On August 30, Beijing hosted a presentation of the Chinese hockey club Red Star Kunlun, the first Chinese club in the KHL. The club was represented in the House of People's Assembly. The presentation was attended by players, coaching staff and managers, as well as guests of honor, including the chairman of the China International Center for Cultural Communication Long Yuxiang, head of the Center winter views of Sports at the General Directorate of the PRC for Physical Culture and Sports Zhen Hongguo and Russian Ambassador to the PRC Andrey Denisov.

Recall that the decision to create a Chinese team in one of the strongest leagues in the old world was discussed at the level of top officials last year. And already in June 2016, an official document was signed between the KHL and hockey club"Krasnaya Zvezda Kunlun" about the team's performance in the KHL championship since the 2016-2017 season. The federations of Russia and China confirmed their commitment to provide the necessary support for the subsequent development of the club, holding matches and creating a hockey school on the basis of HC Krasnaya Zvezda Kunlun.

According to the KHL, the entry of the Chinese club into the strongest hockey league in the Eurasian space will be a significant step in the development of cooperation between China and Russia, as well as with other countries, especially against the background of the fact that the 2022 Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing.

During the presentation of the Kunlun Red Star in Beijing, our correspondents managed to talk with the guests and find out what they think about the prospects of the Chinese club.

Chairman of China International Center for Cultural Communication Long Yuxiang said:

“China has become a unique platform for the development of not only hockey, but also any other sports, which we are very happy about. We hope that together with the Russian side we will be able to increase the interest of ordinary citizens in winter sports.”

Note, Continental hockey league was formed in 2008. This is an open international hockey league uniting hockey clubs from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, Latvia, Slovakia, Croatia and Finland. Teams from these countries annually compete for the league's main trophy - the Gagarin Cup. Since the 2016/2017 season, 29 teams have played in the league.

Zhen Hongguo, head of the Winter Sports Center under the General Administration of Physical Culture and Sports of the People's Republic of China, said:

“Exchanges in the field of physical culture and sports are main part international cultural exchanges. We hope that the entry of the Kunlun Red Star Club into the KHL and the holding of the Winter Olympic Games in 2022 will contribute to the development of winter sports in China.”

For the Chinese side, the entry of the club into the KHL can indeed play a key role in the expansion of hockey and other winter sports in the country. If at least five percent of the population becomes seriously interested in hockey, it will be a great success for China. And such a possibility is quite real, especially against the background of the fact that this issue is supervised at the highest government level. Thus, the final match of the Olympic tournament in Sochi between Canada and Sweden was watched by 120 million Chinese viewers. It remains to be seen how many people will watch the matches of the Chinese team.

Ambassador Russian Federation Andrey Denisov said in China:

“One of the main differences between modern Russian Chinese relations is their diversity. We are constantly in search of new projects and together we open up new areas, new areas and cooperation. One of these powers is sports. The participation of the Chinese club in the games of the Continental Hockey League will not only create new opportunities for the popularization of this water sport in China, but will also become serious in the preparation of China's national ice hockey sport for the 2022 Olympics.”

The coaching staff of the Krasnaya Zvezda Kunlun club was headed by Vladimir Yurzinov, Jr., who enjoys high prestige in international hockey and has extensive experience working with KHL clubs, foreign leagues, and various teams. Here's what he had to say about the club:

“We are trying to attract as many Chinese players as possible. In order for them to study, to take experience in European... Because we would like to have more and more Chinese crayfish in the team every year. Because we believe that the most important goal is the national team that will perform at the Beijing Olympics.”

The home arena of HC "Krasnaya Zvezda Kunlun" became sports complex MasterCard Center, built for the 2008 Summer Olympics and ready to accommodate up to 18,000 spectators. The team includes players from Russia, Europe and North America, however, as noted Main coach"Red Star Kunlun", the main focus will be on Chinese athletes.

The first game of the Red Star Kunlun club in the championship will take place on September 5 in Beijing. Chinese team will host the Admiral team from Vladivostok.

