Shock "Why did you throw away Lin Xiaojun (Im Hyojun)" Excluding the final surprise → No medal humiliation 'blame' explosion, controversy raged [Milan Olympics]

*This content was translated by AI.

Chinese Internet users are criticizing the exclusion of "Ace" Lin Xiaojun (30, Korean name Lim Hyo-jun) from the mixed 2,000m relay event.

China's short track mixed relay team was humiliated by finishing fourth in the final of the mixed 2000m relay at the 2026 Milan-Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics at the Milan Ice Skating Arena on the 10th (Korea time).

The mixed relay was first introduced at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. At that time, China won the championship with overwhelming support from home fans, showing the image of a short track powerhouse. And he tried to win his second consecutive title in this event at the Milan event, but unfortunately, he fell to his knees.

Lin Xiaojun participated in the semi-finals of the mixed 2,000-meter relay and skated easily to help advance to the semi-finals. China crossed the finish line as the runner-up to Canada, the first place, and settled in the semifinal.

However, that was the end of Lin Xiaojun's game on the day. From the semi-final, China did not use Lin Xiaojun as a relay member. The Chinese mixed relay team, which competed in the semifinals without Lin Xiaojun, succeeded in advancing to the final by cutting the final tape to second place after Italy, which received overwhelming support from the home team.

Italy and China, and Canada and Belgium made it to the finals in other groups. However, again, Lin Xiaojun's name could not be found. The result was a fiasco.

China seemed to be cruising as they took the lead early in the race. However, as soon as Jang Chu-tong, who was running well, twisted once, he allowed Ariana Fontana to overtake him, and eventually fell to third place and Sun Lung to fourth place. China, which fell behind, finally failed to hit again and crossed the finish line at the bottom and failed to win a medal. Italy (2:39.019) was ranked first, Canada (2:39.258) was ranked second, and Belgium (2:39.601) was ranked third. Lin Xiaojun, who challenged for his first medal after naturalization, also had no choice but to promise the following.

However, after the game, there are loud voices of criticism from within China. It was pointed out why the experienced and experienced Lin Xiaojun was excluded from the semifinals from the relay.

Chinese media Sina Sports said on the 10th, "Throughout the game, China maintained its lead and seemed likely to win the gold medal. He still had hopes for a medal or a gold medal when he dropped to second place. However, Sun Lung allowed him to overtake as he fell in the absence of a collision or interference, and eventually finished fourth," he said.

The media went on to say, "This mistake was fatal. A single mistake ruined all the preparation and effort. Short track speed skating is won by a small margin, and this basic mistake was unacceptable," he said, adding, "This is not the first time Sun Rong's mistake has been made. At the 2022 Beijing Games, he fell at the end of the race in the men's 5000m relay final, eventually finishing fifth, completely out of medal contention. He made two fatal mistakes in the Olympic and relay races. It's not just a coincidence, it's a clear weakness from pressure," he pointed out.

At the same time, the name brought up by the media was Lin Xiaojun. Sina Sports said, "The lack of experience of young athletes in this relay turned out to be a key problem. Of course, there are opinions that other young players should be given more opportunities because of Lin Xiaojun's injury. Whether Lin Xiaojun will play or not is a concern not only for the coach but also for the entire Chinese team, he said. "His absence from the finals has emerged as the biggest question of the tournament." The team's top star wanted to prove his skills after the surgery. His technical and major competitive career is impeccable. The fact that he has already been selected for the Olympics means that he can play in the game, but it is difficult to understand that he did not have an ace in the game," he said, raising criticism.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiaojun won a gold medal in the men's 1,500m event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and played a leading role in Korean short track. However, he was suspended for a year by the federation in June 2019 for an unsavory incident caused by mischief during training. Later, he was acquitted of the charges of forced harassment and restored his honor. However, during the legal battle, he chose to naturalize in China to participate in the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

However, participation in the Beijing Olympics was canceled due to the IOC Charter, which includes restrictions on participation of athletes with nationality change. Lin Xiaojun was later selected for the Chinese national team and sought a comeback. After returning to the international stage in the 2022-2023 season, he competed with Korean players at the 2025 Harbin Winter Asian Games. He recently overcame a gap in shoulder surgery and won a silver medal in the 500m of the third World Tour event in the 2025-2026 season, raising his sense of practice to the fullest. Although he was excluded from the semi-finals and finals in the mixed relay event, he crossed the men's 1,000m qualifying round in the individual event as third place in the group and succeeded in advancing to the quarter-final after being judged as his first advance of the event.

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*This content was translated by AI.