6 Chinese surfers to compete in 2022 ISA World Surfing Games

BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The 2022 ISA World Surfing Games officially kicked off on Friday in Huntington Beach, the United States. The Chinese surfing team has sent six surfers to take part in the Games.

A total of 246 world's best surfers, representing 51 countries and regions, will compete in the World Surfing Games, which is also the first qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

"Our surfers are very young and lack of experience," said China's team leader Zhou Changcheng. "It's difficult for us to secure an Olympic berth now. We will keep training hard and I hope we can qualify for the Paris Games at the 2024 World Surfing Games, which will be the last Olympic qualifier."

According to the Olympic Surfing Qualification System, the winning men's and women's national teams at the World Surfing Games will be allocated one Olympic slot each for their respective National Olympic Committee (NOC).

This qualification slot will be in addition to the maximum quota of two athletes per NOC for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, marking intense competition is expected for this potential third slot for the top teams.

The 2022 World Surfing Games will begin with the men's competition on Saturday at Huntington Beach Pier Southside.