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HARBIN, China, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Olympic champion Zhang Hong of China, is tuning up for the Asian Winter Games despite her poor showing at the three-day Harbin leg of the Speed Skating World Cup.
"I hoped to skate to my best form in front of my fans at home," said Zhang on Sunday, who became the first Chinese Winter Olympic champion in speed skating when she clocked in one minute and 14.02 seconds to take the women's 1,000m title at the Sochi Olympics in 2014.
At the Harbin leg of the ongoing World Cup, Zhang, 28, merely placed 10th in the women's 500m race and 12th in the 1,000m event.
"We took the World Cup as a precious training occasion, because we're mainly focusing on the Asian Winter Games," said Zhang, explaining that "every athlete has her ups and downs in her competitive status, and I'm at the low tide at the moment."
"But I will not spare any efforts to tune up myself for the Asian Winter Games, and I'm looking forward to your support," said Zhang.
The 8th Asian Winter Games will be held in Sapporo, Japan in February, 2017.
