the Italian team on the 8th.
Cui Yutao, captain of the Chinese Paralympic Ice Hockey Team: This is the biggest event in the world, I hope that my teammates and I will do our best, and then we can play our level in normal training, play every game, play our own style, play our level, and win glory for the country.