Rising star Li makes perfect debut at National Winter Games

Li Jinyu got up at six am on Saturday morning, three hours before sunrise in northwest China's Urumqi, to catch an international flight to Bulgaria.

The 15-year-old speed skater is scheduled to make her international debut at next week's world junior short-track speedskating championships.

"It's my first time to compete abroad, and I wish I could have a good result," she said.

Li impressed at the ongoing National Winter Games, China's top-level winter sports competition, as she grabbed the silver medal in the 1,500m in 2:16.202, which surpassed the world record of 2:16.729 set by compatriot Zhou Yang eight years ago. Sochi Olympics runner-up Fan Kexin won the gold medal in 2:16.024.

No one had expected Li's performance.

"It is beyond my expectations," Li said afterwards. "I felt tired over the last three laps but I heard my coach ask me to go faster."

"I was very surprised," said Li's coach Zhao Shuqi. "She's only 15 and lack experiences. Her best result before the Games was a fourth finish in the 1,000m qualification. She is young, but very talented, and very smart."

Chinese national team coach Li Yan also heaped praises on the girl.

"I am more than happy to see Li Jinyu take a silver with such a good time and at such a young age," said Li.

Li started short-track speedskating at seven, when Beijing won the bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games.

"I first heard about the Olympic Games in 2004, when I was only three years old, I knew that Liu Xiang did a great thing," she said.

"In 2008, I watched the Beijing Olympic Games on TV, and I just started skating. I thought maybe someday I can compete in the Olympic Games as well.

"I hope I can do something great for my country as Liu Xiang did. But I am still young now, I need to improve step by step."

Liu Xiang won the men's 110m hurdle gold medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and became a super star since then.

Li seemed extremely young in the rink. "I was very nervous before the race, but when the competition started, I had no other thoughts and just focused on my race."

Li also took part in the 500m, 1,000m and 3,000m relay in the National Winter Games. She could have also made the 1,000m final, but was surpassed in the last two laps.

"I feel a little pity about the 1,000m," she said. "I was in the second place before the last two laps."

The 13th National Winter Games, which kicked off Wednesday, will run through Jan. 30. It is for the first time since the winter sporting gala was introduced in 1959 that the quadrennial event has been held outside the northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin. Endit