Tibetan athletes qualify for Winter Olympics for first time in history

LHASA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Snowboarder Yongqinglamu and cross country skier Cirenzhandui have become the first Tibetan athletes to qualify for the Winter Olympics to represent China at Beijing 2022, said the local sports bureau.

Yongqinglamu, 18, was born in Zogang County, Qungda city, China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Selected to the National Snowboard Training Team in August 2018, she has made rapid progress, winning second place and third place in the youth competition in Argentina.

Cirenzhandui, also 18, from Biru County, Nagqu City, was selected to the Tibetan ski-mountaineering training team in December 2017. In October 2019, he was called up to the national training team before he was picked by the national cross-country training team the next year.

Nimaciren, director of the Tibet Sports Bureau, said the Winter Olympics is of historic significance.

"With the strong support from the State General Administration of Sports, our efforts to develop the ice and snow sports start to pay off with the emergence of excellent athletes like Yongqinglamu and Cirenzhandui," he said.

"The sports cause in Tibet has a promising future," he added.