Olympics on horizon as China hosts Asian Winter Games
HARBIN, China — China will welcome a mix of world-class athletes and relative novices from desert and tropical nations when the Asian Winter Games open in the city of Harbin on Friday.
It is the ninth edition of the event, stretching back to 1986, but the first since 2017 and crucially comes with the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina a year away.
Harbin is in China's northeast, toward the borders with Russia and North Korea, and temperatures were minus 24 Celsius (-11F) during the day Wednesday.
A total of 1,275 athletes across 34 countries and territories have registered for the Games, organizers say.
Competitors will battle for medals and continental glory in 11 disciplines.
Staples of the Olympics are in the weeklong program, including speed skating, figure skating, alpine skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey and curling.
There is no direct qualification for the Winter Olympics, but the Asian Winter Games will act as preparation.
"This is the last comprehensive competition before the 2026 Winter Olympics," said Zhang Jing, head coach of China's short track speed skating squad.
"We will cherish this opportunity, strive to showcase our athletes' best condition and deliver top performances."
The Asian Winter Games are a greatly scaled-down version of the summer Asian Games, which featured about 12,000 athletes in 2023 when China also played host.
China, Japan and South Korea are the traditional powers at the Games and boast Olympic medalists and world champions.
They include Japanese figure skaters Kaori Sakamoto, a three-time world champion, and two-time Olympic silver medallist Yuma Kagiyama.
South Korea's formidable short track speed skaters are also in action.
"We are looking at winning six gold medals or more," head coach Yoon Jae-myung said, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
Short track speed skater Lin Xiaojun, who won gold for hosts South Korea at Pyeongchang in 2018, will lead China's short track squad.
Lin, also known as Lim Hyo-jun, was naturalized by China in 2021 after he was banned from the South Korean team for a now-overturned sexual harassment conviction.
Also naturalized to compete for China are short track speed skaters Liu Shaolin and