China smashed the world record in the 2,000m mixed relay on Thursday during the International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track Speed Skating World Cup event in Beijing, outgunning South Korea and the Netherlands. 

The Chinese team, made up of Olympic champion Wu Dajing, Fan Kexin, Wu Chunyu and Ren Ziwei, finished in a time of two minutes 37.747 seconds in the event's quarterfinals at Beijing's Capital Indoor Stadium.  

In the men's 1,500m, Chinese hopefuls Ren Ziwei, An Kai and Sun Long all qualified for the quarterfinals. "My body was a bit stiff in the beginning," said Ren after the race. "But as I kept skating, I found the best conditions. I'm aiming for medals in the next few days." 

The optimism was echoed by An, the FISU World University Games men's 1,500m champion. "We are well-prepared for the World Cup. My body feels good, the competition feels good too. The ice is really nice and fast," he said. 

"The result helped us further prepare for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. We want even better results," added Sun. 

In the women's 1,500m quarterfinals, China's Han Yutong and Zhang Yuting sailed into the next round as group leaders, while Dutch star Suzanne Schulting suffered a shock elimination after failing to finish fastest among third-place finishers. 

Despite the huge blow, the Olympic champion expressed her admiration for the COVID-19 countermeasures adopted by the hosts. "Everything is pretty well organized. I think China did a really great job and I feel really safe and I'm happy to be here," she beamed.