Delegation fully prepared for 9th Asian Winter Games

Led by six Beijing 2022 Olympic champions, China's 257-strong Asian Winter Games delegation is primed to do the country proud while promoting unity and friendship across the continent.

With two weeks to go before the 9th Asian Winter Games open in Harbin, Heilongjiang province on Feb 7, the host delegation has vowed to go all out to compete for the best possible athletic results in all 64 medal events at the sporting gala, relying on a blend of youth and experience along with its balanced prowess in ice and snow sports.

Also high on Team China's agenda is to promote integrity and sportsmanship, while further spurring public interest in ice and snow sports activities based on the legacy of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, said Gao Zhidan, director of the General Administration of Sport of China.

"The Harbin Asian Winter Games have presented us another opportunity to demonstrate the huge progress our country has made in winter sports promotion, and a great occasion to test our athletes ahead of the next Winter Olympics in 2026," Gao said during the delegation unveiling ceremony on Friday.

"Our athletes should not only strive for performance-based gold medals, but also make sure that all the medals are earned cleanly with meticulous efforts against doping," Gao added.

The largest-ever Chinese delegation in history of the Winter Asiad comprises 170 athletes, including 48 who have competed at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. Meanwhile, 147 athletes are making their debut at the continental ice and snow sports gala.

Six Beijing 2022 gold medalists — Gu Ailing, Xu Mengtao and Qi Guangpu in freestyle skiing, Gao Tingyu in speed skating, Fan Kexin and Liu Shaoang in short-track speedskating — are expected to bolster the host's medal ambitions in Harbin, a renowned winter tourism destination in Northeast China, which also hosted the Games' third edition in 1996.

A record number of 34 countries and regions have registered more than 1,270 athletes in total to compete at the Harbin Games, where the host is expected to meet fierce challenges from the Republic of Korea, Japan and Kazakhstan in highly competitive events, such as short-track speedskating, snowboarding and ice hockey.

As the final multisports international event before the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, the Harbin Games will serve as an invaluable "dress rehearsal" for the Chinese delegation to gear up for the ultimate test at the Olympics, said athletes and coaches.

"Our goal is to go for every gold medal up for grabs, and use the experience of competing in Harbin to boost our chances for the 2026 Olympics," said Zhang Jing, head coach of China's decorated short-track speedskating team.

Should it happen as scheduled, the Harbin Games' first gold medal is expected to be decided on the morning of Feb 8 in short-track mixed 2,000-meter relay, where the Chinese squad will have to fend off strong competition from the ROK — one of the world's best programs in the sport — to get the host off to a scintillating start.

"We'll give it our all and aim to hear our national anthem played at every event," said veteran short-track speed skater Fan, who will compete at the Winter Asiad for a third time in Harbin.

"Competing on home ice gives me even more motivation and energy, especially during Spring Festival," said Fan, a native of Heilongjiang.

Star skier Gu, who shot to fame at Beijing 2022 by winning two gold medals, will also compete for the first snow-sport gold on offer in the women's freestyle halfpipe at Yabuli, a ski resort cluster about 200 kilometers from downtown Harbin, later that same morning.

To help Chinese athletes gear up for the Games, the delegation has hired 20 foreign coaches and trainers from 11 countries, including the United States, Canada, Russia and New Zealand, to make sure that Chinese athletes improve their tactics, plays and routines up to the highest international standards.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn