Chinese Vice Premier encourages athletes to gear up for Beijing Winter Olympics

Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, inspects the Capital Gymnasium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 22, 2021. Sun on Monday visited the Capital Gymnasium in the capital city's Haidian District, the National Alpine Skiing Center, and the National Sliding Center in Yanqing District. She inspected the venues' construction and athletes' preparations, extended her thanks to the athletes, coaches, and working staff for preparing the Games, and expressed her best wishes for the Chinese Lunar New Year. Sun urged Chinese athletes to work harder to improve competition skills, make more efforts for better results, display outstanding morals, win glory for the motherland, and add luster to their lives. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has encouraged the country's winter sports athletes to work harder to achieve good results at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks here on Monday during an inspection tour on the preparatory work for the Games.

Sun visited the Capital Gymnasium in the capital city's Haidian District, the National Alpine Skiing Center, and the National Sliding Center in Yanqing District. She inspected the venues' construction and athletes' preparations, extended her thanks to the athletes, coaches, and working staff for preparing the Games, and expressed her best wishes for the Chinese Lunar New Year.

With the Beijing Winter Olympics less than one year away, a total of 527 athletes from 29 teams train hard for the Games. Sun urged Chinese athletes to work harder to improve competition skills, make more efforts for better results, display outstanding morals, win glory for the motherland, and add luster to their lives.

Sun also called to continue the fight against doping and underlined that a zero-tolerance stance on doping must be maintained and Chinese athletes must compete clean at the Games.

During the Games, the Capital Gymnasium will stage short track speed skating and figure skating competitions, the National Alpine Skiing Center will hold Alpine skiing events and the National Sliding Center will host bobsled, skeleton and luge competitions.

Chinese athletes took one gold, six silver and two bronze medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, with Wu Dajing winning China's sole gold medal in the men's 500m short track speed skating event.