A step forward, but there's still a long way to go, as the alpine skiing event of the Asian Winter Games sees Chinese national champion Liu Xiaochen ranked seventh, China's best result in the sport.

Piers Adrian Iliffe, head coach of the Chinese alpine skiing team, told Xinhua that it would take him a long time to steer Chinese skiers to the top step of the podium.

Iliffe coached team Italy at six Winter Olympics, plus 13 editions of the World Championships. The Italian took over the Chinese alpine skiing team after Beijing 2022.

In Harbin, Liu, Chao Xinbo, Sun Xinmiao and Li Jinyang finished seventh, ninth, 13th and 15th respectively in men's slalom. Ni Yueming ranked eighth and Zhang Guiyuan took the 12th place in women's event.

Failing to make the podium at the Asian Winter Games, Piers Adrian Iliffe, head coach of the Chinese alpine skiing team, admitted that it would take time before China's skiers can compete on an equal footing with the world's best. XINHUA

"I'm pretty satisfied with the results. For the men's team, I think they delivered the best performance of their career," Iliffe said.

"With the women, it could have been better, especially because we have some elder athletes who have more experience," he added.

In Iliffe's view, he brought experience to team China, and tried to copy the European alpine skiing team's training system.

"Also, you know, I keep on getting films and videos from the best skiers in the world. We're doing good work," Iliffe said.

In Harbin, two alpine skiing golds were bagged by Japan, as well as two bronze medals. The skiers from Republic of Korea also pocketed two silver medals on the slopes of the Yabuli ski resort.

"We must understand that nations like ROK and Japan have promoted alpine skiing for around 40 years. They have all the background, they have junior programs, professional backroom staff and professional coaches, but these are all missing in China.

"We have to also build a coaching setup to work with the younger skiers, so that when they get to the national team, they have a good level that we can build on. Unfortunately, we are far behind in that aspect. We have to work on that in the future," Iliffe explained.

In the eyes of the experienced coach, competitiveness in alpine skiing is influenced by three factors: equipment, technique and the athlete's physical condition.

"We must work on these three aspects. We must also go and compete in Europe to get more experience against other nations." Iliffe said.

When talking about the team's goals at the upcoming 2026 Olympic Winter Games, the Italian coach refuses to speculate on China's chances.

"The level of alpine skiing at the moment is so high, especially among the men. What's more, the top 10 or 15 women are also at a very high level.

"The most important thing for us is to put the right setup in place, the right equipment, and get on skiing on water-injected slopes, because all the top races on the world stage are all run on water-injected slopes," Iliffe said.

After the alpine skiing event at the Harbin Asian Winter Games, the Chinese alpine skiing team will go to Songhua Lake ski resort to undertake its next training session ahead of its participation at the National Championships.

"I always tell them that they must try and perform their best; that they must work hard and believe in what they're doing," Iliffe added.