Team Leader: Chinese Aerialists too Nervous to Perform to Their Best

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 19, 2002

Team Leader: Chinese Aerialists too Nervous to Perform to Their Best

Chinese aerialists were too nervous to perform to their best at the 19th Winter Olympic Games, said the Chinese team leader Ding Zhenping on Monday.

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Chinese aerialists were too nervous to perform to their best at the 19th Winter Olympic Games, said the Chinese team leader Ding Zhenping on Monday.

"Generally speaking, the Chinese aerialists did not perform to their best," said Ding after Monday's women's aerials finals.

Li Nina, a 19-year-old Olympic debutant, finished fifth in the 12-member women's finals with 185.23 points from two jumps, while Nagano silver medalist Xu Nannan surprisingly settled for the 12thplace after failing to land both jumps.

Earlier in the men's preliminary round, all the Chinese competitors crashed out of the finals.

Although their results were not satisfactory, Ding believed theChinese aerialists had tried their utmost.

"They tried very hard and showed high spirits in the competition," Ding said.

Li, who made her international debut by finishing 15th at 2001 World Championships, agreed with Ding.

"I did my very best. I gave it the most strength that I had, itjust wasn't there today," said Li after clinching China's best results in snow sports at the Salt Lake City Games.

Ding attributed the below-par performance of Chinese aerialists,especially their top aerialist Xu Nannan, to their nervous mind.

"One day before the women's preliminary competition, Xu felt really bad in the practice, which gave her a lot of pressure and made her nervous," Ding said.

Xu, runner-up in two World Cup competitions before the Games and one of the title favorites for the event in Salt Lake City, struggled in the preliminary round before delivering a lackluster performance in the finals.

"The main thing was I was very nervous. I wasn't able to bring my movements in the way I wanted to," she said.

"I had been doing really well in a lot of World Cup competitions, but it just made me really nervous to come to the final."

The Chinese men's aerialists, spearheaded by world championships ninth-placer Ou Xiaotao, were also too nervous to achieve better results.

"Their jumps are among the most difficult ones in the world, but they were just too nervous to do them well," said Ding.

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