By CGTN’s Jiang Mengxi and Mike Fox
China finished out of the playoffs, and failed to make it to one of the automatic qualifying spots for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. So Wang Bingyu's rink will have to go back to the drawing board, and with very few up-and-coming curlers pushing the national team members, what does the future hold for Chinese curling?
Another heavy defeat has put China firmly in the bottom half of the standings at the World Women's Curling Championship. Since Beijing won successfully the bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, curling has been a sport attracting attention. Ultimately the host nation's disappointing results have forced the team to take a slower approach when competing on the world stage.
"We won't make big changes to the line-up after the tournament. The team was just formed several months ago, so we can't say if they are mature or not just because of a couple of defeats," Team China coach Tian Weidong said, “We'll make some detailed summaries but won't change the players."
China takes 11th place in the final round robin standings at 2017 World Women’s Curling. / CGTN Photo
What the coach needs to face is a reality that China has lacked youth development in curling even if their skip, Wang Bingyu, has been in the national team since 2004.
The 32-year-old led China to their only world championship title in 2009. But that doesn't disguise the fact that the team has lacked strength and depth over the years with few females interested in playing. In total, around less than 1,000 both on the men's and women's side are involved in a pro and amateur level.
Chinese Women’s curling by Numbers / CGTN Photo
"The major issue is that few people play curling in China. The number is small, so we don't have many choices when we select players," Tian said.
The results at the ongoing World Championships have excluded China from a direct qualifying spot to the 2018 Winter Games. Tian's girls will have to find an alternative route and he believes the future for the sport is still positive.
"It has been a boost to all winter sports since Beijing won the bid for the Games," Tian said, "Curling is an easy sport to pick up and covers a wide age group. I'm sure curling will develop well here in the future."
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