On February 11, 2023, Beijing time, the short track speed skating World Cup Dordrecht ended the first day of competition, the Chinese short track speed skating team broke out of the cold, in the mixed team relay 1/4 final, the Chinese team only finished third in the group, did not qualify for the semifinals. The mixed team relay was originally the championship event of the Chinese team, but it encountered a round of swimming, which was surprising, and Lin Xiaocheng shook his head helplessly after the race.
Dordrecht is the finale of the short track speed skating World Cup this season, and China still fielded the strongest squad at this stage, but the South Korean team is missing two aces, Cui Minjing and Li Junrui, which is definitely good news for the Chinese team, and our hopes of competing for the mixed relay title have greatly increased. Surprisingly, the project was a succession of upset, with China finishing third in the second group and South Korea finishing third in the third group, both missing the semifinals.
The Chinese team sent Wang Xinran, Xu Aili, Liu Guanyi and Lin Xiaocheng, and the same group of opponents included Hungary, Japan and Germany, as long as the normal performance, the Chinese team should easily advance to the semifinals. In the game, the Chinese team maintained the lead in the first half, but made a mistake in the second half and fell to last place. In the sprint stage, Lin Xiaocheng chased madly, but still fell short, and the Chinese team only finished third in the group and missed the semifinals.
The double champion Lin Xiaocheng in the last stop is still in good form, and his performance in the final moments is already excellent, but the Chinese team has been far behind before, Lin Xiaocheng failed to achieve the comeback, he shook his head helplessly after crossing the finish line, it can be said that the Chinese team missed the opportunity to win the championship. For Zhang Jing's formation, many people questioned that she was too bold, but Zhang Jing, as the head coach, should know the physical condition of the players best, perhaps the Chinese team is a little underestimated, it is worth summarizing.
Although the Chinese team was out early in the mixed team relay event, the other events performed well. In the men's 5000m relay 1/4 final, Zhong Yuchen, Li Wenlong, Song Jiahua and Liu Guanyi of China teamed up to reach the semifinals as the first in the group, and the semifinals included Kazakhstan, Canada and Italy. In the women's 3000m relay 1/4 final, Zang Yize, Gong Li, Wang Xinran and Xu Aili of the Chinese team teamed up to also advance to the semifinals as the first in the group, and the semifinals will compete with the Netherlands, Japan and Hungary.
In the women's individual event, Zhang Chutong and Wang Ye easily advanced to the first preliminary round of the women's 1000m, and Wang Xinran entered the repechage. Gong Li and Zang Yize finished first in the group and second in the women's 1500m 1/4 final, respectively, and Xu Aili entered the repechage. In the women's 500m heats, Wang Xinran and Wang Ye successfully advanced, and Xu Aili entered the repechage. In the second preliminary round of the women's 1000m, Zhang Chutong, Zang Yize and Gong Li joined hands to advance.
In the men's individual event, Li Kongchao fouled out in the first competition of the men's 1000m, and Zhong Yuchen and Lin Xiaocheng successfully advanced in the preliminary round. Li Wenlong and Song Jiahua successfully advanced to the men's 1500m 1/4 final, and Liu Guanyi fouled out. In the men's 500m race, Zhong Yuchen, Lin Xiaocheng and Li Kongchao joined hands to advance. In the second competition of the men's 1000m, Song Jiahua successfully advanced to the 1/4 final, and Liu Guanyi and Li Wenlong were all fouled out.
It should be said that Lin Xiaocheng is in very good condition, and he hopes to continue to win the championship in this competition, and I wish the Chinese short track speed skating team good luck next!