The closing of the Russian-Chinese Youth Games

Russia under 17's final day at the Russian-Chinese Youth Games began with a visit to one of Harbin's traditional schools. Students and teachers alike warmly greeted the Russian delegation. The Chinese hosts had prepared a rich cultural program, and afterwards, they showed everyone around the sports school's infrastructure. On the ice hockey rink, there was an ongoing match between young Chinese players. The Russian under 17's attracted a lot of attention.

In the second half of the day, all sportsmen were present at the tournament's closing ceremony. Heilongjiang province's head for sport then thanked the competitors for the competition.

Maxim Denezhkin, Russia under 17 forward:

- I can say that the games were held on a high level, we have been left with lots of positive impressions. We had time to go on three different excursions which were all very interesting. Personally, I liked today's trip to the Chinese school more than anything else. We were welcomed warmly and were shown how they learn. They even have their own ice hockey rink, they were playing a game there when we visited. There are also places to ski and play curling.

Overall, the Chinese showed great interest to our team. It was clear how much they wanted to speak with us and shake hands after matches. It was a good experience for them seeing how we play. From our side, it was fascinating to see how ice hockey is developing in China. At this tournament, we managed to train how we take advantage of goalscoring chances, faceoffs and tactical issues. This competition has helped us. However, despite winning all three games, we need to forget what happened. This was only a training, we now have to prepare for the Four Nations.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation