As the 6th Asian Winter Games approaches, Chinese cross-country skiers have
been intensifying their training and expect to "draw sword" in the Games slated
for Jan. 28 - Feb. 4 in Changchun, Northeast China, said their head coach on
Thursday.
"We have confidence in the competition 10 days later, and we promise to give
the Chinese people a pleasant surprise," said Per-Erik Ronnestrand, head coach
of the Chinese cross-country skiing team.
Ronnestrand and his team have been training in the cities of Changchun and
Jilin for about half a month and all the members are in healthy condition.
"Our skiers are becoming increasingly mature in skills, especially players
like Li Geliang and Xia Fang. And they are catching up with the world
champions," said the coach.
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| Wang Chunli (M) captures all women's titles in
Far East Cup of the International Ski Federation and Vasaloppet China 50km
ski race in Changchun on January 1,
2007.[sina.com.cn] |
Wang Chunli, who captured
all women's titles in Far East Cup of the International Ski Federation and
Vasaloppet China 50km ski race earlier this month in Changchun, said her
achievement was nothing much and she expected more in the upcoming Asian Winter
Games.
"This is just a beginning. I will play to my best in the Asian Winter Games,"
said Li Geliang, the first and second runner-up of men's events of the two sport
events.
The biggest threat for the Chinese men's team comes from Kazakhstan and that
for the women's team from Ukraine, said Ronnestrand, but the Chinese team will
never fear.
Li Geliang chased Olympic champion Stanislav Rezac for the silver medal by 10
seconds in two hours 19 minutes and 10 seconds at Vasaloppet China.
"The competitiveness of the Chinese cross-country skiing team is speeding up
in the world, and the earlier two international sports have just provided a good
chance for their training," said
Wang Yitao, president of the China Skiing Association.
Players like Wang Chunli and Li Geliang were quite promising and they would
be the main force in the Winter Asiad competing for the gold medal, Wang added.
The 6th Asian Winter Games will be another stage for the Chinese team to
consolidate their dominance in Asia.
(Source: Chinaview.cn)
