Friendship the real winner at Games

Feel-good factor abounds as Chinese curlers play perfect hosts to US opponents

China and the United States have found plenty in common on the ice at Beijing 2022－their love of curling, commemorative pins and dumplings.

With the curling mixed doubles competition in full swing, the interaction between the Chinese pair and their US opponents following their round-robin encounter on Saturday stole the show at the National Aquatics Center, which has been transformed into the "Ice Cube" for the Winter Olympics.

Despite losing their third straight match, 7-5, to the Americans, China's Ling Zhi and Fan Suyuan played the perfect hosts as they presented two sets of the Games' commemorative pins as gifts to their rivals during the post-game handshakes.

The gesture was warmly received by the US duo of Victoria Persinger and Christopher Plys.

"We haven't received anything like this (before), so the fact that they gifted us while we're in their country is super kind, and I'm sure that these Games are really fun for them," Persinger said. "It will just be something great that we can hang onto to remember this event in the future."

Plys, a veteran who made his Olympic debut at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, said he will keep the pins on his desk for a long time.

"They're just beautiful, something super unique," said the 34-year-old Minnesota native. "I'm definitely going to have to give them (the Chinese) something now. They've upped their game big time. We'll find something special to give them to hold on to."

Despite being disappointed with their third straight loss, Ling and Fan insisted they always strive to be respectful and friendly when the heat of battle has cooled.

"It's a tradition of curling. Athletes are friendly to each other. This is what makes the Olympics so special," said Ling, a native of the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, Heilongjiang province.

"Christopher told me he likes Harbin, where I am from. I sincerely welcome him to travel to Harbin when the pandemic is over."

Rave reviews

With Beijing 2022 beginning during the Spring Festival holiday, athletes from around the world have taken to social media to share their experiences of the cultural activities they have experienced inside the Olympic Village.

Persinger and Plys were no exceptions, writing rave reviews of the canteen cuisine served in the village.

"Hotpot, dumplings, beef cabbage and chili-oil sauce...we tried a lot of food. I love dumplings. They are so good," said Plys, who first visited China in 2016 to compete at a tournament in Harbin.

Plys, who learned about Beijing from his English-teacher friends who worked in the capital, urged athletes to focus on sports during the Olympics in the midst of the world's currently challenging political landscape.

"I've been lucky enough with curling to travel all over the world. I don't let our country's politics get in the way of what's going on," he said. "Let other people at the government level talk about that. But when we're at these curling events, getting a chance to both play the game that we love, there's just a lot of mutual respect for each other.

"I've never felt one time any animosity (from Chinese curlers) toward us or our country, and we try to show them the same respect. At the end of the day, man, we all bleed the same blood and play the same game.

"It's fun to experience each other's cultures a bit and show them it's all love."

As far as the action on the ice is concerned, Ling and Fan had something of a rollercoaster ride in the round-robin stage so far, opening with two victories followed by four defeats.

However, the ever-smiling young duo are staying upbeat and embracing their Olympic debut as a learning curve.

Fan attributed their losses to the likes of defending champion Canada to their lack of big-league experience.

"Actually, the loss today was expected. For us, as a young team, a valuable contest like this is about learning lessons and gathering experience," she said after a 6-8 defeat to Canada's John Morris and Rachel Homan on Friday.

Ling echoed those sentiments, admitting that the finesse and composure of the Canadians simply proved too much for them.

"Maybe we could equal them in strength, but when there were errors during some of the key shots, we kind of got caught up in the pressure. Then the tide turned against us," he said.

"Anyway, we'll approach the remaining games positively and try to do our best with every shot."