Talk Sports: Chinese speed skater Han Mei gears up for Asian Winter Games

Two-time Olympian and Four Continents silver medalist speed skater Han Mei of China looks forward to competing at the coming ninth Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. In an interview with CGTN Sports Scene's Shen Xiang, Han talked about her career, friendship with Japan's Olympic champion Miho Takagi, and expectations for Harbin.

Born in 1998, Han displayed great potential for a skater in her young childhood and attended a professional training camp when she was 10. Having become a constant member of the Chinese national team since 2015, she believed that joining a new international team led to her improvement as an athlete.

"I think first of all, it was because I joined a new international team last season, which was also a great motivation for me, so I made progress," Han said in the interview. "I also thought that I couldn't achieve such a difficult goal as standing on the podium, so I think it's still incredible for me."

Han has remained long-time rivals and friends with Miho Takagi of Japan. The Chinese skater enjoys the competitions between them and admires Takagi in many ways.

"Takagi, I think she is a person you feel is out of reach, but she suddenly appears beside you, helps you, guides you, and chats with you," Han said. "We also share our experiences, both on and off the ice, and I think Takagi is a very self-disciplined, top athlete. I think she is a very professional athlete with excellent moral qualities, and she has her own obsession with sports like speed skating. She is not what I imagined from seeing her on TV before. When you stay in the same room with her, or spend a long time with her in the same environment, she is not as majestic and serious as she looks on the ice. I believe she really thinks of me as a good friend and a good competitor."

When asked about her goals for the Asian Winter Games, Han wanted the top spot on the podium. She also looked forward to participating in the Winter Olympic Games next year in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

"I'm already 26-years-old in the blink of an eye, which is really scary," Han told Sports Scene. "For me, I still hope that I can win gold medals in every event I participate in at the Asian Winter Games, and I also hope to use this as motivation for myself. Then, the preparations for the upcoming period will also be aimed at this goal. I think it is better to do a good job in daily training, and then summarize my experiences more. I think that at the age of 26, the competitive state is actually not the best at this age, but I think that I have already started to engage in psychological warfare, so I hope that I can compete maturely, and have an especially good performance at the Asian Winter Games."