NEW CHINESE

I grew up in America and graduated from Columbia University, studying business and the humanities, - Liao began her story about herself. - My grandfather was a famous general during the Sino-Japanese War. Therefore, after studying in the States, the goal was to benefit China.

- Who is the new generation of Chinese?

Typically, Chinese students get excellent grades in the US and the UK. The Chinese approach is to work hard in pursuit of improvement and success. Now the Chinese have begun to think more globally, work better in a team, while maintaining the traditions of diligent students.

- How has business changed in your country lately?

We have become closer to the world. Large companies have learned a lot from the West and are developing both intensively and extensively, using the methods of acquisitions, mergers and investments. Therefore, my focus on effective foreign investment has become very popular.

- Chinese companies increasingly present in world markets.

Unfortunately, in Europe and North America, Chinese investors are often deceived because they do not know the specifics of local marketing. Western companies know almost nothing about our country. Since I am well aware of both "worlds", I help with the location of investments in the West and believe that I am making a positive contribution to the development of our business and country.

How did the Chinese get interested in sports?

Over time, our investors began to invest more and more in the entertainment industry, as the population began to pay attention to improving the standard of living and good entertainment content - movies, series and, of course, sports broadcasts. All this is becoming even more in demand in China. I am well aware of the needs of the Chinese market and the prerequisites for investment in this area.

September 5th. Beijing. "Kunlun" - "Admiral" - 6:3. Rudy Ying (left) during the performance of the Chinese national anthem. Photo photo.khl.ru

KUNLUN

- How did you get into hockey?

I was appointed president "Kunlun Red Star" so that the performance of the club in one of the strongest leagues in the world contributed to the successful development of hockey in China. The club plays a vital role in Sino-Russian relations. This project, as well as the vast majority of international projects in China, is aimed at a successful performance at the 2022 Olympics. Our winter sport is just beginning to develop. At this stage, we do not have enough professional athletes and staff. For the Chinese market and audience, this is a completely unknown area. With the support of the governments of the two countries at the highest level, we have directed our project to a significant breakthrough. winter sports in China, as well as engaging and informing mass audiences.

- How does hockey help in the development of international relations?

KHL matches are played in eight countries, including China. Sport has become a tool of sports communication between them, absolutely new and interesting for us. Our country has never played in an international league of this level before. Performance in Continental League will help to establish ties through culture and sports, to improve our athletes, as well as to develop the entire club and the hockey industry in the country in order to reach the world level by 2022.

- How is it planned to carry out this development?

The Continental League is played by high-level professionals, and we have gathered the best Chinese players to play in it. In addition, together with the Chinese Sports Administration (similar to the Ministry of Sports. - Note. auth.) and the Ice Hockey Federation, we arranged a review of players from the national teams under 20 and under 18 years old. Our efforts are aimed at raising the general level of hockey players in the country and training personnel for the main Chinese team so that talented young people can prove themselves at the upcoming Winter Olympics.

- What are the short-term challenges facing the club?

We hope to get the team into the playoffs. The whole team works hard together to achieve more. I think it's good to develop sports team towards self-sufficiency. This does not contradict the main line of the country's successful preparation for the Winter Olympics. Sports marketing in China is not developing in the traditional American way. Since the government controls most of the sports industry, one has to be careful.

- How can you make money on the club in these conditions?

The hockey club is part of the holding of several companies in various areas, including sports marketing and others. And we plan to develop other areas to make the project successful. Perhaps until the club itself can pay for itself. The main thing is to attract investments in sports marketing. Hopefully, with the help of our and the Russian government, we will not be just a team about which they say: "They are rich and can afford to spend a lot of money." We are ready to invest carefully to make the club the main symbol of our entertainment industry. The ultimate dream of our hockey players is a career in the KHL. We are ready to use other areas of business for the comprehensive development of the club in order to fully exploit the possibilities of sports marketing.

ATTENDANCE

- How do you plan to cope with the low attendance at home matches in Shanghai?

