By Aadi Nair
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 17 (Reuters) – After China picked up their first two wins of the men’s curling competition at the Milano Cortina Olympics around the Lunar New Year, skip Xu Xiaoming said he was feeling positive about his team’s prospects in the Year of the Horse.
China outplayed Italy on Monday to claim an 11-4 victory before a double takeout from Xu on the final stone earned an 8-5 win over the United States on Tuesday.
“Because it is the New Year, being able to bring two victories to Chinese spectators is an achievement for us,” Xu said on Tuesday, speaking via an interpreter.
“This year is the Year of the Horse. In Chinese, there is a phrase which means achieving success as the horse arrives. It means that in the Year of the Horse, we will have successful matches.”
Xu made his debut at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and returned four years later in Sochi, but in the 12 years since, he has made waves more for his coaching as he led China to victory at the World Junior Curling Championships in 2023.
Two members of that young team, Fei Xueqing and Li Zhichao, are now part of Xu’s rink in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
“After Sochi, I worked as a coach. During the coaching process, I refined my understanding of curling tactics,” Xu said.
“I came back to the Olympic stage with young players to experience the Olympic atmosphere and to pave the way for the younger team members. All Chinese players want to participate in the Olympic Games. We happened to have the opportunity here.
“We wanted to come and compete, but the young players do not have much competition experience so I came back to lead everyone together. After competing and then coaching, I’ve accumulated a lot of experience. Curling is ultimately a battle of the mind.”
China are eighth in the round-robin standings and face a tough task to qualify for the semi-finals.
The nation has won just one medal in curling, a women’s bronze in 2010.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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