HARBIN, 6 February (BelTA - Yonhap) - The first Asian Winter Games in
eight years will officially open this week in the northeastern Chinese
city of Harbin, with South Korea looking to match its strong showing
from 2017.
Harbin International Convention Exhibition and Sports Center will be the stage for the opening ceremony, set to begin at 8 p.m. Friday in Harbin, or 9 p.m. the same night in South Korea. Male hockey player Lee Chong-min and female curler Gim Eun-ji will be the co-flag bearers for South Korea.
This is the ninth edition of the Winter Asiad, but the first since the Japanese city of Sapporo served as the host in 2017.
South Korea will have 148 athletes competing in all six sports -- skiing, skating, curling, hockey, biathlon and ski mountaineering. There will be 64 gold medals up for grabs in 11 disciplines.
In 2017, South Korea won 16 gold medals to set its Asian Winter Games record and finish in second place behind Japan in the medal race.
Team Korea has set its sights on reaching double figures in the gold medal tally again. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said it is counting on six gold medals in short track speed skating, two gold medals in speed skating and one each from snowboard, freestyle skiing and curling.
Once again, short trackers will be asked to do the heavy lifting. Led by three-time Olympic champion Choi Min-jeong and the reigning World Cup overall champion Kim Gil-li, the women's team will try to sweep all the gold medals.
The men's team features Park Ji-won, the 2024 World Cup champion.
Skiing and snowboard events will be held at Yabuli Ski Resort, some 200 kilometers southeast of Harbin.
Preliminary action in curling and men's and women's hockey began earlier this week. Heats and quarterfinals in short track are scheduled for early Friday, hours before the opening ceremony.
South Korea's first medal could come from curling's mixed doubles event early Saturday, with four gold medals in short track also at stake on the same day.
Harbin International Convention Exhibition and Sports Center will be the stage for the opening ceremony, set to begin at 8 p.m. Friday in Harbin, or 9 p.m. the same night in South Korea. Male hockey player Lee Chong-min and female curler Gim Eun-ji will be the co-flag bearers for South Korea.
This is the ninth edition of the Winter Asiad, but the first since the Japanese city of Sapporo served as the host in 2017.
South Korea will have 148 athletes competing in all six sports -- skiing, skating, curling, hockey, biathlon and ski mountaineering. There will be 64 gold medals up for grabs in 11 disciplines.
In 2017, South Korea won 16 gold medals to set its Asian Winter Games record and finish in second place behind Japan in the medal race.
Team Korea has set its sights on reaching double figures in the gold medal tally again. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said it is counting on six gold medals in short track speed skating, two gold medals in speed skating and one each from snowboard, freestyle skiing and curling.
Once again, short trackers will be asked to do the heavy lifting. Led by three-time Olympic champion Choi Min-jeong and the reigning World Cup overall champion Kim Gil-li, the women's team will try to sweep all the gold medals.
The men's team features Park Ji-won, the 2024 World Cup champion.
Skiing and snowboard events will be held at Yabuli Ski Resort, some 200 kilometers southeast of Harbin.
Preliminary action in curling and men's and women's hockey began earlier this week. Heats and quarterfinals in short track are scheduled for early Friday, hours before the opening ceremony.
South Korea's first medal could come from curling's mixed doubles event early Saturday, with four gold medals in short track also at stake on the same day.
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