Gold medalist Man Dandan’s 16 years on snow steadily took her to the top
knew that she still had a lot to do to catch up with the advanced level in the world.
China’s cross-country skiing still lags behind in the world, she said, noting that the sport is a relatively new one in China and needs to take its time.
But she is also confident about the sport’s future in China. “Winter sports such as cross-country skiing are getting a lot of attention now in China, especially after Beijing won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics,” she said.
As for the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, Man said that she had not given them many thoughts, but would do her best if her team needs her.
“In competitive sports, the only way to achieve something is to train hard and to work one’s way up,” she said.
China is expected to introduce 300 million people to winter sports ... so the next few years are pivotal in establishing a vast, new winter sports scene.”
Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, Olympic Council of Asia president Ski is the kind of sport that you’ll instantly love once you encounter it.” Xin Qiuhong, student
professionals in this area, Mishina said:” ski is a compulsory course for all the primary school students in Hokkaido. About 70 to 80 percent of the middle schools and seven out of the eight public high schools have ski lessons.” But compared with China, Mishina said China is lack of winter sports atmosphere and there are many shortcomings of ski schools and instructors. This is one of the motivations for him to build the ski league as hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists come to Hokkaido every year.
Xin Qiuhong, a Chinese student studying in Hokkaido University now, is one of the beneficiaries for his ski program. “The training is almost free as we only need to pay some insurance fee and membership fee of the Hokkaido Ski Federation,” said Xin.
For Xin, ski is a great release of pressure from her study. But her early experience in ski is not much of a pleasure.
Born in the northeastern part of China’s Heilongjiang province, Xin has always been a winter sports lover. When she first go to ski in a ski resort in her hometown, the adventurous girl went to a difficult rope without any training and fell from the rope right after she started to ski. “I don’t want the tourists here, especially the starters of the sports, to have similar experiences with me again and leave a bad impression of ski.”
Xi has trained many tourists and students from not only China, but also Malaysia, India and other countries and regions.
“Ski is the kind of sport that you’ll instantly love once you encounter it.” The charm of ski for Xin is not only that she could teach the sports to international friends, but also the endless challenges and fresh feelings it could always bring to her. “I feel that ski is a lifetime sport for everyone to pursue as you can always find new skills and new things in it.”