by sportswriters Yao Youming and Yang Boyi

HARBIN, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The alpine skiing event of the ninth Asian Winter Games concluded on Sunday. In the men's slalom competition, Chinese national champion Liu Xiaochen ranked 7th, marking China's best result.

However, Piers Adrian Iliffe, head coach of the Chinese alpine skiing team, told Xinhua that it would take him a long time to steer Chinese skiers to the world-class.

Iliffe coached team Italy in six Winter Olympics, plus 13 editions of World Championships. The Italian took over the Chinese alpine skiing team after Beijing 2022.

In Harbin, Liu Xiaochen, Chao Xinbo, Sun Xinmiao and Li Jinyang finished seventh, ninth, 13th and 15th respectively in men's slalom, as well as Ni Yueming ranked eighth and Zhang Guiyuan took the 12th place in women's event.

"I'm pretty satisfied with the results. For men's team, I think they delivered the best performance they have at this moment of their career," Iliffe said.

"With the ladies, it could have been better, especially because we have some elder ladies who have more experience," He added.

In Iliffe's view, he brought team China experiences and tried to copy the European alpine skiing team's training system.

"Also you know, I keep on getting films and videos from the best skiers in the world. We're having a good work," Iliffe said.

In Harbin, two gold medals of alpine skiing were bagged by Japanese skiers, as well as two bronze medals. The skiers from South Korea also pocketed two silver medals on the alpine skiing slope of the Yabuli ski resort.

"We must understand that the nations like South Korea and Japan, have promoted alpine skiing for around 40 years. They have all the background, they have junior programs, professional servicemen and professional coaches. But these are all missing in China,"

"We have to also build the setup of coaches which work with the younger skiers, so when they go to the national team, they have a good level which we could work on. Unfortunately, we are far behind in that aspect. We have to work on that in the future," Iliffe explained.

In the eyes of the experienced coach, the competitive power of alpine skiing was influenced by three factors, including the equipment, technique and the athlete's physical condition.

"We must work on the three aspects. We must also go and compete in Europe to get more experience with the other races. We must know that we had just been the best alpine skiers in China," Iliffe said.

When talking about the goal of the upcoming 2026 Olympic Winter Games, the Italian coach refuses to give clear expectations for team China.

"The level of alpine skiing at the moment is so high, especially in the men. What's more, the top 10 or 15 ladies have been at a very high level."

"The most important thing we must do is to put the right setup with the equipment and get on skiing on water-injected slopes. Because all the races on the world stage are all done on the water-injected slopes," Iliffe said.

After the alpine skiing event at the Harbin Asian Winter Games, the Chinese alpine skiing team will go to Songhua Lake ski resort, kicking off the next training session and participating in the Chinese National Championships.

"I always say they must try and perform their best as long as they work hard and they believe in what they're doing," Iliffe added. Enditem

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