China's Olympic debutant Ning skates under home pressure

BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Ning Zhongyan glided to the line, bent in anticipation of the starting gun, gave it all that he's got, and rushed out amid loud cheers inside the National Speed Skating Oval.

In one minute and 8.60 seconds, the Chinese young skater dashed home, with a blank expression.

The home medal hopeful promoted his personal best result in an Olympic Games to a fifth place finishing in the men's 1,000m. A few days earlier, he finished a disappointing seventh in his specialty of 1,500m.

It is too short a time to think a lot in the furious speed rivalry. Yet the 22-year-old heaved a sigh and said of his 1,500m race: "I was thinking too much at that time."

"I felt my body was stiff. It seemed like my body was trapped in a box," Ning said after the 1,500m race. "I failed to get my mentality right. This is my first time skating in an Olympic Games and on my home rink, so I felt a lot of pressure."

Ning seemed to adjust his mentality timely to put up a better performance on Friday.

"I am quite satisfied with my performance. I performed better today than in the 1,500m," he said after the 1,000m race.

The home favorite refreshed his personal best of 1:08.839 at sea level he registered in Norway this season. "I felt OK about ranking in the top five. I will try to improve myself, especially the ability of accelerating in the first lap," he said.

Ning had claimed two gold and two silver medals over 1,000m and 1,500m at the World Cup, underscoring his status as a leading figure in China's speed skating team.

"I have expected a lot from myself since I won those medals in the World Cup," he said. "I really want to win a medal here to prove myself."

Ning was selected to China's national speed skating team in 2018, and he won a silver in the World Cup just one year later in Belarus. His continuance of momentum in the following years made him one of the top contenders for an Olympic medal of men's 1,500 meters.

"I really want to battle with Ning, and he might defeat me," said reigning world champion Thomas Krol of the Netherlands, after a test race ahead of the 1,500m competition, adding that he has a lot of respect for his Chinese counterpart.

Krol, also an Olympic debutant, settled for a silver after an impressive display in the 1,500m and went on to nail the gold medal in the 1,000m.

Ning has shown a good mindset in terms of game results. The young skater has already decided to move on. "What I need to do now is to adjust myself to perform better in tomorrow's race (mass start) and in my next Olympic Games."

"I would mark seven or eight points (out of 10) for my performance in Beijing 2022 Olympic Games. But this score is for the past two races - there is still a race to go.