Teenage soccer, hockey players meet special fan

Despite a tight schedule during his state visit to the Czech Republic, President Xi Jinping spent about 20 minutes on Tuesday with teenage soccer and ice hockey players from both countries.

Xi, an avid soccer fan, shook hands with the young players in front of the south garden of the Czech President's Office at about 12:50 pm, just after the signing of a joint declaration on a strategic partnership with his Czech counterpart, Milos Zeman.

During the meeting, Xi accepted sports shirts as gifts from the teenage players. He also posed for photos with a visiting ice hockey team of Chinese players around the age of 16.

While shaking hands with the Czech players, Xi invited them to China.

The national ice hockey team of the Czech Republic is one of the most successful in the world. The Czechs won the gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics and won three straight gold medals at the world championships from 1999 to 2001.

President Zeman, who visited China in September, and Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, who visited in November, have both discussed sports cooperation with Chinese leaders.

"The 2022 Winter Olympics to be held in China also offer a great opportunity for sports exchanges between our two countries." Xi said in an article published in the daily newspaper Pravo on Saturday, ahead of his state visit.

In November, Liu Peng, president of the Chinese Olympic Committee, visited Prague to learn about the Czech Republic's winter sports setup and the country's experience in organizing events.

It was expected that the two countries will announce plans to further collaborate on sports during Xi's visit.

"During the visit, young soccer players (from both nations) will also compete," said Jiri Kejval, president of the Czech Olympic Committee. "Sport is about friendship. This is preparation, and we know that China will not only organize a Winter Olympics, but also will participate in it."

He said his country is ready to help China catch up in the runup to the Games. China is currently 38th in world ice hockey rankings and will only be able to take part in the event in the 2022 Olympics if it reaches the top 18.

Kejval said he is confident his coaches are qualified to help China achieve this. In the 1950s, Czech coaches taught Russian players, and now the Russians are among the best in the world, he said.

"I'm 100 percent sure China can produce highly competitive hockey players, despite the fact that team sports are more difficult than individual sports," he said.

China has made tremendous progress in sports and event organization, Kejval added. "Now (the country) has started to shift to winter sports, which has brought a lot of opportunities for us to start cooperation."

However, he said, it is not only a case of China learning from the Czechs, but also the other way around.

"We can learn from China in volleyball, table tennis and other sports," he said.

(China Daily 03/30/2016 page3)