In essence, we create marketing and form a new audience. Our team is based in Beijing, but as a Chinese team in the KHL, we have to play a lot of home games in Shanghai. Growing in two different markets is even more difficult. I hope through Russian media will be able to tell how difficult it is to attract the attention of a completely new audience, because in China people are not accustomed to walking on sport's event in your free time or with your family. In addition, our sport is seriously behind the popularity of football and basketball.

- What are the ways to attract the audience?

We have mobilized local television and most of the electronic sports venues to educate people about hockey. Well-known hockey personalities can help with the development of the brand by telling why they chose this sport and what the KHL is. Our target audience is university students, sports fans, especially football and basketball fans in Beijing and Shanghai, foreigners and tourists. They are used to watching sports, and we will teach them to play hockey. Although we have done a lot of work, it cannot be compared with the progress in other more developed countries in terms of hockey - Russia and others where hockey is a national sport.

- What tools attract young people?

An important part of our project is teaching hockey to children from kindergarten to 18 years of age. Speech "Kunlun" in the KHL will increase popularity among the younger population. It may take some time, because even the National Hockey League only came to China three years ago.

- Due to what the KHL can overtake in Asia?

The advantage of the KHL is that the Chinese team plays in the league, as well as in the proximity of the region. In any case, with the current government support and hopefully media coverage, we are ready to pick up the pace. You have to understand that the team was created in a few months, and it performs well, but we are ready to continue to work hard and develop, solving many problems every day. I hope we can make hockey popular in China.

- How can the KHL develop in China?

In the future, our group of companies plans to create several KHL teams from China. This will allow more Chinese hockey players to perform at the highest level and improve. We will start these projects as soon as we put the current one on its feet.

Kunlun head coach Vladimir YURZINOV. Photo photo.khl.ru

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS

– What is behind the successful start of the regular season for “Kunlun”?

I think we picked the right head coach and general manager. - very experienced and professional use best qualities players, and also competently distributes foreign and Chinese hockey players in the team. We gathered an international team from eight different countries, including Russia, and seven Chinese joined them. Hockey players quickly found a common language of hockey, despite the differences. I think we did a good job, and we can only thank our team for a successful start, but there is always room to grow.

- How do Chinese hockey players feel in the KHL club?

Our hockey players are fully aware of and grateful for the opportunity to play in the KHL, so they work painstakingly under the guidance of a coach. The son of our celebrity returned from the North American club to play in our team. AT "Kunlun" The Chinese are also motivated by patriotism. That is why we need to talk about our country to legionnaires who have made a huge contribution to success.

- What do you know about Russia?

Little. I really want to know more about her, and our project is a great opportunity for this. For me, Russia is a mysterious country with a rich history and culture. In this, China is similar to her. We do not want the world to judge us only by money or the political situation, forgetting about other areas. The cooperation of two countries with a rich past, economic power can make them stronger, as well as allow our compatriots to get to know each other better. Hockey is a great opportunity for the Chinese to get to know the Russians.

- Did you know that you became popular in the Russian hockey community thanks to a page on a social network?

I didn't know about this before. After spending some time in the US, the habit of maintaining a Facebook page remained. It's great that the fans liked it, and now I will update it more often to tell more about the club and Chinese culture. I will only be happy about it.

“It’s good that we came to China first”

Oleg Gorbenko, assistant head coach of Kunlun Red Star, spoke about the level of Chinese hockey in an exclusive interview with the site.

Assistant head coach of Kunlun Red Star Oleg Gorbenko in an exclusive interviewSovsport.ru spoke about the level of Chinese hockey.

“KHL players will become the elite in China”

“The level of Chinese players is still low,” Gorbenko does not hide. - If you put together all the strongest players from Harbin, Qiqihar, plus the guys from my youth team, with whom I have been working for eight years, you will get an average player for the VHL.

- What is the main difficulty in training Chinese hockey players?
- There is no professional hockey as such. The quality of the training process at the amateur level. The only team that trained professionally was mine. True, there are changes in the club playing in the Asian Hockey League. A Canadian coach has just arrived. Japanese players have arrived. This year they seriously added discipline in terms of the training process. I think that with the advent of the KHL, if we manage to gather promising guys in Kunlun Red Star, and they will train with the players playing in our league, they will feel the level, speed, then through they will add a year or two.

