Can China become a Winter Olympic powerhouse?
- By Mark Dreyer
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E-mail China.org.cn, February 7, 2014
Freestyle skiing events largely attract the hip X Games crowd that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been so keen to covet, but in the aerial discipline several former gymnasts from China have been taking things more seriously. An eight-member Chinese delegation has been raising the bar through the tried and tested combination of raw talent and sheer hard work.
Xu Mengtao, who made it to the Olympic final in Vancouver aged 19, will lead the women's team alongside Cheng Shuang and Li Nina, while Qi Guangpu has shown the best form on the men's side this season, ahead of Jia Zongyang.
On the trendier part of the slopes, either Liu Jiayu or Li Shuang could mount a challenge in the women's halfpipe, though she'll face competition from a strong U.S. team that boasts two former Olympic champions.
Finally, the women's curling team, skipped by Wang Bingyu -- or Betty as she's known in the international competition circuit -- will be keen to add to the World Championship title she won in 2009, and the Olympic bronze she won a year later.
As with all major sporting competitions, though, it's the surprises that often dominate the headlines, and no doubt sports fans in China will soon be celebrating at least one medal that the pundits were not predicting.
In light of Wang Meng's absence from the team, matching 2010's performance would be a good result for China, but authorities back home will be even keener for a good performance now that the country has announced its intention to bid for the 2022 Olympic Games. With Stockholm recently pulling out of the running, Beijing -- who would co-host the event with the ski resort town of Zhangjiakou -- is now the only city in the race, meaning it could become the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Olympics.
With China's winter sports industry blossoming and the number of people on the slopes growing exponentially, no one would question that China can provide the facilities for a great Olympics. Sochi would be a perfect place for China's Olympic delegation to prove to the IOC it also has the athletes to match.
Mark Dreyer has 15 years of experience working in sports journalism and worked for Sky Sports, Fox Sports and AP Sports. He has covered the last three Olympic Games and has been based in China since 2007. He can be contacted at dreyermark@gmail.com
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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