Beijing, July 29 (IANS) Ordinary Chinese people expect Beijing to be the front-runner in the two-city race for the 2022 Winter Olympics ahead of the final vote by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Li Maocuo, 22, a Tibetan walker from Duoba plateau training base in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, predicted that the Chinese capital would defeat Almaty in Friday’s vote in Kuala Lumpur, reports Xinhua.
“More and more people are getting to know Tibetan players’ potentialities in endurance training,” said Li, glad to see her teammate Qieyang Shijie become the first Tibetan Olympic medal winner in the 2012 London Olympics.
Shijie is training for the 2016 Rio Olympics now while her mother Suonan Jie is still immersed in the exciting memories of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“We were watching the opening ceremony live on TV that evening, eating beef and mutton and drinking highland barley wine. We had such a good time as if we were celebrating the Tibetan New Year,” Li said.
“Good luck for Beijing and I will pray for my motherland. No matter what the result would be, the efforts bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics are valuable to us. It helps boost the development of sports like mountaineering and winter sports in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.”
Jiang Lei agrees with Li, believing that “be able to host Olympics will obviously bring great changes to China”.
Jiang, who is busy designing the official website of the 10th Chinese Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities, which will open on August 9 in Erdos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is concerned if Beijing could win the bid.
“The Olympic spirits are very important for our country. I wish Beijing success again, just as it did 14 years ago,” Jiang said.
Zhang Yuenan from Harbin, capital city of north-eastern China’s Heilongjiang Province, took her 10-year-old son to curling training in 2012. In her eyes, curling practices not only bring good health, but also cultivate thinking ability.
As one of first group of curling players and international female referee in China, Zhang would like to see a Winter Olympics home in 2022, saying, “Thus, curling will become more and more popular, and more people from the south will find the fun of winter sports.”
Beijing has impressed Ju Seon-yeong, a Korean student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
“Beijing has more advantages than Almaty, although Almaty has carried on big campaign. We will host the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, and I do hope Beijing can win the host right this time. If I work in Beijing in 2022, I will go watching the Chinese and Korean teams competing in short track speed skating,” he said.
Zhang Zhenpeng, one of the organisers of Bayern Munich’s tour to China earlier this month, was surprised when he went to the Genting Ski resort in Zhangjiakou. As Beijing’s partner in the Winter Olympic bid, Zhangjiakou is expected to be the home of the biathlon, Nordic combined, ski jumping, snowboard, and freestyle skiing events.
“It is incredible to see a world-class ski resort near Beijing. I’m sure Beijing will be the final winner,” said Zhang.
If Beijing wins over Almaty this Friday, Genting Ski resort will become an official competition field in 2022.
“The bid will boost participation in winter sports across the country, and lighten the future for winter sports in China, as the country has set off on an ambitious journey to get 300 million people involved in skiing and skating events,” Zhang added.