- That is, at first, Chinese players will not be included in the squad for KHL matches?
- That's up to the head coach. But, objectively speaking, it will be difficult for them.

– What is the main problem? In skating, physical training?
– No, not in skating and not in “physics”. The problem is self-understanding of the game. And in psychology. Chinese hockey players have never played in front of 18,000 spectators. One thing training process, another thing is a real match. Everything will have to be re-learned.

– How quickly do the Chinese adapt to new sports?
– I came to China in 2008. There was almost no hockey in Beijing, nobody heard about it there. But in just eight years, it has become an elite sport. They now have golf and hockey, two sports where wealthy parents bring their children to play. Parents from poor families cannot afford this. In Beijing, ice rental is very expensive - ten times higher than in Russia.
Wealthy people began to bring their children to hockey because it became prestigious. A lot has changed since the announcement of the 2022 Olympics. Over the past year, a huge number of skating rinks have been built. Clubs are starting to be created, they want to open hockey schools. The base was built - hockey Kindergarten. Children are sent there for five years. They live there, eat, train. Boarding school of sorts. Previously, in China, there was no point in preparing a professional hockey player from a child. There were no prospects. What for? He's not going to make money with it... Now, with the advent of the KHL, everyone will begin to understand that you can make money in hockey. I think that the Chinese will start investing and bringing children to learn hockey. Players who play in the KHL will become elite in China, recognizable faces. Now the hobby for hockey in China is rampant.

“Now everyone has climbed here”

- So, in your opinion, the appearance of your club in the KHL could become a kind of explosion for the development of hockey in China?
- The appearance of the KHL in China is a very timely decision. I hoped that it would be so, although I did not believe that everything would grow together.

– When a team made up entirely of Chinese players will be able to compete in KHL level?
When will the first one open? hockey school and students will come out of it - people trained in hockey.

- Which, as they learn, will play with their peers from Russia.
– Definitely. The Chinese need to create their own youth team in the JHL. Juniors to declare in the championship of Russia. It will be an international project that will unite the hockey world.

– Perhaps in the future, the appearance in the KHL of other Chinese clubs?
- You can open a Chinese club. Let's say Shanghai. With Chinese investments, we will again bring together foreign players. That's how it's possible. But the second hockey club that could attract Chinese players ... They don't exist yet. If you make plans for the 2022 Olympics, then these should be guys born in 1995-1997. This is the correct playing age for them to compete at home Games. These are my guys and three or four people from Harbin and Qiqihar. And there is no one below. It's good that the Russians were the first to come here. Before the announcement of the Olympics, I worked for eight years and did not see anyone. But lately I've been watching: Finns, Czechs, Canadians - everyone climbed.

source: "Soviet Sport"

Read on: Piganovich out until the end of the season due to injury Andrey Martemyanov: Avtomobilist's snipers disappeared

Vladimir Bystrov: The referee didn't put a clean penalty against CSKA, but the derby didn't spoil The former midfielder of Spartak and Zenit shared his impressions of the red-and-whites' victory over CSKA in the 1/4 final match of the Russian Cup. 05.03.2020 00:45 Football Avgustin Alexander

The Rise and Departure of Mary. How Sharapova ended her career The five-time Grand Slam champion and ex-first rocket of the planet announced her retirement from the sport. 26.02.2020 22:00 Tennis Mysin Nikolay

"Challenge to myself." Kim Clijsters lost after her return to the court The former world number one resumed her career for the second time. 17.02.2020 22:00 Tennis Ivanova Daria

Kihira is able to give our fight at the World Cup. What the Rest of the World Championship showed This morning the Four Continents Championship ended in Seoul. We compare its results with the recent European Championship 2020 - with an eye on the upcoming world championship. 09.02.2020 14:57 Figure skating Tigay Lev

We are talking not only about figure skating and short track - disciplines in which Chinese athletes traditionally show good results, but also about sports that are less common in China, such as hockey.

