Chinese charity helps Mongolia to the medals table
(Reuters)Updated: 2007-02-01 09:17
Teenager Manal Unenbat got Mongolia onto the medals table at the Asian Winter Games on Wednesday despite delivering by far the worst performance in the women's freestyle aerials.
 Manal Unenbat(R) clinches the bronze medal in the women's freestyle aerials at Winter Asiad.[Xinhua]  |
Unenbat was the lone non-Chinese in a field of five, alongside an Olympic silver medallist and two other skiers with Olympic experience.
She had less than 12 weeks of training in the sport and would not have been able to compete at all if it had not been for the generosity of her country's southern neighbour.
"She's only been doing this for three months," her coach Chagnaa Dorjgotov told Reuters while Unenbat stood smiling shyly with the medal around her neck.
"We don't have any facilities for this sport in Mongolia so we have had to train in China. We are very grateful to the Chinese. She is very proud."
Turin Olympics runner-up Li Nina won the contest as expected with 194.57 points ahead of the youngest member of the Chinese squad, Xu Mengtao, who took silver in 184.88, while 61.02 got Unenbat a shared bronze with Zhang Xin.
Heavy snowfall and temperatures plummeting to minus 20 degrees Celsius made for difficult conditions at Beida Lake and Li was pleased just to walk away with China's 10th gold of the Games.
"It is not an easy win in such bad weather. It was not my best form but I am happy with the result," she said.
Mongolia became only the fifth nation to win a medal in Changchun as the East Asian powers China, Japan and South Korea continued to dominate along with Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan won their first golds of the Games when Oxana Yatskaya won the women's 5km classical and Maxim Odnodvortsev led a Kazakh podium sweep in the men's 30km free.
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