"China is still a developing country. Owing to our social and economic development as well as the weather and geographical conditions, it's impossible for China to devote fully to developing winter sports," Xiao said.

    "Therefore, we still lag behind many countries, especially in classical winter sports including Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and speed skating in the middle and long distance events."

    With an eye on the 2010 Vancouver Games, Xiao said China would try to learn advanced training methods from, and draw on the experience of, other countries.

    "The Turin Olympics made us further realize that to develop winter sports is a long-drawn and arduous task," Xiao said. "Since we have achieved satisfactory results in the foreign-coached events, such as the freestyle aerials and cross-country skiing, we are considering inviting more high-level foreign coaches to help us in the future."

    Rising young talents

    One reason for the upbeat mood among sports officials is the potential shown by young athletes.

    With an average age of 23.05, China sent a relatively young team to Turin. Nearly a third of the members were making their Olympic debut.

    Among them, short track speedskater Wang Meng was undoubtedly the biggest draw. Winning one medal in each colour, Wang pocketed the most medals in the delegation.

    Seen as the new leader of the women's short track team, Wang, 20, is ready to take on the responsibility.

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