Asian Winter Games close with China dominant, as Philippines savours historic curling gold

The ninth Asian Winter Games closed in Harbin on Friday with host nation China topping the medals table, posting its best ever haul. A total of 85 medals far outstripped China’s previous record in these Games of 61, set in 2007, and included 32 golds – twice as many as second-placed South Korea, whose team collected 45 medals altogether. It came with the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina a year away. Before the 1,200 athletes from 34 countries and regions went their separate ways, a closing ceremony at Harbin International Conference, Exhibition and Sports Centre conveyed a theme of “winter to spring, endless life”, and looked forward to the development of Asia. Premier Li Qiang attended. Freestyle skier Xu Mengtao was China’s flag-bearer, having also filled the role at the close of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. “The flag-bearer must display the best aspects of Chinese athletes. I am filled with a sense of mission and accomplishment,” Chinese media quoted her as saying. Xu won two golds in Harbin, in the women’s aerials and mixed team aerials, while China swept the women’s freeski golds despite the absence of Eileen Gu, a star of those Beijing Games, who withdrew with injury days before Harbin’s began. Hong Kong had a chance to feature in the medals table for the first time in the Games’ history when its men’s curling team played for bronze on Friday. But Jason Chang, Martin Yan Ho-tin, Cheng Ching-nam, Chung Cheuk-hei and Ma Chi-lap were defeated 10-3 by China’s Xu Xiaoming, Fei Xueqing, Wang Zhiyu, Li Zhichao and Ye Jianjun. The Philippines’ men’s curlers, however, secured a first ever podium spot for their tropical nation when they won gold by defeating South Korea 5-3. Chinese Taipei and Thailand, too, earned Asian Winter Games medals for the first time. A consolation for Hong Kong’s Yan was to be chosen as his city’s flag-bearer for the hour-long closing ceremony. After last week’s opening adopted a winter theme, the closing message was to “look forward to spring”. Ceremonies director Sha Xiaolan described it as “three programmes, the first of which is mainly a carnival for the athletes, the second is a thank-you to the volunteers, and the third is the completion of the torch being slowly extinguished”. Asked about the Asiad’s legacy, Zhang Haihua, deputy secretary general of the organising committee and vice-mayor of Harbin, said the northeastern city would “host sports events in tourist resorts and commercial areas to expand the coverage of winter sports”. Hong Kong, too, was concerned with legacy. Besides its debut on the curling rink, in its seventh Games appearance, it took part in ice hockey, speed skating, figure skating and alpine skiing, with its 74 athletes amounting to the city’s largest delegation yet – even if a first medal remained elusive. “I think this experience is definitely not just a good platform for us to showcase what Hong Kong curling can do, but also for the Hong Kong people to know more about this sport,” curler Yan said in the early stages. Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, vice-president of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, and chef de mission of the delegation, hailed results that exceeded the city’s previous winter sports exploits. “While winter sports are not very popular in Hong Kong, our athletes have achieved breakthroughs … They have made history for this snowless city and we take pride in their performances,” Fok said. There was controversy, too, with four men’s ice hockey players from Turkmenistan thrown out of the Games after throwing punches at Hong Kong players last Sunday. Men’s ice hockey medals were the last to be awarded, with South Korea beating China 5-2 to win bronze, then Kazakhstan overpowering Japan 5-0 to claim gold. Earlier, the “Curling Pilipinas” made history just two years after the launch of their federation. Their men’s team, all born in Switzerland to Filipino mothers, evoked the Jamaican bobsleigh team immortalised in the film Cool Runnings after taking part in the 1988 Winter Olympics. “It’s just absolutely wild,” said team member Alan Frei, who only started curling in 2023. “This is so weird, isn’t it?” Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse

Asian Winter Games close with China dominant, as Philippines savours historic curling gold

Games end in glory for ‘Curling Pilipinas’ only two years after their federation was founded, but Hong Kong’s curlers just miss medal