China's first Winter Olympic champion Yang Yang (A) will miss
the chance to defend her 500m title in the short track speed
skating competitions starting on Sunday, according to a Chinese
sports official.
"Wang Meng and Fu Tianyu will compete for China in the women's
500m competition tomorrow," an anonymous official told Xinhua on
Saturday. "We made the decision carefully, taking various factors
into consideration."
That means Yang Yang (A), who became the first Chinese to win a
gold at the Winter Olympics after taking the 500m title in Salt
Lake City in 2002, will watch from stands during Sunday's
competition.
China have only secured two quotas for the event at last year's
Olympic qualifying tournament after Yang made a mistake to cost
them a potential third one.
Wang Meng, who had swept 500m golds in four World Cup events
this season, was currently the world No. 1 skater in the event and
Fu ranked third. Yang, who finished with two golds and a silver at
the Salt Lake City Games four years ago, failed to enter top
10.
"Wang Meng is of course our first choice for the event," Xin
Qingshan, head coach of the Chinese short track speed skating team,
told Xinhua on Friday. "Concerning Yang Yang (A) and Fu Tianyu, the
former is a very experienced skater while the latter has great
starting skills and performed very well in the event this
season."
Yang Yang (A), who beared the flag for the Chinese delegation at
the opening ceremony on Friday, will likely to compete in the
women's 1,000m and 1,500m, where China have both collected an
utmost three tickets, as well as the relay event.
(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2006)
