China set for curling bonanza

China's men's curlers swept into the semifinals of the Olympic competition on Monday and are poised to emerge as the sport's new power.

With only five curling rinks and about 300 registered curlers in the world's most populous nation, curling is such a fringe sport in China that even its Canadian coach knows very little about the game's past or future there.

All Marcel Rocque is concerned about is the now.

"My sole focus has been this (Olympics)," said Rocque, a three-time world champion for Canada.

"I am not sure how it works in China. I can honestly say I have no idea. I am really not even sure how many curling clubs there are."

China joined the World Curling Federation in 2002 and 12 years later is in position to win a gold medal at the Sochi Winter Games.

In less than a decade, China's women's team had been crowned world champion in 2009 and a year later climbed onto the Olympic podium for the first time, taking a bronze at the Vancouver Games.

In Sochi, it is the men's turn to make an impact. Liu Rui's foursome reeled off four straight wins to start the competition then closed out the round-robin with a nervy final rock victory over Britain to clinch a semifinal spot.

The Chinese women saw their bid for a return to the final four fall just short on Monday with a 10-6 loss to Switzerland.

"It is a different model from everything else that is being done around world just now," said British skip David Murdoch.

"They put all their money into one team and those guys have just been playing in Canada week in and week out on the world tour, learning the trade.

"That is what you have got to do if you want to be good and you can see that they are technically excellent."

China has long tapped into Canadian expertise, hiring coaches and basing teams briefly in the world's curling capital.

Many podiums

With the team already technically sound, Rocque was brought onboard last July to add some much needed tactical savvy and it has paid dividends with the men reaching the final four at an Olympics for the first time.

"They are still a young team but they play professionally so they train like eight to 10 hours a day. It is hard to keep up with," said Norway curler Christoffer Svae.

"They have been good technically, good shooters, for four or five years and now they have some Canadian coaching help they are starting to get a grip of the game tactically.

"They are coming fast and it is just a matter of time before they get a medal. It could happen here."

Certainly China is counting on many curling podiums in the future.

The sport will receive another major boost in China next month when Beijing hosts the men's world championships.

The country is also in the process of creating what it hopes will become a curling pipeline.

Chinese curling teams have traditionally come from Harbin in northeast China, where there is a four-sheet dedicated curling facility. But a new rink opened recently in Yichun, Heilongjiang province, and there are plans to put 100,000 school children through a curling program.

"I told them I might be giving you some of Canada's secrets but I am definitely a student and I am learning some stuff from them as well," said Rocque. "I may have made them stronger but what I bring back will make us (Canada) stronger also."

(China Daily 02/19/2014 page24)