Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 13th. As the World Cup competition in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, came to an end, all six World Cups in short track speed skating this season have come to an end. The Chinese team, mainly composed of young players, overcame many difficulties at the beginning of the season. They became more and more courageous and made steady progress. In particular, the young players’ confrontation ability has greatly improved in the game, which made the head coach Zhang Jing very pleased.
On February 12, Lin Xiaojun (front left) was congratulated by head coach Zhang Jing (second from right) following the final.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong
There are six competitions in the ISU World Cup this season. The Chinese team, which suffered from injuries in the first half of the season, “drive low and go high”, and won a total of 4 golds, 3 silvers and 3 bronzes, of which 3 golds, 2 silvers and 2 bronzes came from behind. Won two World Cups. In an exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency on the 13th, Zhang Jing said frankly that the Chinese team “stumbled” through six World Cup matches. , confrontation ability and other aspects have been significantly improved.
Zhang Jing said: “The boys and girls in the team rarely participated in such fierce competitions before. They went through the process of not adapting at first, then adapting, and then being able to fight at high speed. From the six games, I can see that They are gradually improving, especially the young players in the team. There is still a big gap between their normal level and the international level, but they are constantly narrowing this gap through hard work. We will continue to work hard.”
On February 12, Chinese players Song Jiahua, Zhong Yuchen, Li Wenlong and Lin Xiaojun (from left to right) following the men’s 5000m relay final.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong
Compared with the individual individual events, the Chinese team’s achievements in the six World Cup relay events are more outstanding. They have won medals in the mixed team relay, men’s 5,000-meter relay and women’s 3,000-meter relay. They also tasted the first two The taste of gold. Zhang Jing said that the rapid progress of the Chinese team is the confrontation ability in the game. She said: “Whether it’s the relay or the individual event, several teenagers still have shortcomings in the confrontation, but we can also see that they are gradually improving. They dare to confront, dare to surpass, and counter-surpass.”
On February 12, Lin Xiaojun celebrated following winning the championship.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong
In this season’s World Cup, Lin Xiaojun is the only member of the Chinese team who has won a gold medal in an individual event. He has won two consecutive championships in the men’s 500-meter event in the last two races. Zhang Jing commented that Lin Xiaojun gradually recovered following being injured at the beginning of the season. After the competitions in Germany and the Netherlands, his state has recovered and even improved. She said: “Lin Xiaojun is in a recovery stage in terms of reaction speed, overtaking and anti-overtaking abilities, and even at some points, he plays more comfortably than before. I think in the next training and competition, He’s going to be even better.”
The Chinese team is regarding to return home and will prepare for the World Championships in Seoul, South Korea on March 10 in Beijing. This is also the highlight and finale of short track speed skating this season. Zhang Jing said: “There are many masters in the World Championships, and the Chinese team must go all out and play steadily.”