Women have made a mark in China’s winter sports world for having earned a number of gold medals and achievements, according to an article by CCTV.
One of the most famous coaches in China’s winter sports industry, Li Yan celebrated the International Women’s Day fitting new skates for the Chinese short track speed skating team. The new skates will be used for the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics.
Li has led the team to numerous victories. In the 2017 Asian Winter Games, the Chinese delegation was able to win three gold medals.
“We got all the medals we had expected, and we uncovered our problems. We are satisfied, Li said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency.
Back in 2014, during the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the Chinese short track speed skating team also bagged all three gold medals for their home country. It’s a significant victory, considering that Chinese male athletes have won far fewer Winter Olympic titles than their female counterparts.
Ordinary women have also made impressive strides by taking a more active role in Chinese winter sports.
“I was astonished when I saw 40 amateur ice hockey players from Hong Kong devoting so much to the sport, so I decided to teach them,” Tan Anqi, a former member of the Chinese women ice hockey team, told Xinhua News Agency.
Tan became a coach in Hong Kong in 2012. One of her main goals as a coach is to “show the public the fun and spirit of ice hockey.”
Tan isn’t the only female winter sports athlete who has made the transition from team player to team coach.
Yang yang, another Olympic title holder, now devotes most of her time running a skating center in Shanghai and promoting winter sports in China.
Another gold medalist, Li Jianrou, also opened a skating club to promote winter sports among Chinese teenagers.