Shooting for a solid post-Games legacy By SUN XIAOCHEN | China Daily | Updated: 2021-05-20 09:31 Share
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.
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