The ski world cups have started. The news is not that the Russians and Belarusians are not participating in the competitions, but the absence of the Chinese has instead attracted attention.
A ski coach who worked for the Chinese Olympic Committee last season Glenn Lindholm according to the reason is the change of power in the Chinese Ministry of Sports.
Lindholm says that the Chinese sports minister changed in the summer, after which the Chinese winter athletes who were the target of millions of euros were told to return to their homeland. The order took place in August.
Among the returnees was last season’s skiing sensation, who finished second in the World Cup in Drammen in March Qiang Wang.
– When I know what kind of talent it is, it makes me sad. I keep in touch with him. He is training and would like to come to Europe to compete in January, Lindholm says, but he does not think that Wang will be seen in February at the World Championships in Planica.
At the Beijing Olympics, China won nine gold medals, five of which came from the International Ski Federation’s FIS skiing events.
China’s withdrawal hits the hardest in freestyle jumping, where the country won Olympic gold in both the women’s and men’s competition and occupied the top positions on a wide front in the World Cup.
When it comes to Nordic skiing, Qiang would have been a candidate for success in all the sprints this season.
– Yes, he protested (order to return). He has given some pretty sharp comments about the Chinese system on social media. He dares to do that because he is already quite a big star in China.
Lindholm says that last week he was also in contact with the director of cross-country skiing in China, who has been released from his position.
– They say there is no activity at the moment.
In China, the framework is fine
The connection between Lindholm and Chinese skiers dates back to 2018, when his employer Vuokatti Sports College signed a cooperation agreement with the Chinese sports authorities.
The task of Lindholm and other Finnish coaches was to prepare Chinese athletes for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Lindholm got to know Qiang better in the summer of 2021. At that time, he signed a personal coaching contract with the Chinese Olympic Committee and traveled to China in July, to a training center in Hebei province, 300 kilometers north of Beijing.
At that time, there was no access to China during the corona era through Beijing, so Lindholm had to fly to Shanghai. From there, he got there by car, which covered 1,500 kilometers. Before that, he managed to spend 29 days alone in hotel quarantine.
However, the magnificent ski center waiting at a height of one and a half kilometers in the desert was worth seeing and experiencing.
– Among other things, there is probably the best ski pipe in the world: two kilometers long, good terrain and always slippery snow. The roller skiing route is about 25 kilometers long and the height difference is about 200 meters.
– The gyms are the size of a football field, twenty treadmills side by side. Everything a ski athlete could need.
Despite the shiny new setting, Lindholm’s attention was immediately drawn to Qiang.
– There happened to be FIS competitions at the training center. The way he went on roller skis was something I’ve never seen before.
– He is a very nice guy, quite a westerner already. He was no rookie, but was known to be a very fast and durable guy. He is one of the most durable sprinters in the world. There is enough talent to reach the podium in prestigious competitions, says Lindholm.
Brute as a sprinter
Qiang is a soldier by profession, which according to Lindholm has made his international skiing career difficult. Qiang already scored World Cup points in December 2019, finishing 17th in the Planica sprint.
The next time he was seen in the World Cup was last February in Salpauselka, where Qiang finished sixth. This was followed by second place in Drammen and 18th place in the season-ending Falun sprint.
Although the sprint sensation was built only for the Olympics and three World Cup competitions, Qiang had time to reap a dubious reputation. Without tactical blunders both in Beijing, Lahti and Falun, Drammen would not necessarily be the only prize position on Qiang’s sea list.
– In China, he never had enough resistance, but he started with a bang and won his set overwhelmingly. This way you don’t learn to compete for rankings, which backfired especially at the Olympics and Falun.
– He could be the best in the world this season, if only he could get here from China, says Lindholm.
Is FIS doing something?
The Finnish coach hopes that high-profile ski bosses will see Qiang’s competition license as a significant thing to drive. According to Lindholm, it would be worth the effort to keep the economically strong China along.
– I think the International Ski Federation could work in this somehow, but there seems to be so much more in that federation at the moment that I don’t expect much.
Lindholm describes China’s sports culture as very Olympic-oriented. This was reflected in the investment of tens of billions of euros in the Beijing Winter Games.
– Winter sports are not over, but are on hiatus. There are still a little more than three years until the next Olympics. I bet that the investment will start again closer to the Games. From what I followed for four years, in China, other than the Olympic Games and the Asian Games are not really valued. Now it’s like taking a breath, and then a new batch begins.
Even if skiing circles won’t be able to follow Qiang’s achievements this season, Lindholm believes that the number one name in Chinese skiing of all time will still be heard.
– He is very motivated. He will be on the line at the next Olympic Games in 2026 at the latest.