From two to eight, it is a giant step forward. An unexpected
strong performance in snow sports pushed the host China back to the
top of the Winter Asian Games.
Four years ago in Aomori, Japan, China managed only two golds,
both from biathlon, at the fifth Winter Asiad, where it finished
third behind Japan and South Korea with nine golds.
As the Games moved to Changchun, northeast China, in 2007, the
host skiers broke out in snow sports, sweeping eight titles out of
21 on offer to lay a solid foundation for their domination at the
overall medal table.
"We have made historic breakthrough in snow sports at this Asian
Winter Games," said Wang Yitao, secretary general of the Chinese
Sports Delegation.
"Japan and Kazakhstan are traditional powerhouses in snow
sports, we are trying out best to catch up," Wang added.
Biathletes played a big role in the golden harvest of the host,
winning five titles out of seven up for grabs. Following a clean
sweep of all the four women's event, China collected its first
biathlon gold for men at Winter Asiad, triumphing in the 4X7.5km
relay.
"I am happy for the whole team," said German Klaus Siebert, who
took the helm of the Chinese biathlon team half a year ago."
Chinese women biathletes are strong in Asia, we are here to
win."
The gain of two golds from the freestyle skiing aerials was just
within expectation. Both events were not included in the last
Games, but added by the host.
"We have no opponent in Asia for the women's event," said
Chinese team leader Rao Gang. "For the men's event, only a couple
of Japanese athletes can compete with us."
China also enjoyed a sweet victory in the women's cross-country
sprint race, which is of special meaning for the development of the
sport in China.
"It is the first cross-country gold medal of China in any
individual event at Winter Asiad," said the titlist Wang Chunli.
"It is a great confidence boost for us."
"Kazakhstan is very strong in this sport in Asia, but we are
getting closer and closer," said China's Swedish head coach Erik
Ronnestrand.
"If Wang continues to work hard and train in my way, she will be
hopeful to win a medal at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010,"
Ronnestrand added.
Despite the rush of gold medals, China still has a long way to
go to become a powerhouse in snow sports, even at the Asian
stage.
"Our development in snow sports is unbalanced," said Wang Yitao.
"For example, we are not so good in Alpine skiing, one of the most
popular winter sports in the world."
The best result of Chinese Alpine skiers at this Winter Asiad
was a fourth, achieved by Miao Liyan in the women's slalom and
giant slalom.
Even in biathlon, the sport in which China showed dominance in
Asia, Chinese athletes have a lot to improve to enhance their medal
hopes at Winter Olympics.
"We have to improve on stability (shooting) and the athletes
have to focus on one sport (to have good performance at
international stage) in order to do well at international level.
International competitions are very different from the Winter
Asiad," said Klaus Siebert.
(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2007)