According to the strategy developed by the State General Administration of Physical Education and Sports of the People's Republic of China, the main idea of ​​holding the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022 is to promote winter sports that were previously unpopular among more than 300 million Chinese citizens. The task of spreading such disciplines as skiing, bobsleigh and ski jumping, the Olympic city of Zhangjiakou, located 200 km from the capital, will largely perform, it is already ready to host snow tracks. But with team sports, especially hockey, the situation is much more complicated.

12 hockey teams will take part in the 2022 Olympics (8 of which will take places in IIHF ranking), as well as the winners of the three qualifying groups and the host country, i.e. China. The title of "capital" of the Winter Olympic Games implies the mandatory participation in the tournament of the Chinese ice hockey team, which this moment occupies only 38th place in the IIHF global rankings. The indicator is by no means high, therefore, in order to increase the competitiveness of the hockey team by 2022, the Chinese authorities have taken seriously the creation of a strong team.

Today success on international competitions it's too early for Chinese hockey players to brag. In the Asian Hockey League, there is the only team from China - China Dragon, which has collected all the anti-records in the AIHL. The team was formed in 2007, the Chinese Ice Hockey Association brought together the "best of the best" of the two the strongest teams: "Khosa" (Harbin) and "Changchun-fuao" (Qiqihar). As a result of negotiations between the Chinese Hockey Association and the San Jose Sharks (teams from the NHL), it was decided to strengthen the Chinese national team with five players and three coaches from the NHL, the team was named China Sharks. However, all efforts went to waste: despite the fact that the team pulled up its level somewhat, by the difference of goals scored / conceded, it remained “at the bottom” standings, overtaking only the Japanese club Nikko Icebags. In 2009, the China Sharks lost financial support from the West, and the team was renamed China Dragon. Last season, the Chinese club managed to win only 7 wins in 48 matches.

An important step in the development of national hockey was the entry of the Chinese club into the Continental Hockey League (KHL)

An important step in the development of national hockey was the entry of the Chinese club into the Continental Hockey League (KHL). The decision to create a Chinese team in one of the strongest hockey leagues was discussed at the level of top officials, and in October last year, a KHL working group on the “hockey” cities of the Celestial Empire visited. During the visit, the Russian delegation visited Shanghai, Harbin and Beijing, where they got acquainted with the local hockey infrastructure and visited youth competitions. The purpose of the visit was to assess the future prospects for cooperation between the League and Chinese clubs. A little later, it became known that the President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation Vladislav Tretyak, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Continental Hockey League Gennady Timchenko and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Red Star-Kunlun Chinese Hockey Club Yang Yun signed a protocol on China's performances in the KHL. According to the document, in order to participate in the next game series KHL season, the Krasnaya Zvezda-Kunlun club is obliged to provide financial guarantees of the minimum amount of funding until the end of April 2016, as well as comply with all conditions for participation in the League, comply with the rules and regulations stipulated by the KHL Regulations. There is no doubt about the financial guarantees of the Chinese club - the taxation system in China is quite loyal to sports, which is well evidenced by the activity of Chinese football clubs, who spent more than 203 million euros in the winter transfer window and overtook the most prestigious English Premier League. Thus, according to forecasts, the expected budget of the "Red Star-Kunlun" will be comparable to the budgets of the richest teams in the KHL, such as SKA, Ak Bars and CSKA Moscow. The Chinese club will be based in Beijing, the home arena should be the Mastercard Center sports complex, built before Summer Olympics 2008 and designed for 18 thousand fans.

Chinese fans hope that the new Chinese club in the KHL will be able to collect good team. Chairman of the Board of Directors of the KHL Gennady Timchenko said that the newcomer to the KHL - the Beijing "Red Star-Kunlun" - will be given special conditions for the recruitment of hockey players. And, first of all, we will talk about athletes from North America and, possibly, players from Russia. However, hockey fans believe that the Chinese club will choose the North American vector of development, the reason for this is the offer of a working contract to the Canadian hockey coach Mike Keenan, who won many trophies during his career, including the Stanley Cup and the Gagarin Cup. If the Chinese club manages to put such an experienced coach at the helm, it will significantly increase the chances of the club performing at the very high level. However, according to the regulations, in addition to foreign stars, athletes with Chinese passports must also play in the club.

