Chinese Trauma Doctors Perfect Ski Skills For Olympics

Yanqing, China, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jan, 2022 ) :Undeterred by the heavy medical bags on their backs, a group of Chinese doctors zipped down a steep ski slope, part of a crack medical team tasked with racing to any injured athletes during the Winter Olympics.

Dressed in bright orange jackets with white crosses, the medics are the first group of people in China to be specifically trained for emergency ski rescues.

And until recently, most were little more than amateur skiers in a country with a nascent winter sports scene.

"The training was not easy," recalled Li Qiyi, a 49-year-old orthopaedic surgeon usually stationed at Xiehe Hospital, one of Beijing's top medical facilities.

"It sometimes dropped to -20 or -30 degrees, with an even lower windchill factor. Some of us had frostbite on our feet or face," he told AFP.

The world's finest skiers will start competing in the slalom, downhill and Super-G competitions in early February.

Li was among a group of medics AFP interviewed who were putting in last minute practice at Yanqing, one of two sites north of China's capital that will host mountain-based events.

The doctors are expected to get to any athlete who needs them within four minutes of an accident.

If someone suffers a catastrophic injury, those first few minutes can be vital for saving a life.

- Extreme cold -