Olympic champion Lin Xiaojun of China overcame a collision in the second-round qualification to advance into men's 1,000m quarterfinals alongside teammate Liu Shaolin at the Short Track Speed Skating World Championships.
ROTTERDAM, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese skater Lin Xiaojun made a strong comeback in the qualification to reach the men's 1,000 meters quarterfinals at the ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Championships here on Friday.
A collision occurred in Lin's second-round qualifications, when local favourite Friso Emons, who was in third place, attempted to overtake Lin. Emons was propelled out of the track and received a penalty after the race, while Lin stayed in the contest but fell to last place, with a significant gap behind the other three competitors.
The Olympic champion demonstrated exceptional skill in the subsequent race, steadily closing the gap lap by lap. He overtook Hungary's Jaszapati Peter and Bosnia and Herzegovina's Omeragic Tarik in the penultimate lap, ultimately securing the quarterfinal spot by finishing second in his group.
Lin's teammate Liu Shaolin also made it into the quarterfinals in the men's 1,000m.
In the men's 500m event, Lin and Liu Shao'ang effortlessly passed two rounds of preliminaries to reach the quarterfinals.
Li Wenlong was the only Chinese skater who failed to advance to Saturday's races due to a penalty in the men's 1,500m quarterfinals.
Li was penalized for impeding Japan's Watanabe Keita, causing him to fall and miss the opportunity to advance. His teammate Sun Long and defending champion Park Ji-won of South Korea smoothly progressed.
In the women's 1,500m quarterfinals, Chinese skaters Zang Yize and Gong Li both advanced as the second in their groups to the semifinals. Fan Kexin and Wang Ye advanced to the women's 500m quarterfinals.
In the women's 3,000m relay quarterfinals, the Chinese team composed of Fan, Wang Ye, Zang, and Wang Xinran competed against teams from South Korea, Hungary, and Ukraine, ultimately advancing as the top of their group to the semifinals.
The men's 5,000m relay quarterfinal saw the Chinese team, including Lin, Sun, Liu Shaolin, and Li Wenlong, competing against teams from Japan, Hungary, and the United States, finishing first in their group to move on to the semifinals.
In the mixed gender 5000 meters relay quarterfinals, the Chinese team, featuring Fan, Gong, Liu Shaoang, and Sun, raced against teams from the USA, Germany, and Poland, advancing as group leaders to the semifinals. ■