DORDRECHT, Netherlands -- China's mixed relay team secured a seat in the semifinals in the first-day competitions at the 2021-2022 season ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating series in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, on Thursday.

The Chinese team, consisting of An Kai, Fan Kexin, Sun Long and Zhang Chutong, won in the quarterfinals with a time of 2:40.968, beating Italy, Japan, Germany, and Belarus in their heats.

In the preliminaries of the men's 500m race, Chinese Olympic champion Wu Dajing and his teammate Ren Ziwei both took the lead in their heats to qualify for the next stage of the match, with results of 40.630 seconds and 40.921 respectively.

Also on Thursday, three Chinese skaters Zhang Yuting, Guo Yihan and Han Yutong, all came in second in their heats and made it through to the semifinals in the women's 1,500m race.

The World Cup competitions are the fourth in the series and also the last chance for the athletes to qualify for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.