The Paper's reporter Ma Zuoyu
【Editor's Note】
On October 27, the Beijing Winter Olympics ushered in a 100-day countdown.
This is China's sincere invitation to the world, conveying the beautiful expectations of 1.4 billion Chinese people - riding on the torch of the Beijing Winter Olympics, connecting Chinese civilization and the world, and rekindling the passion and dream of the Olympic Movement.
At the same time, as a "city of two Olympic Games", the Beijing Winter Olympics uphold the olympic concept of "green, shared, open and clean", and Chinese athletes are also working hard to achieve a breakthrough in China's ice and snow sports at their doorstep.
On this occasion, The Paper launched the "100 Days of The Beijing Winter Olympics" column to help you get a panoramic bird's eye view of the Winter Olympics.
Chinese curling is poised.
In 100 days, the flame of the Beijing Winter Olympics will be lit.
In the past four years, China has hired foreign teachers in many winter events including figure skating, speed skating, ice hockey, curling, cross-country skiing, biathlon, freestyle skiing, Nordic biathlon and many other winter events, and in this coach's "international column", China curling head coach Peya Lindholm is one of the most shining foreign teachers.
As the famous coach who led Sweden to win the women's curling gold medal and the men's curling silver medal at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Lindholm helped Sweden win 31 medals in the World Series when he was the head coach of the Swedish curling team. Two years ago, the 51-year-old coach came to China with the aim of building a team of champions.
However, due to the adjustment of the squad and the change of personnel, there is still some gap between the strength of the Chinese male and female curling teams and the world's strongest teams, as Lindholm said, "I do feel the advantage of being the host, but there is also some pressure." I want athletes and teams to be ready for the Winter Olympics. ”
The Chinese men's team is at the bottom of the world championship rankings.
Playing at the World Championships before the Olympics, the men's team was in a bad state
The Chinese men's curling team was once a "quasi-strong team" in the world curling competition, and reached the top 4 in both the World Championships and the Winter Olympics. However, with the turnover of personnel and the continuous development of other curling powers in the world, the strong performance of Chinese men's curling has not lasted long.
In 2017, the Chinese men's team broke through in the Winter Olympics and missed the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. At the 2019 World Championships, the Chinese men's jug composed of Shao Zhilin, Wang Zhiyu, Ba Dexin and Zou Qiang won 2 wins and 10 losses in the round robin tournament, ranking 11th among 12 teams.
The 2021 Men's Curling World Championships in April this year is the qualification event for the Beijing Winter Olympics and the most important "training" before the Beijing Olympic Games. However, the performance of Chinese men's curling is not satisfactory.
The Chinese team sent a lineup of fourth baseman and captain Zou Qiang, third baseman Tian Jiafeng, second baseman Wang Zhiyu, first base Xu Jingtao, and substitute Han Peng. This lineup has represented China in most important international competitions since last season, although it stopped in the semi-finals of the Asia-Pacific Championships and did not have the opportunity to "pass through" the 2020 World Championships, but in the subsequent qualifying matches, the players still had the thrill of grabbing the next World Championship "ticket".
With 14 teams participating in the World Championships, China suffered five consecutive defeats in the first three matchdays, until the fourth matchday narrowly defeated Denmark 6-5, and then defeated South Korea.
Two wins can't hide the embarrassment of the overall record - for most of the round robin, China ranks "at the bottom", and after losing to the last opponent, Switzerland, the Chinese men's curling is 2 wins and 11 losses, the last place.
However, it is worth mentioning that in this military training, Chinese men's curling is not all without highlights.
Facing the last runner-up Team Canada and the "Nine Champions" Sweden Team, the Chinese men's curling team lost by a fraction of a centimeter, which also shows that the Chinese team is not without the ability to compete with the strong team.
However, in the last 100 days of the Beijing Winter Olympics, what the Chinese men's curling needs to do is to cultivate a more stable mentality and a more tacit team cooperation.
After all, as the host, the home advantage is the "time and place" of the Chinese team, but it will also add invisible pressure.
The women are still grinding into the squad and have beaten the world champion
Compared with the Chinese men's curling team, the strength and preparation of the Chinese women's curling team are better. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the Chinese national team won the bronze medal in women's curling in its debut.
Once upon a time, the Chinese women's curling team, represented by captain Wang Bingyu, has always been a regular on the podium of the World Series. After Wang Bingyu retired, the Chinese women's curling team, which alternated between old and new, remained strong, and at the 2019 Asia-Pacific Championships, Han Yu, Zhang Lijun, Jiang Xindi and Zhao Ruiyi joined hands to bring back the championship for the Chinese team after a five-year absence.
At the 2021 Women's Curling World Championships, the Chinese women's team sent first base Jiang Xindi, second base Zhang Lijun, third base Dong Ziqi, fourth base, captain Han Yu, and substitute Yanhui.
Although they worked together for the first time, they ranked tenth among the 14 teams at the World Championships with 6 wins and 7 losses, and did not qualify for the rematch, but the performance was also remarkable.
In the first five rounds of the game, the Chinese team played well, losing only one game, temporarily ranking third in the standings. Among them, facing the Swedish team led by Pyeongchang Winter Olympic champion and famous Haselberg, the Chinese team played steadily and accurately, sending the opponent the first defeat 7-5.
However, the lack of stability in the competition is also a problem exposed by the Chinese women's curling team - in the following rounds, the Chinese women's team has lost consecutively, and even lost to the German team, which only has three people to play due to the epidemic.
In the 19th round, facing the Asian rival South Korea, the Chinese team also lost 1-7 and lost the initiative to advance to the rematch.
Although the overall high and low walking failed to go further in the qualifying rounds before the Beijing Winter Olympics, the performance of the Chinese women's curling team was also affirmed by head coach Lindholm, "For me, the performance of [the Chinese team] at the World Championships is more important than the result." ”
Lindholm.
Swedish coach: Hope to help China win the gold medal
Judging from the performance of the Chinese men's and women's curling teams in this past world championship, it is not difficult for the two teams to hit the podium at the Beijing Winter Olympics. But for Lindholm, a three-time World Champion Swedish coach, he's used to creating good results under pressure.
Speaking about the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing in 100 days, Lindholm stressed that this is certainly the advantage of the Chinese men's and women's curling teams as hosts, but it will also bring a lot of pressure.
"I think the pressure is good because it motivates us more and also makes sure we take all the details seriously in our preparations. Historically, all Olympic host countries have had an advantage, and I think the Chinese team will also benefit from it. ”
Lindholm is a confident coach who led Sweden to win a gold and silver medal at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics four years ago, and now in an interview with the International Curling Federation, he also said bluntly that he hopes to lead China to win gold again.
"After the World Championships and before the Start of the Winter Olympics, our goal is to prepare athletes and teams for the Winter Olympics in terms of technology, tactics, team spirit and team vibrancy." Lindholm said, "I hope my experience as an athlete and coach will help the Chinese team as the host." ”
With 100 days left until the Beijing Winter Olympics, the final rosters for the Chinese men's and women's curling teams have yet to be announced, and according to Lindholm, he will evaluate all the players and try different positions.
The reason for repeated investigations is also because in Lindholm's coaching philosophy, he values a strong team, "I and the coaching staff will meet at some point to determine the final team candidate." ”
"The 2022 Winter Olympics will be another milestone in the development of curling in China." Lindholm is not only optimistic about the performance of the Chinese men's and women's curling teams in the Olympic Games, but also has a lot of confidence in the development of curling in China, "I believe this trend will continue after the Beijing Winter Olympics." ”
Editor-in-Charge: Ascendas
Proofreader: Shi Gong