On the background low level games in regional hockey clubs, the problem of finding professionals is quite acute. But it is also resolvable. Every year in China there is a growing interest in getting education abroad, many young junior hockey players go to study in Canada and the USA, and after graduation they stay to play in local clubs. An example is 19-year-old Andong Song, who moved from China to Canada at the age of 10, long time he played for local clubs and was later spotted by the New York Islanders. To date, Song is considered the first ethnic Chinese in the NHL. It is possible that the "Red Star-Kunlun" will be able to return young players or naturalize players with Chinese roots.

Interesting: By the way, the prices for classes and equipment in China do not differ much from Russian ones: the average price of a uniform is about $ 65, the price of one lesson in a section is $ 30, in Russia the cost of equipment is slightly lower - around $ 55, but classes are worth more expensive - 30-35 dollars

The entry of Chinese clubs into the KHL is beneficial both to the League itself and to China. Performance national team in the KHL contributes to the popularity of hockey in the country, and will also help in creating a competitive national team that can adequately perform at the home Olympics. In turn, the KHL will get a huge market. By the way, interest in hockey in China has been constantly growing in recent years, which is proved by the TV rating data during the hockey final on Olympic Games in Sochi: over 120 million Chinese watched the Canada-Sweden match, while only 15 million viewers supported Canada at home. It is difficult to imagine how many viewers will cling to the screens if, sooner or later, the Chinese team gets into the final.

Equally interesting will be the matches with the participation of the Chinese team in the KHL. So, about 800 thousand Chinese people watch the NHL games, and this is despite the morning broadcast. It is worth noting that the NHL has long been trying to "strengthen" in China - in addition to creating sports schools and camps, NHL clubs organize tourist trips to games in the United States. In addition, several clubs are planning to send their players to participate in the local league. Perhaps such competition will benefit the KHL. The Youth Hockey Development Program can also contribute to this. The Ministry of Sports of China and Russia, the FHR and the KHL are in constant dialogue. It is planned to create youth team, which may play in the MHL (Youth Hockey League). And in the “youth team” preference will be given to local players rather than legionnaires.

As for junior hockey in China itself, only three teams played at the country's championship among juniors U18 in 2014-2015: Harbin, Qiqihar and Beijing. The northern teams (Harbin and Qiqihar) are significantly inferior in technique to the young Beijing hockey players. One of the key advantages of the Beijing team is the participation of 9 young hockey players who have been trained in the USA and Canada, where intense training newcomers. Even if we compare the number of matches played per year, then “over the hill” young people participate in more than 100 official matches, and the guys from Chinese clubs cannot earn such a practice even in 5 years. An interesting fact is that in the capital, children begin to play hockey from the age of 4-5, and children from the northern regions of China enroll in hockey section at the age of 7-8 years, although it is believed that it is the children from the northern provinces who are stronger and taller. As for the number of competitions at the city level, Beijing is also in the lead here. So, about 730 matches are held in the capital during the annual city junior training camp, in which 1745 young athletes take part.

Perhaps the more active development of hockey in Beijing is influenced not only by the image " Olympic capital", but also other factors. Firstly, the abundance of sports infrastructure, soon specifically for the popularization of hockey and figure skating Beijing plans to build 16 ice arenas and about 50 from indoor ice rinks, and in total in China there are 64 outdoor and 48 indoor ice rinks. For comparison: in Russia at the beginning of 2016, there were 2,553 open and 450 indoor ice rinks. Secondly, the capital is leading in terms of the number of the middle class, and these are people who can afford to buy expensive clothes for their children. hockey equipment and pay for classes.

Today the Youth Hockey League has 708 players. Of course, the numbers are not so impressive, but everyone knows what Chinese athletes are capable of, especially with the support of the country's top leader: Chinese President Xi Jinping recently admitted that ice hockey is his favorite winter sport.