Shooting for a solid post-Games legacy
By SUN XIAOCHEN |
China Daily |
Updated: 2021-05-20 09:31
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Focus on grassroots as Olympic hopes recede for poorly prepared Team China
Players compete during an ice hockey test program at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, April 2, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
Even with the national team's Olympic prospects looking bleak, China's ice hockey administrators remain committed to boosting the niche sport's popularity beyond 2022.
Less than nine months out from the Beijing Winter Olympics, the priority for China's men's hockey team is merely to avoid blowout defeats against the sport's powerhouses at the 12-team Games.
But in the wake of the team's poor preparations, even that appears to be a long shot, with the squad severely hindered by stagnant player development and a lack of quality competition.